Normally, the Miaim-Dade Republican’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner is headlined by a GOP politician. Recent years have seen heavyweights like Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez Cantera, presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio and vice presidential then-nominee Mike Pence last year.
This year, the group will have a poitician’s handler as the keynote speaker.
Well, not a handler. The handler: Kellyanne Conway, former campaign manager turned White House whisperer to President Donald Trump. Conway, whose official title is counselor to the president, will be regailing local Republicans with her alternative facts at the June 27 dinner, which is the group’s main annual fundraiser.
And of course her presence is expected to sell tickets. But the “save the date” notices have a disclaimer so that we don’t confuse Conway with a dancing monkey: “Ms. Conway is a special guest for this event. Her participation in the event is not a solicitation of funds.”
The dinner is still at the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport and Convention Center, but it’s in a bigger room, said Miami-Dade GOP Chairman Nelson Diaz. The old room maxed out at 450 or 470 people and tickets to the dinners with Rubio and Pence sold out quick. This new room can accomodate more than 2,000 if needed.
Diaz loves Conway, who he says is a model for her courage, but he feels they are not in danger of selling out. 
Still, you never know. Conway is interesting enough that people might go who aren’t necessarily Republican. Ladra is tempted. Or will she have the same Trump effect that Pence and Congressman Trey Gowdy had last year? The local GOP tried to get The Donald himself, but Gowdy was the original surrogate tapped by the then presidential candidate to be the keynote speaker last year. Pence was a surprise bonus. But some anti-Trump Republicans — notably Congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo — stayed away because of the toxic campaign. Might they stay away from the toxic campaigner?
Ladra says nana nina. Why? The difference between last year and this year is two words: White House.
Which leads us to wonder… how does our county GOP always get the big ticket?
“We always get great speakers, but it’s a lot of work,” Diaz told Ladra, adding that they had been in talks with Conway and her peeps since February or early March. That’s a very fast turnaround for the White House, where it can take up to six months to get a response for such a request.
“We have friends in the White House,” Diaz told Ladra. “We have friends everywhere. That’s part of the secret sauce.”
Speaking of secrets, this won’t be the first time that the Secret Service is also a guest, which can make logistics more difficult. “You can’t do this. You can’t do that,” Diaz said. And, no, he can’t go into details.
No word yet on whether Conway, who we imagine has just a tad less security than Pence, will stay for dinner or dine privately in another room like Pence did with his wife and his small army of bodyguards.
Tickets to the 69th annual Lincoln Day Dinner will be on sale in the nexts day or so online at www.miamidadegop.org.
Miami GOP’s Lincoln Dinner speaker is KellyAnne Conway added by Ladra on
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