The CPAC Liveblogs

Follow FrumForum’s coverage of CPAC via twitter @DavidFrum, @FrumForum, @timkmak and @noahkgreen.

Click here for FrumForum’s CPAC Diaries with up to the minute gossip and news from the convention.

CPAC 2010 Straw Poll Results

CPAC survey size: 2,395 people surveyed. Largest number of participants in CPAC history. Students represent 48%.

What Kind of Conservative Are You: 80% fiscal; 9% social; 7% foreign policy hawk

Barack Obama Job Approval: 98% disapprove; 2% approve.

Republicans in Congress Job Approval: 62% approve, 37% disapprove.

Glenn Beck (+/-): 70/27

Rush Limbaugh (+/-): 70/27

Mike Pence (+/-): 59/11

John Boehner (+/-): 56/21

Mitch McConnell (+/-):51/27

Michael Steele (+/-): 42/44

What Should Be The Top Priority of Republicans in Congress: 58% Cutting Federal Spending

2012 Presidential candidates: Ron Paul 31%, Mitt Romney 22%, Sarah Palin 7%, Tim Pawlenty 6%, Mike Pence 5%, Newt Gingrich 4%.

Demographics: 54% 18-24 years of age; 64% male, 30% female

CPAC straw poll updated here as they are announced!

Posted at 5:40pm by Tim Mak

*  *  *

CPAC Panel Blames Avatar for Global Warming Hoax

“This is the easiest panel for me to moderate!” began moderator Dan Gainor. He had a very good point, the panel was entitled, “Saving Freedom from the Hoax of Global Warming”, the answer had already been answered in the title of the panel!

The panel began with a video montage of “liberal” warnings about the risk of global warming.  Among the clips, was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California saying that “because of global warming, we now have more wildfires in the state than ever before.”

The speakers effectively tapped into the id of the attendees. Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute declared “The greatest threat to our freedom, is global warming [legislation].” He then made the even bolder declaration that “the energy sector is largely a free market” that needs to be protected from regulation.  This point though seems contradictory to earlier conservative criticisms that too much regulation was responsible for the lack of nuclear power plants and energy shortages in California.

But let’s step away from policy and look at the politics. After heaping praise on Senator Inhofe, Ebell turned the guns on the GOP. “We’ve got several threats in play, such as Senator Lindsay Graham and Susan Collins.” (Both names elicited audience boos.) But the biggest problem? “John McCain is the problem! And the Solution is JD Hayworth! We need to get more conservatives [in Congress] and if the Tea Party can do it, God Bless them!” Ebell added.

But the speaker who will be getting the most attention on the internet is Ann McElhinney, the documentary filmmaker behind Not Evil Just Wrong: The True Cost of Global Warming Hysteria, who wondered aloud: “Can James Cameron grow up!?” McElhinney explained why she found Avatar to be a bad film: “Its Rubbish!.It’s an anti-American, anti-mining rant, and its rubbish!” (Said in a British accent.) “James Cameron, burn your passport and go…” McElhinney seemed to tap into a dangerous strain of anti-intellectualism. She summed up her fears about global warming education in K-12 by saying: “You are allowing teachers to abuse their powers to terrorize students!”

During the Q&A, one member of the audience who described herself as “very conservative” stated that she was made “very frustrated by the lack of science” on the panel. Some members of the audience started to boo. One panelist answered back to her “have you ever heard of Climate-gate?” She admitted that she didn’t, and the audience was vindicated with applause.

This audience will not be happy if James Cameron wins an Academy Award.

Posted at 5:16pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Watch: CPAC Attendees Answer “Is Obama a Socialist?”

Posted at 3:20pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Libertarians Crash the Party

In his speech at on Friday, Ron Paul highlighted the growing libertarian presence at CPAC.  But how strong are  the libertarian ranks at CPAC?   A random poll of 35 CPAC attendees showed a growing libertarian presence at CPAC.  When asked about legalizing marijuana, 60% of the CPAC sample was in favor of legalization.  40% of respondents also supported repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”  On abortion, however, a strong majority of 85% were against legalizing abortion.

Ron Paul libertarians and conservatives also have strong disagreements on foreign policy.  Yet in our sample, this divide was less pronounced. On foreign policy, most respondents seem to match general conservative sentiments.  When asked if “America should retain a military presence in Iraq” only 28% thought we should pull out our troops.  Support for the war in Afghanistan was stronger though with only 20% calling for an American withdrawal.  When asked about the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, only 14% backed Obama’s plan to shutter Gitmo.

The one thing everyone seems to agree on though: they don’t like Obama.  The only time our sample was in complete agreement was in response to the question “do you like any of Obama’s policies?”  All surveyed answered with a resounding “no”. It remains to be seen if the conservative and libertarian bases can move based their shared dislike for Obama and find common ground on the tough challenges facing the nation.

Posted at 1:24pm by Andrew Self

*  *  *

Ronald Reagan, Non-interventionist?

It’s fair to say that many conservatives at CPAC support a robust, interventionist American foreign policy. You’re likely to find more hawks than doves here, however, you will also find some speakers that advocate a more libertarian perspective when it involves foreign policy. One of those people is Donald Devine. Devine, former director of U.S. Office of Personnel Management under President Reagan, addressed the crowd and surprisingly received significant support from the attendees at CPAC.

Many conservatives look back at Reagan’s foreign policy with adoration. He’s seen as the man who rebuilt the military and restored its morale after the Vietnam years; increased defense spending, and in doing so helped cripple the Soviet Union. He’s the one who never hesitated to project American military strength abroad whenever the situation demanded it.

To Devine, however, Reagan’s reluctance to deploy American troops demonstrated his toughness. His prudence in deploying American troops abroad was an asset, not a liability. Devine says: “Being tough isn’t always the right thing to do in foreign policy. Just look at Reagan…Reagan was sometimes tough, other times not.”

Devine argued that Reagan knew when to commit American troops to an extended occupation (His largest troop commitment abroad was to the tiny island Grenada) but more importantly, when not to (look how quickly U.S. troops left Lebanon after the barracks bombing.) In reality, Reagan committed nowhere near the number of troops to hot zones that either of the Bushes ever did. Yet his legacy among conservatives is that of our toughest President, the man with an iron will who stared down the Soviets and won.

Devine went on to claim that,”Engaging troops is not always the right thing to do. Reagan didn’t commit a hundred thousand, a couple hundred thousand troops. Look at Libya! He hit them then got out. Reagan was a passionate believer in peace. He believed in peace through strength. Strength is the means. What is the end? Peace!”

Devine continued: “We need a strong military, but remember, strength isn’t the same as putting U.S. lives at risk.” Devine closed with a paraphrase of remarks by General George Patton. “Our idea isn’t to spend American lives, but to let others spend their lives to fight their battles.”

Devine’s remarks provided a remarkable contrast to many of the other speakers here at CPAC. His words resonated with the crowd, and judging by the loud applause Devine received at the end of his speech, he’s not alone.

Posted at 1:10pm by Chris Brown

*  *  *

GOProud Gets a Limited Role at CPAC

GOProud made waves yesterday when one speaker denounced CPAC for allowing them to co-sponsor. Video of the Marriott ballroom boooing that comment has already made the rounds on in the internet.

However, an additional sign of GOProud’s acceptance at the conference was that their founder, Jimmy LaSalvia, was on a panel about better using technology to mobilize activists.

It was obviously not a prime time event, the panel was up against John Bolton’s speech as well as a separate tech panel. (Twitter commentators indicated that Erick Erickson was addressing that panel as well.) As LaSalvia mentioned to some attendees, “I thought it was good because we were before Ann Coulter, then I saw the rest of the schedule.”

LaSalvia spoke first his about experience using Twitter to mobilize voters against a gun-rights amendment. He was followed up by tech gurus from FreedomWorks and the Ron Paul campaign. It was a very professional and informative panel on databases.

While CPAC probably won’t host a debate on whether or not Proposition 8 actually does violate the 14th Amendment, they are OK with hearing advice from GOProud on how to maximize the use of Twitter.

Posted at 12:40pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Coulter at CPAC: “Olbermann is a Girl”

Ann Coulter didn’t so much give a speech at CPAC as she gave a stand-up routine. The room was packed -- even more so than when Ron Paul spoke yesterday. Here are some of her crass zingers:

“I’m Ann Coulter -- if you’d like to hear my remarks in English, please press 1.”

“I’m thinking of writing a book on national health care. It will be 2,000 pages, and you’ll have two hours to read it.”

“Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts has got to have Ted Kennedy rolling over in his grave… spilling his drink.”

“These days, even a moderate Democrat is someone who thinks you shouldn’t be taught fisting until you’re at least 12 years old.”

On Clinton’s recent heart problems: “When asked by a doctor how he felt, Clinton said it felt like two interns were sitting on his chest.”

“The upside of cap and trade will be that if we pass it and defeat global warming, Washington D.C. will see snow again!”

“CNN calls [the tea party movement] ‘Tea Baggers’ -- that’s the gayest term I’ve heard on CNN since ‘Anderson Cooper’!”

“You’ve been a great crowd, especially since you’re all paid shills for the insurance industry… Keith Olbermann is a girl. God Bless America!”

Asked whether she’s ever dated a liberal, Coulter retorts: “Well, they weren’t liberal for long!”

Posted at 12:31pm by Tim Mak

*  *  *

Liveblogging John Bolton at CPAC

Bolton’s speech was restrained -- he hit Obama, to be sure, but at least didn’t push for an Iranian bombing run. This is odd -- he’s never hesitated to call for aggressive, military action against the Iranian regime in the past. I wonder how the room might have reacted.

Next: The “What is Conservative Foreign Policy” panel.

Posted at 11:12am by Tim Mak

Last line: “We will not let you reduce American sovereignty, we will not let you make America vulnerable, and… we will prevail over all enemies, foreign and domestic!”

Posted at 11:04am by Tim Mak

Bolton on the threat of international taxes: “once the American people lose their right to determine whether we are taxed, we have lost the revolution, my friends!”

Posted at 11:01am by Tim Mak

Bolton: Climate change legislation advocates would be proposing the same thing if the earth was warming, the earth was cooling, or the temperature wasn’t changing at all! It is a statist agenda that we have to reject!

Posted at 10:57am by Tim Mak

Bolton: Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty will be brought again to the Senate -- and it should be defeated in the Senate just like when it was brought in during the Clinton years. The treaty jeopardizes America’s ability to test current stocks of weapons for safety, and prevents us from developing new weapons to protect ourselves, he says.

Posted at 10:53am by Tim Mak

Bolton: Obama likely to announce strategic arms reduction deal with Russia soon.

We need to kill it when it comes to the Senate, he says to applause.

Posted at 10:51am by Tim Mak

Bolton: Obama has left Israel in a more perilous position after thirteen months than it was in when he started.

Obama is naive for his obsession with negotiation, argues Bolton.

But he only has three years left, says Bolton. “I say that very confidently.”

Posted at 10:49am by Tim Mak

Bolton laments Obama’s continuation of Bush’s Iranian non-proliferation strategy. He argues that you cannot negotiate Iran out of getting nuclear weapons.

Posted at 10:47am by Tim Mak

“Obama sees America as another country on the UN role call,” says John Bolton. “Somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe.”

Posted at 10:44am by Tim Mak

“He’s the first post-American president,” says Bolton. It’s not about patriotism, but because he doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism.

Posted at 10:40am by Tim Mak

Bolton: On Jan 20, 2009, Barack Obama wasn’t qualified to be the President of the United States.

Today, thirteen months later, he’s STILL not qualified to be President!

“He doesn’t really care about foreign policy issues. He addresses (them) when he needs to,” says Bolton, but they don’t interest him.

Posted at 10:38am by Tim Mak

Steps on stage and immediately notes former Secretary of State Alexander Haig died.

The crowd sighs loudly.

Posted at 10:35am by Tim Mak

*  *  *

Breitbart on Bloggers Row

Andrew Breitbart came by Bloggers Row, and held a free ranging discussion.

On the topic of James O’Keefe and his legal defense: “We’re on to you John Podesta, we’re onto you and Eric Holder and your Alinsky Tactics.”  (One again, it is ironic how much Alinsky is brought up.)

On the New York Times and liberal media publications:  “For the first time ever, the political left is on the defensive because we have awaken, and the only tool they have is political correctness.”

“The left’s only tactic is to destroy people personally”

And on his personal experiences: “I can’t believe I walked through that fire of the New York Times.“

His thoughts on California: “If there is anyone out there who is a Scott Brown, it’s Chuck DeVore.”

And on his next topic: “We need to take on the textbook makers… Big Education” Perhaps his next website?

Overheard, one blogger to Breitbart: “I want to thank you for everything you are doing, for being our Pied Piper.“

Someone needs to re-read that story.

Posted at 10:55am by Noah Kristula-Green

Former NM Gov Gary Johnson: The New Ron Paul?

“I don’t know Alex Jones,” Gary Johnson said to me, putting his hand over his face and moving the mic far to his left. The crowd laughed; someone remarked “I know what he’s doing!”

I laughed into the mic. “That’s a good answer, governor!”

Johnson, the libertarian former governor of New Mexico, is positioning himself as the Ron Paul of the 2012 election cycle. His newly-launched PAC, Our America, is his first step into those waters. Trying to feel out where Johnson, who was hosted by Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, intersected with the Paul cult, I had asked him for his opinions about a couple of men who are viewed one way by normal people and another by Paulworld.

The Alex Jones Problem thus deflected, what about Abraham Lincoln? I had asked specifically for the governor’s opinion on Lincoln and radio host Jones — in that order — but the emcee, “for the sake of time,” suggested he just answer the question about Lincoln. The crowd, being hardcore Paul fans and thus familiar with Jones, a 9/11 truther, Bilderberger conspiracy theorist, and good friend of Congressman Paul, picked up on the host’s game and laughed. Johnson instead actually chose to address the Jones question — well, in the same way George W. Bush addressed his opinion of Marco Rubio (“who dat?”) — but then moved onto Lincoln.

Mike Church, the libertarian radio host and Johnson panel-mate, had earlier called Lincoln “Honest Abe” — mockingly, to crowd-calls of “yeah, right.” Johnson sat back and grinned widely at Church’s anti-Lincoln jabs. Johnson, who spent the entire speech speaking in a bizarrely dull manner, claimed to recently have become interested in the Civil War. He’d been reading “a book, I forget which one, um, uh…” “Team of Rivals?” an audience member suggested. “No, not that.” After somehow forgetting what book he’s been reading, he said that he’d recently watched the Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary series and gained a great appreciation for what Lincoln had to go through — and what he did for the country. To his credit, he did not pander to the anti-Lincoln cult that surrounded him.

But despite his pretenses at supporting “a strong national defense,” with boilerplate platitudes about the greatness of our men and women in uniform, he smiled and enthusiastically clapped when the emcee promoted the following day’s event, “You Have Been Lied To: Why Real Conservatives Don’t Support the War on Terror.” Johnson went on to call for a complete and immediate withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re building their roads overseas with money we don’t even have, he explained. “For every dollar we spend, forty-three cents is borrowed.” Expect to hear that statistic a lot from Johnson during his 2012 campaign. Fine. The financial system is a mess. But what happens if the situation explodes when we leave due to our unfulfilled commitments? Blank-out.

He was more on-target when speaking about our unfulfilled commitments here at home: he forthrightly, unequivocally declared that we have to make cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security — that the programs are objectively unsustainable as they are. He touted his own record as “Veto Johnson,” the man who went through thousands of line-item vetoes and over seven hundred full ones — even on some bills that were passed unanimously.

Most memorably, though, Johnson was weirdly and almost creepily out-of-focus. Did he merely call for the legalization of marijuana, or was he also on it? He droned on and on in this dry, dull voice and at one time took a ten-second pause that made everyone in the room uncomfortable. He appeared to be on the verge of tears. When the tape emerges, it will be available for all to see: he was totally out of it.

Perhaps he was just tired. But he wasn’t too tired to declare that we are not at war, that we should not be fighting the jihadist enemy abroad, and that we should not bother rebuilding the countries we invaded.

Posted at 8:03am by Alex Knepper

CPAC 2010 Day 2: Friday, February 19

Can Conservatives be Bothered to Care about Cities?

While CPAC is not a public policy conference. I felt it was important to attend one of its few policy panels to evaluate the intellectual strength of CPAC. Entitled “Saving Freedom in Urban Centers”, the panel had the potential to address several issues that the conference was otherwise ignoring. While the panel demonstrated that there is an intellectually vibrant vein of conservatism, several members also expressed concerns that the average CPAC attendee would probably not be engaged.

The panel (very quickly) discussed some touchstone conservative policy issues, notably school vouchers and the success of 1996 welfare reform. The panel had Howard Husock, a Manhattan Institute fellow. It also had Star Parker, an African-American author and advocate for social conservatism. Some of Parker’s comments were policy driven, but she also used rhetoric which seemed out of place at a purely policy panel.

Parker was introduced after they played a short Heritage foundation video about the D.C. voucher system. When she took the podium, Parker realized that she needed to provide more background for her audience, saying: “I don’t think they know what that video is about.”

For Parker, a discussion of the voucher program was inseparable from a discussion about “the onslaught of socialism” in Washington D.C. and the link between socialism and the evil of “covetedness” in the Bible. She also argued that since 65% of African-Americans work in the government, that the usual Republican arguments to “shrink the size of government” are perceived as an assault on jobs. There are clearly issues to discuss here, but in her public capacity, Parker’s role as conservative advocate came through stronger then policy wonk.

Husack’s presentation had more substance, but he made comments that essentially acknowledged that he was a fish out of water. After playing a City Journal video about the success of the NYPD in spurring urban renewal in New York City, Husock began his talk.

From the start, he admitted that some attendees at CPAC would consider a panel on urban policy to be “surprising” and possibly “inconsistent” with the values of the conference. Yet he was able to make a show of the importance of urban policy to the audience. When he described how New York reduced the number of individuals on welfare from 1.1 million to 300,000, he got applause.

After giving historical reasons why Republicans have not had a long history of dabbling in urban policy, he gave a list of new policy initiatives that conservatives could propose. The topics included “work first” programs for individuals leaving prison, and public housing vouchers. These were ideas that Republicans never speak about on a stump speech.

During the Q&A, I asked about the prospects for making Republicans care about urban policy (a challenge when the most recent vice-Presidential candidate said that the “real America” was in small towns.) Husack replied that “people have to take an interest.” While he has the facts and figures to back up a conservative approach to public policy, even he acknowledged that this was not an issue many attendees probably cared about. This was especially disheartening, since he spoke eloquently on the importance of cities as centers of entrepreneurialism. If a policy wonk can do it, why can’t a politician?

CPAC could potentially be a good venue for some public policy panels. Stories about liberals denying vouchers to children who badly need them are great red meat for the base, but also act as an entry into more important discussions about which public policies actually work. Although it was not the most packed panel, it was well-attended, demonstrating that there is a demand at CPAC for something more than just speeches.

Posted at 11:00pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Tim Mak Liveblogs Ron Paul

The crowd was mostly students, and a standing-ovation accompanies the ‘walk-off-the-stage music’. Paul’s speech was most happily recieved by the younger crowd, and standing ovations (other than the final one) were mostly led by younger people. The fact of the matter is that Paul sounded like he was on a rant, and not so much on a quest to persuade you of the virtues of his position. While he tried to be conciliatory (“if you disagree with me, think about it -- read about it”), his tone was of a preacher out to please an anxious choir -- and sounded a little nutty as a result.

Posted at 6:07pm by Tim Mak

 

People start drifting out as the last sentence of Ron Paul speech’s rambles on for 30+ words…

Posted at 5:50pm by Tim Mak

 

Ron Paul: “All of those who disagree (with me).. Think about it! Read about it!” Points to financial crash of 08/09 as vindication of his doomsaying.

Posted at 5:47 pm by Tim Mak

 

Ron Paul: As recently as 2000 we (Republicans) won elections on saying we wouldn’t be policemen of the world!

Posted at 5:46 by Tim Mak

 

“No War Over Oil!” yells a member of the crowd. “Didn’t expect to hear that at CPAC,” whispers FF’s Shawn Summers.

Posted at 5:45pm by Tim Mak

 

“We’re in a perpetual war now.. It’s going to go on until we’re bankrupt.”

Posted at 5:43pm by Tim Mak

 

Ron Paul dates himself -- he was in college during Suez crisis of 1956. Canadian Hat-Tip: this was when Canada invented the concept of United Nations peacekeeping.

Posted at 5:40pm by Tim Mak

 

Paul is a little too excited. He would be more persuasive if he didn’t talk so quickly, like he was on a rant. Michele Bachmann actually sounded more reasonable (tone-wise) than this.

Posted at 5:36 by Tim Mak

 

“We are on the brink of a financial cataclysmic event” because of debt, says Ron Paul. The dollar will soon be rejected, says Paul. Then your liberties will REALLY be retracted!

Posted at 5:35pm by Tim Mak

People give standing ovation for “having a strong national defense and not going to war carelessly!” Most people applauding are student-aged.

Posted at 5:32pm by Tim Mak

 

Woodrow Wilson gets a lot boos. Never heard that before. “The conservative movement is to not even belong to the United Nations!” says Paul. Another round of “End the Fed” cheers.

Posted at 5:31 by Tim Mak

 

 

We “didn’t get the revolution” under Bush, says Ron Paul.

Posted at 5:28 by Tim Mak

 

“By the end of this year, I think this country is going to be a lot better off,” says Paul. And thanks to the Tea Partiers, he says.

Posted at 5:26pm by Tim Mak

 

Ron Paul’s opening line: “Sounds to me like the revolution is alive and well!”

Posted at 5:25pm by Tim Mak

 

Ron Paul gets warmest welcome of any speaker at CPAC 2010.

Posted at 5:24pm by Tim Mak

 

Place is packed. More people in ball room than at any other time during CPAC.

Posted at 5:24 by Tim Mak

 

“Non-agressionist foreign policy!” Gets loud cheers and claps. Mention of the Fed gets boos.

Posted at 5:23 by Tim Mak

Stand up for liberty, rise up against Tyranny, says Kevin O’Dell. He turns around to show the back of his jacket reads “End the Fed”. Loudest chant of the confernce yet: End the Fed! End the Fed!

Posted at 5:22pm by Tim Mak

Ron Paul is being introduced by Kevin and Danielle O’Dell. They are from Woodbridge, VA. Local businessowners with no special credentials.

Posted at 5:22 by Tim Mak

*  *  *

 

 

Schlafly: “Feminism Teaches that Women are Second-Class Citizens”

At a panel entitled “Going Rogue: Women Changing the Face of Conservatism”, the room was overcrowded with people – most of them women, many of them from colleges across the nation –  all intently listening to the words of the vivacious panelists and clapping in agreement.

Phyllis Schlafly, author of A Choice, Not An Echo and an activist against feminism, encouraged women to fight back against liberal feminists, claiming that they are actually defining differences between men and women and creating the problem they claim to be fighting against. “Feminism teaches that women are second-class citizens,” Schlafly said provocatively. “If you have succumbed to feminism, you are not going to reach the destination of a happy, productive life.”

Schlafly argued that Sarah Palin is the most popular conservative woman and feminists felt threatened by her success especially because she had a husband, children and a career in politics. Schlafly pointed out that Palin is a prime example of the modern woman who thankfully can make time for a role in politics because the duties and burdens of homemakers are drastically less than they were a century ago.

Schlafly wondered what feminists are complaining? “Women in the U.S. are the most fortunate people on the face of the earth,” Schlafly noted – and it’s been that way for a while. Schlafly noted that her mother graduated from college in 1920 and has had no complaints.

Political commentator and writer S.E. Cupp argued that attention should be focused elsewhere, for example in the Middle East where women are still treated as inferiors and often subjected to violence.

“Feminism’s ultimate success is that we don’t need it anymore,” Cupp said. Not in the United States, at least.  But where are the feminists in underdeveloped countries where inequality prevails? Kate Obenshain, Vice President of Young America’s Foundation, urged the audience to call out feminists on their refusal to stand up in such countries.

A recent CBS poll found that only “12 percent of people said calling someone a feminist is a compliment,” Cupp told the audience. The panelists encouraged the women to stand up as conservative leaders on their college campuses, and to oppose feminism with honor and confidence.

Posted at 4:00pm by Nicole Glass

*  *  *

Watch: FrumForum Interviews California GOP Senate Candidate Chuck Devore

FrumForum caught up with Republican Senatorial candidate Chuck Devore, who spoke on the “Saving Freedom from the California Model” panel.

Asked about the now-infamous demon sheep ad that brought national attention to the campaign, Devore responded critically. “I thought that the ad was psychedelically terrible,” said Devore.  He then went on to discuss his newest project, the Society for the Eradication of Demon Sheep from our Political Discourse (SFTEODSFOPD). Check out the link here.

An ad like this, “which brings attention to herself in an unflattering way, can’t be all bad in a political campaign,” said Chuck Devore.

When questioned about the entry of Tom Campbell into the race, Devore sang Campbell’s praises. “I’m delighted that Tom Campbell is in the race, because unlike Carly Fiorina, he’s actually had time as a public servant, he’s a good debater, he’s usually the smartest guy in any room he walks into, and I’m actually looking forward to having a substantive debate with Tom Campbell, as opposed to somebody debating talking points.”

Posted at 2:30pm by Tim Mak

*  *  *

CPAC Panelists Find “Enemies” Within

At the Freedom Defense Institute’s panel at CPAC participants focused their anger both on Islamic terrorism and what they consider to be Western “appeasers”.  The event titled “Jihad: The Political Third Rail”, featured Stephen Coughlin a former Pentagon analyst who argued that Islam — as it operates today — promotes violent Jihad through its most sacred texts.  Coughlin condemned America’s culture of political correctness  and argued that: “you cannot defeat an enemy you are not even allowed to define” — a reference to censorship of terms like “Islamic terrorism” from the political vernacular.

Coughlin, though was overshadowed by the reception given to retired Lt. Col Allen West, a GOP candidate for Florida’s 22nd congressional district. who received a standing ovation as well as shouts of “Run for president” and “West 2012”.  Among his controversial statements, West rejected the notion that we are fighting a War on Terror, and compared it to fighting against the blitzkrieg or kamikazes in WWII.  West said: “we do not declare war against a tactic; we are at war with Islam”.  West also condemned the media for promoting the term “racial profiling” stating instead that such practices at home or abroad are simply “trained analysis”.  West pulled no punches in his address, even criticizing our current military leadership.  West attacked General Casey’s comments regarding the tragedy at Fort Hood.  West quoted Casey as saying that he “valued the loss of diversity more than the deaths of thirteen United States soldiers”.  Before receiving his final standing ovation, West closed by slighting Obama’s inability to define victory in the war on terror by quoting Ronald Reagan’s definition “we win, they lose”.

Posted at 2:25 pm by Andrew Self

*  *  *

At the Bachmann Revival

This was my first time seeing Michelle Bachmann in person. Famous for her wingnut quotes I thought I would find myself chuckling.  Not the case.  Bachmann speech followed the form of speeches familiar from summer church camp.  There were three major parts.

(1)  Call to Witness:

Bachmann opened with a call to “witness” to liberals, to show them the folly of their ways, bring them to the light.  She told the story of her son, in medical school, who “converted” his “San-Francisco liberal” roommate into a “Pat Buchanan, World Net Daily reading conservative.”  She challenged listeners to find one person, just one person, who is liberal and show them the truth of a conservative philosophy.

(2) Warning of the sin in the world.

Bachmann then turned to paint the picture of the “sin” in the world: Deficits, Decline, Apologizing for America.  She used an OMB graph to show the fiscal cliff America is careening off of -- exclaiming that in just a few months Obama increased the debt by 40%, and worse, that he was managing the decline of America in a deliberate way.  His apologizes for America’s actions, mocks the notion of American Exceptionalism, and refuses to revitalize America, easing us into a second tier nation.

(3) Stories of courage, greatness, and virtue, from which we bolster our faith.

The end of Bachmann’s speech focused on the American Revolution.  How heroes rose up and sacrificed their lives, not because they were angry about a policy, but because they were protecting their right to decide their own fate.  Martyrs, if you will.  Bachmann seemed to speak with heavy emotion, and seemed to struggle to hold herself together.  She spoke with such emotion, and had the crowd so firmly enthralled that I thought there would be an alter call.

Bachmann’s speech seemed to reenergize the audience’s faith in their own beliefs.  But who in the party will connect passionate belief with a solid grasp on the realities that policy will have to be created around?

Posted at 2:00pm by Bryce McNitt

*  *  *

Wanted: Twentysomething So-Cons

In the last election, the Republican Party performed dismally among twenty-something voters. 24 million members of this ‘millennial’ generation voted in 2008 and they voted for Obama by an overwhelming 2:1 margin. Why did this happen? At least one speaker at CPAC understood why this happened, “Millennials identify as liberal…they describe themselves as ‘green’…and they are skeptical of America becoming a ‘Christian nation’.” Who identified this reality? One of the most socially-conservative organizations in the movement, Focus on the Family.

The presentation was given by Esther Fleece and Jessica Stollings. They knew that their presentation was not going to be a typical one:  “This may be the first time ever, that two female twenty-somethings have given a presentation by Focus on the Family.” This was not a vacuous presentation. Fleece and Stollings gave a tech-savvy and content-rich explanation on how to reach the youngest and newest members of the electorate.

Focus on the Family’s anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage positions put them largely at odds with members of the millennial generation, yet Fleece and Stollings are not fazed. They don’t see their lack of support as a fate to resign themselves to, rather it’s an issue to take action on: “Before we try and fix a problem, we have to identify the root cause.”

Fleece and Stollins identified many root causes. They understood what makes millennials tick, “At school, we never did presentations by ourselves, we always did group presentations. We like to work in teams.”

They had best practices they could point to for how other organizations could better reach young people, “Millennials want to change the world, and ask how are you making the world a better place? At Starbucks I can buy coffee, and know that five cents of what I purchase will go to an orphanage in Africa.”

And they know what is wrong with social conservatives “We’re known for being identified as white old men… we don’t want to be lectured at, we want to be listened to.” (They also recommended that social conservatives ditch formal ties.)

Even the Q&A Session was also held in a millennial-friendly way. Rather than take questions by calling on individuals, they asked that everyone text their questions to them on their cell phones. The audience, perhaps around 30 people, all took out their cellphones and began messaging furiously. Focus on the Family had successfully run one of the most tech-savvy panels at CPAC.

(Lots of panels give free pamphlets and books, this was the only one that gave me a DVD.)

Jonathan Krohn may be the youngest speaker at CPAC, but members of the GOP would probably learn more about how young people actually think by talking to Fleece and Stollings, and not the 13 year old ‘wunderkind’.

After the ‘texting Q&A’ I asked Esther whether they have had any luck with getting the GOP as a whole, or other conservative organizations, to understand the importance of actually communicating with millennials. While Focus on the Family is not in the business of consulting with the GOP on its communication strategy, their assessment of the GOP’s outreach to young voters was not positive: “I haven’t seen it.”

At the same time that Focus on the Family was explaining how to reach the next generation of voters, Mike Pence was giving his address to CPAC. By the time I got back to bloggers row, he was busy yelling into the microphone:

“It’s time to deny funding to Planned Parenthood of America!”

“Some folks like to call us the party of ‘no.’ Well, I say ‘no’ is way underrated in Washington, D.C. Sometimes ‘no’ is just what this town needs to hear!”

If Pence and other conservatives are bewildered by why young people won’t be voting for them, they can’t claim they weren’t warned.

Posted at 1:50pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

What’s CPAC Missing?

While many CPAC attendees were satisfied with the large number of events to attend, some were disappointed in the lack of attention some issues received. From immigration to education, many attendees wanted to see greater focus on some of the other issues facing conservatives.  I spoke to attendees and asked them: “What point of view that is not expressed at CPAC would you like to see expressed?”

Brad Tidwell

Something I haven’t heard very much about here, aside from Jane Hayworth, has been maybe the immigration issue. That’s a big topic that I think has gone to the wayside. It’s great that we’re covering the big issues, like healthcare and the economy, but I think you have to address that issue as a part of the entire equation. It’s going to factor into the economy, it’s going to factor into our healthcare.

John Richey, PA, Director of Student Activities for the American Society for the Defense of Traditional Family Property

I would like to see people defending moral values more, because moral values and political values should be combined. They’re not separated.

Joe Sangiorgio

I think there’s been a wide range of opinions expressed on a lot of topics, but having said that I’d like to see more emphasis on economic issues, fiscal issues, cutting taxes, reducing the size of government.

Bonnie Creed, Virginia Beach, VA

Well I’m exhibiting here – so I have a keen interest in educational programming and funding, and just the opportunity to be free to express your faith and academic pursuits.

Paul Wilson

Probably more of the faith-based side of the party and how it informs the approach we take to government.

Nate Carbonaro, CA

I want to know more about the possibility of a third party movement.

Eric Johnson

Religious freedom issues need to be discussed a little more.

Anonymous

I’d like to see the view expressed that the United States is destined for greatness because of its roots in the Constitution. And people just don’t talk enough about the Constitution, what it means to this country, why it’s so important, what our founding fathers knew and why we should follow their path.

Anonymous

I’d like to see more a game plan of how to reach out to Hispanics.

Anonymous

I’d like to see a much heavier discussion on the War on Terror– I think a lot of the focus right now has been economic, but the pressing issue for me is the war on terrorism, and how we’re going to handle Islamic extremism.

Anonymous

I’d like to see a lot more talk about entitlement programs. It’s really the largest issue facing the country – most of the economists believe that certainly within the century the entire economy will be sunk because of these entitlements and the deficit will just reach levels that we can’t sustain and come back from. Entitlement programs should be the number one focus for every politician.

Posted at 1:35pm by Nicole Glass

*  *  *

Liveblogging Michele Bachmann at CPAC

Surprising amount of genuine feeling, passionate story-telling by Michele Bachmann, and on interesting topics. Given my low expectations going into the speech, I was actually impressed! Professor Bachmann would get an A on www.ratemyprofessors.com.

Posted at 1:33pm by Tim Mak

Bachmann’s finishing line: “I charge you again today. As [American Revolutionary War patriot] Joseph Warren said ‘Act worthy of yourselves’.”

Posted at 1:21pm by Tim Mak

Strangely interesting history lecture by Prof. Bachmann. She discusses founding fathers, quotes Joseph Warren, talks about Germany post WWI.

Nothing crazy yet.

Posted at 1:16pm by Tim Mak

Debt implosion is terrible, says Professor Bachmann. She cites Germany in 1920s and Argentina in 1940s.  Bachmann continues by saying that “you can indulge in fantasy football, but you can’t indulge in fantasy economics!”

Bachmann reads out the Declaration of Independence. Crowd joins in.

Posted at 1:10pm by Tim Mak

Professor Bachmann runs us through the state of the American economy. Now with charts!

Posted at 1:05pm by Tim Mak

Before bailouts “100 percent of the private economy was private,” says Bachmann. Really?

Since then 30 percent has been taken over by the government, she claims.

Posted at 1:03pm by Tim Mak

Tech problems: Bachmann tries to go to slide two: “Can I get some help here, Mr. Producer?”

Puts up a really packed graph on the screen showing annual American deficits

Posted at 1:01pm by Tim Mak

Charles Krauthammer gets a round of applause, when Bachmann mentions his column in the Weekly Standard: “‘Decline is a Choice”

Posted at 12:58pm by Tim Mak

Right side of the room: packed to the hilt. Left side is empty. Totally empty. Conscious decisions by attendees?

Posted at 12:56pm by Tim Mak

First slide of Bachmann’s speech: Bush waving, with the subtitle “Miss me yet?”

Posted at 12:55pm by Tim Mak

Michele Bachmann arrives.  “Thank you Arlen Specter,” she starts. “How does it feel to be part of the waiting majority?”

Posted at 12:52pm by Tim Mak

Morrissey in introducing Bachmann: “She comes from a state whose Senator is Al Franken!”

“ACORN!” Yell several voices in the room, along with a chorus of unhappy muttering.

Posted at 12:51pm by Tim Mak

Surprise visit from Rush Limbaugh, who appears via video conferencing to introduce Ed Morrissey, who will in turn introduce Bachmann. Manages to make a swipe at “drive-by media” saying Morrissey proves citizen journalism can be better than MSM.

Posted at 12:50pm by Tim Mak

Bachmann is 10 minutes late!

Posted at 12:30pm by Bryce McNitt

*  *  *

Pence Mocks Fox

Following T-Paw -- and being watched by half a dozen Americans who don’t like golf and/or a juicy scandal, Mike Pence made a lively, and quite funny speech, rallying conservatives to oppose everything that ever comes before them, and to form a conservative majority -- Not a Republican majority.

Pence had many great one-liners including:

“As Communist China continues to build its military at a frenetic pace America needs to have one hand extended in friendship, and the other hand resting on the holster of Democracy.” (Pence moves hand to imaginary holster of Democracy for effect).

Commenting on the Tea Party marches: “The New York Times reported that there were thousands present, Fox News reported that there were… billions. (Laughter erupts).

There was one strong call from Pence when he remarked that “I’m a conservative but I’m not in a bad mood about it.” He went on to say we need more conservatives with a sunny disposition, and they need to come from every race, color, and creed.

I wish the rest of the party thought his way.

Posted at 12:02 by Bryce McNitt

*  *  *

 

Watch: FrumForum’s Exclusive interview with former NY-23 Candidate Doug Hoffman

FrumForum interviewed Doug Hoffman, the one-time Conservative Party candidate in New York’s 23rd Congressional District, at CPAC 2010 today. It was classic Hoffman -- deflecting questions and dropping conservative buzzwords.

Asked if there were any points of view missing at CPAC, Hoffman said he didn’t think so. “We’re hearing a lot of our policies… from everybody here, which is basically less government, less taxes… We’re fighting to preserve our constitutional rights and liberties, and freedoms,” he added.

Hoffman tells FrumForum that he “has not made a final decision yet” as to whether he’s going to run in New York 23 again. Asked he would be willing to run again on the Conservative Party ticket, Hoffman replied: “I don’t think we need to answer a hypothetical question at this point. It depends on the facts and circumstances. We’ll see what happens.”

He also tells us that he’s not against Republican moderates. “In specific situations, the Republican Party understands that they are fighting for the same cause, which is less government, less taxes and less regulations. Scott Brown… will make a great Senator,” said Hoffman.

“The fight we had in New York had to do with a liberal, not a moderate. Moderates certainly have [similar] views on the Republican ticket, that I do… The problem I saw was with that ultra-liberal that voted more to the left than with the Democratic candidate… Especially with my race where the Republican candidate supported cap and trade, card check, the stimulus bill.”

Posted at 11:50am by Tim Mak

*  *  *

 

Pawlenty: “Take a Page out of Elin’s Playbook”

Pawlenty came into CPAC with a respectable head of steam, not so much for his ability to grip national attention, but for his impressive ability raising money through his Freedom First PAC, and some recent positive exposure in Esquire and in the Washington Post.

Today, to my surprise, he stayed on the Esquire/WaPo track:  focusing on how he became a conservative through his youth, and expounding upon market oriented healthcare reforms.  No talk of a balanced budget amendment!  I thought for certain he would dish out that plate of cake at a conference where people are here to eat it, but at least for now it seems he is sticking to his new(ish) course.

A few highlights from the speech:

BEST:   On the snowstorm:  “Any day that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can’t get to work is a good day for freedom, and a good day for America!”

He even managed to work Tiger Woods into his speech (who goes on the air right about now) saying that we need to take a page out of Elin’s playbook and “take a 9-iron and smash out one of the windows of this big government!”

Pawlenty went on to expound upon conservative principles, fiscal responsibility, the supremacy of God, putting people’s skin in the game when they are spending government money, and making sure America stays strong internationally.

Maybe a bit platitudinous?  Well, this is CPAC.

Posted at 10:55am by Bryce McNitt

*  *  *

Frum Liveblogs Pawlenty

But lethal to be the kind of candidate who does not carefully consider message before speaking to an event like CPAC.

Posted at 10:52am by David Frum

Not lethal to send a wrong message in a single speech of course.

Posted at 10:52am by David Frum

Does voting Republican mean voting for worse care? Wrong message.

Posted at 10:52am by David Frum

if expensive care = a big flat screen TV and cheap care = 12″ black & white, then obviously expensive care is BETTER.

Posted at 10:51am by David Frum

He doesn’t plan enough in advance. His speech poorly considered in many ways, especially his HCR remarks

Posted at 10:50am by David Frum

But TPaw showed a big weakness of his own

Posted at 10:50am by David Frum

Weakness 2) Romney wrong with God

Posted at 10:50am by David Frum

Weakness 1) Romney too $$

Posted at 10:49am by David Frum

TPaw speech implies he perceives 2 weaknesses in Romney

Posted at 10:48am by David Frum

Pawlenty on HCR. Endorses comparative effectiveness research! Obviously he wants Trig dead.

Posted at 10:48am by David Frum

Pawlenty on health care: Fire this speechwriter. He’s complaining that American health care is too good. WRONG MESSAGE.

Posted at 10:28am by David Frum

Is Pawlenty criticizing his own state now?

Posted at 10:11am by David Frum

Pawlenty: First principle of the Founding: God’s in charge. True, it’s absent from US Constitution. But mentioned in MN constitution!

Posted at 10:11am by David Frum

Pawlenty: great life story -- but compared to Mitt Romney, no stage presence

Posted at 10:11am by David Frum

Pawlenty: indirect criticism of George W. Bush.

Posted at 10:11am by David Frum

Pawlenty: Take a 9-iron to the window of big government, just like Elin Nordgren.

Posted at 10:05am by David Frum

Worse slot for Tim Pawlenty than Gov Romney. Wonder how that happened?

Posted at 10:00am by David Frum

 

 

CPAC 2010 Day 1: Thursday, February 18

Cutest Chicks at CPAC Go For Ron Paul

Today, CPAC’s main speeches and panels ended at 4pm. However, this just meant that no one was forced to listen to the same speech that everyone else was hearing. The attendees divided amongst themselves into different groups for dinner and started to attend the events they probably really wanted to attend, and not just what they had to attend.

Notably a few hundred souls decided to go hear Ron Paul speak at 8:30pm. Throughout the day, Ron Paul acolytes stood on the sides of escalators and outside of meeting rooms, handing out paraphernalia from The Campaign for Liberty (CFL). The Campaign for Liberty describes itself as an educational organization working to “promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy”. It should have described itself as a conference within the CPAC conference. Effectively, a Ron Paul and Friends forum.

From discussions with attendees, it seems that most of the heavy lifting for CFL, has been done by the Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), a college group. What’s so great about the YAL? As one student put it: “I saw a lot of cute, YAL chicks in the lobby.”

I was talking with three college students who had come out to Washington, D.C. from Kansas. They were wearing sweatshirts and netted hats. This is not the typical CPAC attire at an event where even the Young Republicans (especially the Young Republicans) bring out the shirts and ties.

It turned out it wasn’t just that YAL people were young. Another student chimed in: “Yeah, the 50 year old neocons are trying to recruit them.”

They were only here for Ron Paul, and a discussion about the 10th Amendment (it’s a really big deal for them.) As I left to write up a description of what it was like to be in the alternate universe where attendees could envision a government that had no military forces abroad, I found out that the libertarian fans were not the only attendees still at the hotel.

George Will was addressing a black tie event. The main convention space had been turned into a dining hall as many older (and likely richer) Republicans listened to the columnist provide a high-brow take down of the Obama Administration: “This is an administration that doesn’t believe in the internal combustion engine, but believes in saving Chrysler!”

George Will’s jokes would have probably entertained, but from a cursory glance at the attendees, this was not a young person’s affair. What could you do if you were not a Ron Paul fan, or an old donor? The Young Republicans had gotten a nearby bar to agree that attendees could get unlimited Miller Light for only $10.

Posted at 11:59pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

CPAC-ers Worry About GOP Friendly Fire

At JD Hayworth’s speech at a CPAC panel, he channeled his energy towards… other Republicans:

“The threat is not always from the organized left…there are those ‘conservatives’ who want to strip you of your constitutional rights. Its not always Keith Olbermann, or George Soros, or Media Matters. [The threat is from] some who say they are Republicans.”

The low tone of his voice, helped to accentuate the conspiratorial nature of the ‘threat’.

Outside that room, a very different conservation about the future of the GOP was taking place. Over a water cooler, two attendees were talking about an event they just came from:

“I’m listening to these people, and they say ‘I agree with you on everything, but I need your candidate to support a flat tax,’ and I just don’t know what to say!”

“It’s not as if voting for a third party will stop Democrats.”

“You can criticize John Boehner and Mitch McConnell all you want. They are in the leadership and they need it, but when it comes down to a vote, you can’t tell me not to reelect them.”

“You have to elect Republicans to stop Democrats from being able to vote on healthcare, or raise taxes.”

It was a side of a conference that is not getting shown. The speeches that are being broadcasted on C-SPAN have focused on the renewed strength of the GOP. Jim DeMint even said he “would rather have 30 Scott Browns then 60 Arlen Specters”

National Journal recently compiled a list of ten races where the Tea Party movement may change the expected outcome in the Republican primary. In some of these races (Nevada Senate, Virginia 5th, and others) the article notes how the Tea Party can split the Republican vote, to the advantage of the Democrats.

It seems there are some attendees who are concerned about the implications of this, even if it’s only at the water-cooler.

Posted at 4:50 by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Hayworth Rips McCain

The first day of CPAC saw JD Hayworth hammer Senator John McCain on the issues of campaign finance reform and immigration. Hayworth, the former Arizona congressman who is looking to unseat Senator John McCain, spoke to CPAC attendees on the panel “Saving Freedom and The First Amendment” and took aim at McCain every chance he had.

Hayworth, a self-described “consistent conservative”, accused McCain of undergoing a “campaign conversion to conservatism” in order to win the Republican nomination. “John campaigns claiming to be conservative, and he legislates as a liberal”, said Hayworth.

Hayworth pointed to McCain’s supposed hypocrisy in regards to campaign finance reform, even going so far as accusing the senator of trying to silence him. “The very week John McCain’s campaign finance reform is thrown out as unconstitutional, John and his attorney’s were pressuring my employer to come to an accommodation to pay me to take me off the air.”

He went on to say that McCain attempted to “intimidate” Hayworth’s employer, KFYI in Phoenix, in order to have him kicked off of talk radio. Hayworth resigned from his radio show on January 22.

A questioner later asked Hayworth about immigration, which gave him another opportunity to hammer McCain. ‘We are as close to the borders being secure as we are to traveling to another galaxy… We need to get active and bring consistent conservatives to Washington, instead of the old guard.”, he said, alluding to McCain.

Posted at 4:30pm by Chris Brown

*  *  *

 

Tucker: Back in CPAC’s Good Graces

Last year, Tucker Carlson was not the most popular person at CPAC. As Jason Zengerle writes at The New Republic: “In a speech he gave at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Carlson pleaded with conservative journalists to forsake punditry in favor of reporting and, taking The New York Times as a model, “to go out there and find what is happening … not just interpret things they hear in the mainstream media, but gather news themselves.” Although that plea was met with a chorus of boos.”

Today, Tucker recast himself as part of the same movement. After he was introduced, he gave a little addendum to make clear where he stands: “Just to clarify, I was not on the left side of Crossfire.” (The show he co-hosted at CNN)

Carlson’s speech struck a careful tone. He clearly cares about creating quality media, and wants to find a way to convince the CPAC faithful that journalism is more than just punditry.

To do this, he argued that conservatives should not “become” the mainstream media, but that the very term, ‘mainstream media’ is inaccurate: “I used to be in the mainstream media, and when we shape your editorial judgment, that’s not mainstream, that’s propaganda!”

Tucker relayed the story about how his colleagues (presumably at MSNBC) looked at him when he suggested that the 2008 election was not an event to only vote for Obama, but a choice between two candidates. As Carlson tells it: “They looked at me with a look that said, ‘Who let you in here? Security, take him away!”

Comfortably on the side of the audience, Carlson laid out his vision and opinion for the conference: “The goal is to produce mainstream honest news coverage that reflects reality, not your stupid world view.”

Several bloggers I was sitting next to gave comments of “that’s right!” While the audience’s instinct will be to apply this view to liberal publications, it is equally valid, if not more so, for publications such as WorldNetDaily.

Carlson may have even managed to sneak in a comment about Glenn Beck into his speech: “Take the time to learn. Weeping won’t help you to win the argument.” Perhaps a reference to Glenn tendency to break down during his show?

Unlike other panelists, Carlson did not use his time at the panel to endorse Rubio or get conference attendees to donate their money. He sounded jaded, explaining that after interviewing many politicians over the years, he doesn’t really trust any of them.

But as he finishes Carlson changes slightly. He is a little less upbeat then he usually sounds, and he notes that he can’t understand why people vote tactically, why they obsess over who will win a primary and who can fit their convoluted reasoning. His final conclusion: “Vote for the person you agree with”

The audience applauds. No one will be talking about Carlson getting booed at this CPAC.

Posted at 2:30pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

RedState’s Erickson: Conservatives Have “Equal Playing Field on the Internet”

At a panel entitled “Saving Freedom Through Technology” and RedState’s Erick Erickson has a suggestion for how to achieve it:

“We are going to save Freedom Through Technology by stealing President Obama’s teleprompter this weekend!” This is the first line of Erick Ericson’s speech. It is likely that are some enterprising young interns at liberal publications who have already been tasked to catalog all the teleprompter jokes from this weekend.

The topic of the panel is using the internet to, of course, save freedom. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have time for more red meat for the audience: “The guys who can’t get jobs anywhere else go to MediaMatters; the left is all about subsidization of bad things.”

But most interesting, Erickson identifies how the right will have to leverage its internet presence in a way different from the left. “It’s an equal playing field on the internet. But the left cannot, will not win on the radio. No one is surprised, who wants to listen to that for hours?! Air America has shut down and Gitmo is still open.”

The speeches at CPAC are short and tight. So Erickson won’t have time to explain how RedState will actually take advantage of talk radio and create synergies with their online presence. But clearly, even that segment of the media changing. Undoubtedly Erickson (who, let’s not forget, also keeping the internet working at CPAC) will position himself to be central to this change.

Most Welcomed Endorsement: During Q&A, the moderator asks Erickson what the audience can do right now to help the movement. Erickson doesn’t flinch: “Take $2 out of your wallet and give to Marco Rubio.” The next person down the panel does one better, “Give $10!”

Crist’s campaign really needs to begin looking into whether there is a path to victory if he runs as an independent.

Posted at 2:10 by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Romney-Brown 2012?

The schedule says that at “1:30″ we were meant to get Mitt Romney. But before that, we get Scott Brown.

After bowling with Mitt yesterday Brown came to CPAC to introduce Romney. As he says: “When I started my campaign, we could only hold our events in a phone booth, and he was one of those guys in the booth with me.”

The strategy of the speech is clear: if you are a Republican who is happy that Scott Brown has derailed the President’s plan, its all due to Mitt Romney. It was Romney who helped Brown make his email lists, Romney who helped him fundraise.

Romney begins his speech by saying that he loves taking Scott Brown wherever he can take him. And Romney also tries to whitewash away his RINO label (“I’m usually considered suspicious at events like this…”) by tagging himself to Brown: “Lets say something I never thought you would say at CPAC, Thank you Massachusets for killing Obamacare! Thank you attacking the Pelosi-Reid-Obama axis.”

It may be too early for 2012 VP speculation, but its clear what the logic is behind a Romney-Brown ticket. If Brown can (somehow) remain in good Tea Party standing for the next two years (a hard task, no doubt) then he can be a crutch for anyone who thinks Romney is not conservative enough. How can he be a RINO if the guy who killed Obamacare campaigns with him?

Best Joke by Mitt Romney: You may not have heard this, but Lindsay Vaughn’s gold medal has been stripped. (Audience goes silent) It’s been determined that President Obama has been going downhill faster then she did!

Worst Joke from Mitt Romney: Obama’s economic failure will be the biggest failure since Al Gore’s invention of the internet.

(In this humble blogger’s opinion, I find the internet very helpful for my work.)

Posted at 1:55pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

Dick Cheney: Obama “One Term President”

Liz Cheney just announced that her father, Dick Cheney, is coming up to speak at CPAC 2010. This was not on the schedule.  Bloggers row was quickly abandoned as everyone streamed out. The Marriot Ballroom exploded into a chant of “Cheney!” and one attendee yelled “Four More Years!”

Cheney’s first words? “Oh knock it off… Buts that almost enough to make me run for office…” Cheney’s opening is greeted with even louder cheers and applause.

And then the clincher: “But I won’t”

The audience sighs but applauds. Cheney goes into his speech, declaring that Barack Obama is a one-term President.

As he closes out his speech he gets the biggest applause so far, and remains the only speaker who successfully emptied out bloggers row.

Posted at 1:00pm by Noah Kristula-Green

*  *  *

 

Rubio’s speech was conservative candy: something for social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy hawks.

For the social conservatives: the Constitution promotes “principles that recognize our rights come from God, not from our government… All life is sacred, at every stage of life.”

For fiscal conservatives: tort reform, “substiantially cutting the corporate tax rate”, replacing complex energy programs with the concept of “allowing American innovators to establish energy independence.”

For foreign policy hawks: “standing with our allies like Israel” and trying our enemies at a “military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, not in New York City!”

And he spoke to specific groups, as well, praising the Tea Partiers and taking a swipe at the Crist campaign:

To the Crist campaign: “A long list of early establishment endorsements will not spare you a primary. Clever one line slogans will not spare you the need to discuss policy issues.”

To the Tea Partiers: They represent “the single greatest pushback in American political history.

Posted at 11:00am by Tim Mak