Stafford County Republican Committee 5th Annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner

It is because of people like Congressman Chaffetz that are willing to go the extra mile that I pray one day the truth will be told about Benghazi and the death of four Americans.

 

On Thursday, January 5th the Stafford County Republican Committee held their 5^th Annual Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner. Chairman Davis brought back the annual event that was originally created by Susan Stimpson in 2007 after a several year hiatus and it was a smashing success.

In the past, the dinner was the highlight of the social scene in the Fredericksburg Region for a number of years and enjoyed large turnouts whenever it was held. Guest speakers in the past have included Ed Gillespie, Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich and Virginia Governor Bob McDonald.

This year’s event promised to be just as memorable with the special guests Congressman Rob Wittman and featured speaker Congressman Jason E. Chaffetz from the 3rd District of Utah and in my opinion a future Speaker of the House. Congressman Chaffetz is currently the Chairman of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and all were excited to hear him speak.

Congressman Chaffetz became a Republican after meeting Ronald Reagan in 1990, when Reagan visited Chaffetz’s employer, Nu Skin, as a motivational speaker. That visit was his springboard to the “Right” path even though his step-father is Former Governor of Massachusetts and Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis. Ever since Congressman Chaffetz’s view have been drifting further to the right.

Speaker Bill Howell served as the Master of Ceremonies and was the perfect choice for keeping the night running smooth. His talent was challenged however due to Congressman Rob Wittman and Congressman Chaffetz running late due to session votes on the house floor and 95 traffic……..go figure in this area traffic on 95. Maybe if our Delegates and Senators in Virginia could find a real solution this session in Richmond we don’t have to do a tap dance with the schedules at these events, but I digress. It was now time for the main event of the evening.

After a wonderful introduction from Congressman Wittman, Congressman Chaffetz amazed the crowd with his experiences with investigating the handling of September 11, 2012, attacks on the US Consulate compound in Benghazi and the subsequent “investigation”.

One experience that stuck out for me was definitely worth the wait. Hearing the Congressmen talk about the time he had to meet a whistle- blower to the Benghazi attack kept me on the edge of my seat.

The description of this meeting with this informant was like it was out of a spy novel. He was to meet at a dumpster in the back of a goodwill store in a community in Virginia, he didn’t know who he was to meet or just when. The Congressman went on to say that while waiting for this mystery person he thought, “wow what am I doing?

“I am waiting for a mystery person. Am I a sitting Congressman or a Hollywood actor in a conspiracy movie”. “But it is what I need to do to get a straight answer because I am not getting the answers from the State Department or the White House”.

It is because of people like Congressman Chaffetz that are willing to go the extra mile that I pray one day the truth will be told about Benghazi and the death of four Americans.

After his remarks, he offered to take questions but everyone really just wanted to shake hands and get a photo with this intriguing and brave Congressman. Of course, Congressman Wittman was just as popular and in high demand for photo ops.

Overall, despite not arriving at the event until after dessert which left the crowd at slightly less than 200 people originally in attendance both Congressmen spoke and all of those that stayed got a real treat with their remarks and subsequent photo opportunities. The Congressmen were extremely accommodating and didn’t depart until the last photo had been taken and hand shook.

We were blessed to have First District Chairman Eric Herr serve as the official photographer for the event and if his smile were any indication he may have found his retirement job when he is done with the Pentagon. You can find more: here from the evening in the Stafford GOP album.

Can’t wait for the 6th Annual Event already.