I wasn't here for RedState's beginning, but I got here as fast as I could ... 

If you've read today's column from our Managing Editor Emeritus, Streiff, you know that today is RedState's 20th anniversary. Streiff was here from the beginning and shared both the site's general history and some great anecdotes from his experiences; if you haven't read it in full, you'll definitely be entertained. I especially appreciated this section, because it really encapsulates what we're all about here:

Over the years, we helped elect candidates. We did some policing of the ranks. RedState's "Operation Leper" after the disastrous, horrific John McCain presidential bid helped end the campaign consulting careers of Nicolle Wallace and Steve Schmidt by revealing their roles in trashing Sarah Palin, who they were paid by the McCain-Palin campaign to help, to the media. The RedState Gathering became a thing. Rick Perry announced his presidential run at the 2011 Gathering...but we got Mitt Romney instead. In 2015, every GOP candidate for president attended the event. 

We launched the careers of several candidates, and some of our writers have gone on to other careers. We number a university provost, appeals court judge, and a member of Congress among the alumni of our front page and diaries. We always punched way above our weight, with much more influence than our traffic would lead one to believe. That was because of smart writing and insights into what was going on in conservative politics.

Although the site's traffic has exploded since that time, especially over the last five years, we're still punching way above our weight and it's still because of the smart writing and insights of our nationwide crew of contributors. A key differentiator for RedState is that most of our writers have worked in other fields in addition to journalism/political analysis, and aren't fresh out of college (not that there's anything wrong with that). We're not based inside the beltway; other than the chunk of writers trapped in California, we're based in "flyover country" and active in state and local politics. That gives our writers a unique perspective, one that comes across clearly on our pages.

My people! @RedState family dinner at #AMFEST2022 @RealKiraDavis @TheBrandonMorse @asthegirlturns @BeccaJLower @Bob_Hoge_CA @JeffOnTheRight @Hounsizzle pic.twitter.com/u1IAO3z4MF

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) December 19, 2022

I'm sad to say that I wasn't aware of RedState until the early 2010s when I got involved in the political blogging community. In July 2004 I was busy being mom to three little boys (aged 10, 7, and 1 at that time) and running a court reporting firm in North Carolina. In fact, in July, 2004 I was flying around the country with then-USDA Undersecretary Bill Hawks as the court reporter for 14 listening sessions related to a National Animal Identification System. I remember we had to take a break from the listening session schedule for Secretary Hawks to attend the 2004 Republican National Convention, and I heard some very interesting stories when travel resumed (but my lips are sealed).

Fast forward about seven years, and after becoming friends online with a group of political bloggers I decided to meet them at CPAC 2012. The first blogger I met "IRL" as the kids say was none other than Susie Moore, who's now RedState's Deputy Managing Editor. We met up at the restaurant at the convention hotel and caught Andrew Breitbart's last speech on the TV, since getting into the room was basically impossible. During CPAC I also met Caleb Howe, who eventually became RedState's Managing Editor and graciously allowed me to start writing here in November 2016.

Ed Morrissey of HotAir, Caleb Howe, Jennifer Van Laar, and Dan Spencer in October 2017

In that time frame I made several friends in the blogosphere who then became key members of the RedState team: Sister Toldjah, Thomas LaDuke, Kira Davis (who's always a valued friend of the site although she's gone independent), Becca Lower, Brandon Morse, Teri Christoph, Jerry Wilson, Joe Cunningham, and Mike Miller.

We've come a long way, baby! 10.5 years of friendship with @RealKiraDavis pic.twitter.com/hnMwYNE3OS

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) December 20, 2022

I was a fangirl of Andrew Malcolm's writing at that time, but never would have believed anyone who suggested to me that someday I'd be his editor. (I'm still a little in awe that I get to work with him and have his mentoring and fatherly advice.)

Andrew Malcolm and Susie Moore at CPAC 2022

When I started writing at RedState I had no idea what the future would hold, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to create my dream career and to lead a team of writers who are united in the purpose of moving conservatism forward. In addition to all of the milestones Streiff mentioned in his piece, RedState now helps drive the news cycle and effect change. The tenacious reporting of Scott Hounsell and Bonchie related to COVID origins and the lies perpetuated by Anthony Fauci and the public health establishment was often ahead of the pack; that, combined with the in-depth series Scott and I wrote on Hunter Biden's corruption in October 2020 (unrelated to the laptop story) put us in the crosshairs of the Big Tech and led to a lot of censorship and suppression of our stories, but somehow the people who needed to read them - and who needed to be made uncomfortable - read them.

We've been successful at advancing conservatism even in lefty California. It's due to RedState's writers that there were significant changes to California's anti-independent contractor law, AB5 (derailing the political career of then-Asm. Lorena Gonzalez), and we helped elevate the profile of then-Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, who now regularly puts Biden administration officials on the hot seat (especially fake acting Labor Secretary Julie Su). Because of that Repeal AB5 fight I met Jennifer Oliver O'Connell and Brittany Sheehan, who are two of the best policy writers I know and who are real bulldogs when it comes to fighting for individual rights, and was able to convince them to join our team. I also met Roxanne Hoge, and through her we gained Bob Hoge. 

In addition, RedState's done more than any other outlet to put the heat on LA County's Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer and to (hopefully) oust the original Soros DA, George Gascón. What I'm trying to say is, while RedState's had a great run so far, we're not anywhere close to done yet.

And that's a promise.

Join the Celebration!

We'll be celebrating this milestone over the next week with a series of reflective articles and videos, and with a special RedState Live Chat on Tuesday evening. While our live chats are normally reserved for our VIP Gold members, this one is open to everyone - because we want to celebrate with all of our readers. Also, if any of you who have been to a RedState Gathering in the past have pictures you'd like to share with us, please send them to me ([email protected]), and we will share those during Tuesday evening's live chat.

I can't end this post without thanking all of our readers for your loyalty and support and for helping us keep the figurative lights on. Let's do this for another 20 years, at least!