The 2011 Media Research Center Gala Picture Post (28 Pics)

A couple of months back, I got an invite to the big yearly 2011 Media Research Center Gala. Since I’d never been before and I thought it would be a lot of fun, I decided to attend. Still, it’s a 7 hour drive for me into D.C. and if I was going that far, I had to get in a day early so I could spend a little quality time with some of my friends first.

So, Friday night, I got together a group of buddies at Vapiano for dinner. The reservation was ah, let’s say uniquely non-unique.

We had a great crowd including…

Matt Lewis and Amanda Carpenter

Allie Duzett and Tricia Grannis

Alexa Shrugged

Jon Henke and Val Mack

That was the big event for Friday.

Saturday, Skye from Midnight Blue Says drove in from Philadelphia and we spent the day hanging out.

We started off by going to the “National Aquarium.” For the record, the “National Aquarium” was a disaster. It was like the fish section in a nice pet store. Our first hint that it was going to be awful should have been this.

Commerce Department/National Aquarium

Yes, when you’re shoving a “national aquarium” in an unused corner of the commerce department, it’s not a good sign. They also ran us through a metal detector. In fact, they did everything but make us take our shoes off and give Skye a patdown just to make sure the incredibly boring fish were protected from jihad. I’m not really sure what the point was, but it involves the government, so there doesn’t necessarily have to be one.

In any case, they did at least have some very small gators.

Skye, Gator

Anywho, after we finished walking around the tiny “National Aquarium,” we headed over to the much more interesting Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

It was loaded with cool stuff. Like? Definitely NOT the Julia Childs exhibit, which was weirdly LOADED with people, including Skye, who could not seem to tear themselves away from looking at pots, pans, and a video of Julia Childs cooking a chicken. I totally do not get it. Especially when they had things like this there…

William Tecumseh Sherman’s hat

The chairs Lee and Grant sat in during the surrender at Appomattox.

A death mask made from Lincoln’s face.

A tax collector, American Revolution style

The coolest George Washington statue ever!

Of course, since I was there with Skye, this is a good spot for a couple of gratuitous shots.

Skye gestures to where she thinks women belong. Tsk, tsk, tsk!

Skye posing in front of the raised gunboat, Philadelphia.

On the way out of the Smithsonian, I took this snap of the t-shirts a vendor was selling out front.

Obama got Osama t-shirt

After we toured the Smithsonian, Skye and I got gussied up and headed over to the Media Research Center for their gala.

Before the official ceremony got started, there was a reception. They had an open bar and sushi as hors d’oeuvres, which is actually pretty impressive for something like this. Typically, these events live up to their “rubber chicken” reputation.

I managed to get a snap with Brent Bozell.

Brent Bozell and John Hawkins

We also ran across my charming buddy Colleen O’Boyle, who I am always glad to see.

Colleen O’Boyle and Skye

The Smart Girl Politics crew was also in the house.

Joy Aktalay, Teri Christoph, Rosa P. Leonetti, Tabitha Hale

Matt and Erin Lewis

The ceremony itself was most notable for the presenters, who included Neil Boortz…

Neal Boortz

…and Ann Coulter.

Ann Coulter

The MRC’s dishonorable quote of the year? It was from MSNBC’s Ed Schultz.

The Republicans lie! They want to see you dead! They’d rather make money off your dead corpse! They kind of like it when that woman has cancer and they don’t have anything for her.

After the ceremony — and during, yes, the blogger table was pretty rowdy — I took a few more pics.

Skye and Ben Howe

Lachlan Markay and Sarah Desprat

John Hawkins and Skye

Skye and Congressman Steve King

John Hawkins and G. Gordon Liddy, who’s cleverly sliding behind me, just in case I make a sudden move and he feels the need to snap my neck.

Tabitha Hale

It was a great event, people had a wonderful time, and we hung out until after 11. At that point, people headed out to different after-parties or back to their hotels.

The next morning, Skye and I grabbed some breakfast, went our separate ways and once again, I got to be totally mystified by the Sunday morning traffic jam getting out of D.C. Why would traffic slow to a crawl on the freeways for an entire hour between 10:00 and 11:00 AM? Are there really that many people going to church in the D.C. area? If so, you wouldn’t think the local government would be so crooked.

Eventually, I got home, and we close out this post with Patton, one dog who was very happy to see me….

Patton