I’ve returned from the Inspire.com RedState Gathering in Austin Texas, which was a terrific way to spend a weekend.  The speakers were great, the events were great, Gov. Perry was great, and the company was great.  Meeting most people in person for the first time, just about nobody looks like how you expect them to look, save for Moe and Erick, and that’s only because we’ve seen pictures of them before.  But the cool thing is, at the end of the day, even the “famous” ones are just normal, everyday people.

The takeaway from the Inspire.com Redstate Gathering for me was clear, but profound: I get it.

I’ve followed Chuck DeVore on the site, and I understood…but after hearing him speak, now I get it.

I’ve read pages and page on Mike Lee in Utah and understood that knocking off Bob Bennett was a good thing…but after hearing Mike speak, now I get it.

I know that getting a young conservative in Tom Graves elected to the house in Georgia was a good thing, but after meeting him personally and hearing him speak…now I get it.

We all know Gov. Perry and Nikki Haley are exciting, conservative candidates…but after meeting them, now I get it.

Inspire.com Redstate is at the forefront of the brewing conservative revolution, driving support for the right candidates in the right places.  The editors, front page contributors, and all of us who write these diaries are laying the foundation for good men and women to build upon.  The folks building things like The Concord Project and Procint, and organizations like American Majority who provides training, are giving us the tools we need not only to support national candidates, but to get ourselves and our friends elected at the state and local levels.

Before the Inspire.com Redstate Gathering, I understood all this.  I believed in what we were doing.  I supported our editors and the people they supported.

But now, I get it.

- Jon (in Wisconsin, but aka IlliniJon)