@ Polk GOP picnic; hooch soon

Two Texans and a Michigander are scheduled to speak at this evening’s Polk County GOP picnic in Des Moines, Iowa.  A third politician, former New York Governor George Pataki, had indicated this past Monday that he would attend, but announced on Friday he wouldn’t as Pataki has ruled out running for POTUS in 2012.

 “Today, my family and I have reached the very difficult decision not to seek the office of President of the United States,” Pataki said. “…While I have chosen not to run, I remain committed to the cause and will support a candidate who offers the vision, the ideas and the leadership to bring an end to America’s debt crisis.”

Texas Congressman Ron Paul and Michigan Congressman Thaddeus McCotter were the first to say they’d attend tonight’s event, then this past Tuesday Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he would as well.  

The event tonight is being staged at the Jalepeno Pete’s bar on the Iowa State Fairgrounds.  It’s basically a slab of raised concrete covered by a tin roof, with no walls.  The consensus among the reporters at my table is that the smell of the fair hasn’t yet abated.   

At about 4:30 p.m. there was an announcement for the gathering crowd, about a “little technical glitch” that had prevented the bar from opening.  “The bar will be open no later than five o’clock,” the crowd was advised.