I spent the weekend at The RedState Gathering. Today’s Water Cooler will be short notes from the weekend.

The Good

Glenn Beck: As Caleb Howe wrote, Glenn Beck rocked the house. It was a wonderful positive spin on a dire situation. Lots of history, especially relating 1930s Germany to our current situation. Watch the video, especially the end where his son is trying to help him clean up the stage.

Ken Cuccinelli: Great ideas on justice reform. I hope he’s able to lead this going forward because it’s something that we’ve needed for a long time.

Carly Fiorina: Carly was her usual upbeat, exciting self during her speech. I was initially skeptical of Carly, and not a fan of her tenure at HP, but I slowly became a fan during the primaries due to her strong support of eliminating #ppsellsbabyparts funding. Carly continues to deliver and I hope she finds a place in the conservative movement where she can really make a difference.

Darryl Glenn: He smartly avoided the Trump issue as a distraction, and his speech was upbeat and positive. His previous enthusiastic support of Trump still worries me. During Carly’s speech she said she’s working for him, so that’s a positive. This will likely be the hardest decision I’ve made in a very long time.

Aurora District Attorney George Brauchler: Great talk on the Aurora theater shooting and information that the media didn’t cover (or covered wrong). Remember this name… we haven’t heard the last of him.

GA SOS Brian Kemp: Great information on voter ID and how it’s working well in Georgia.

The Panels: All of the panels were informative and not the boring lectures that these things often turn into. Kuddos to the Redstate staff for putting these together and bringing in the right people.

The Bad

Ken Buck: I didn’t catch all of his speech, but he was the first one to say we have to vote for Trump because SCOTUS. You guys need new material.

Cory Gardner: While not actually naming him, Cory also suggested we need Trump to further Republican agenda. I agree that’s true… unfortunately Republican agenda is no longer conservative agenda. He also tried to defend his participation in Failure Theater which I found rather humorous. I can’t wait to not vote for him in 2020.

The Ugly

Hugh Hewitt: Rude, arrogant, and condescending. If you’re still trying to get conservatives to support Trump, you’re doing it wrong.

The Amazing

Caleb/Erick/Leon Panel: Fun. Not much else to say.

Ben Sasse: A true political rock star. A down-to-earth family man, who understands what government should be. While I think he’s likely the model of what a President should be, I doubt he could ever navigate the mine field to get there. I hope to be proven wrong.

Personal Notes on the RedState Staff

Erick: For some reason I always thought you were taller.
Leon: Sorry I made you a liar. I really do agree with you much more often than I disagree (although you were wrong about Taylor Swift and Spotify). Thanks for the kind words about my participation here.
Caleb: Your memory is better than mine. It was good to see you again. Never lose the Larry the Cable Guy hat.
Ben: The better looking Howe.
Mike: I enjoyed our chat. Nice to meet one of the founders, and wish I’d been able to read your work. I’m sure it was really good.
Aaron: You really are much nicer in person. I’ll let you know when I’m going to be in the Springs so we can get that beer.
Neil: Good to finally meet you. Good to reminisce about the trolling from the past. I was sure you were going to be wearing an Apple shirt.
Brandon: Let me know when you’re in town. First beer is on me.
Sara: Never lose that smile. And write more often… your stuff is really good.
Joe/Jay/Kyle: Nice to meet you guys, even though we didn’t get much of a chance to talk. I also appreciate your work.

That’s it for today’s Water Cooler. Make sure you watch the videos from The Gathering when they’re published. OPEN THREAD. Have at it in the comments!