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CPAC Is Doing It Wrong

You may have heard some of the fanfare surrounding this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). This gathering is billed as the conservative event of the year, where right-minded politicos from across the nation gather together to swap stories, make contacts, exchange techniques, and of course, push their own brand…

You may have heard some of the fanfare surrounding this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). This gathering is billed as the conservative event of the year, where right-minded politicos from across the nation gather together to swap stories, make contacts, exchange techniques, and of course, push their own brand of conservatism (selling many, many books in the process.)

However CPAC has become a symbol of everything that’s wrong with the conservative movement today.

Let’s begin with CPAC once again excluding GOProud, the organization for gay and lesbian conservatives. Even though support for gay marriage is at 50 percent and over 130 Republicans have joined a brief against California ban’s on the practice (including Clint Eastwood), the American Conservative Union and it’s president, Al Cardenas, still want to exclude gay Republicans.

The trendlines are very clear: Americans are becoming increasingly tolerant of same-sex marriage and they will become even more tolerant as the older generations pass away (and as the arguments against same-sex marriage are revealed to have absolutely no moral justification). Moreover, one of the main reasons moderates and independents aren’t voting “Republican” is because of the party’s backward stance on social issues like this one. Denying civil rights to some Americans because of their sexual orientation does not sit well with most other Americans, particularly those who fall in the political middle.

Why on Earth would Cardenas and his followers turn away those who espouse fiscal conservatism and other conservative values (many gay conservatives are pro-life) while simultaneously acting as a veritable bridge to voters in middle America and others outside the conservative movement? Are they so insular as to believe they can promote limited government ideas by appealing to only a third of the country?

“Earth to Al,” you need as many like-minded Americans on board with your agenda as possible.

Also this year CPAC is being held at the Gaylord Hotel in Maryland. If hosting a conference at a hotel called the Gaylord and excluding gays isn’t a textbook example of “doing it wrong,” I don’t know what is.

Also excluded this year is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. I personally love Chris Christie, because he took a strong, principled stand against public sector unions in New Jersey – and beat their pasty little butts.

CPAC should embrace him – not only as a Republican but as the most popular governor in the country. CPAC should be putting him front and center, and having him talk to conservatives and Republicans about governing and leadership – about how to win over people’s hearts and minds. He is precisely the kind of guy CPAC should invite.

But no. Cardenas and the ACU did not invite him for the simple reason that late last year, a goddamn hurricane came through New Jersey, practically destroyed the state, and when Obama visited to oversee reconstruction efforts, Christie didn’t stand off or punch him, but instead thanked him. That apparently has irked some conservatives to the extent they haven’t just shunned him – they actually blame him for Romney’s defeat.

To pin Obama’s victory on a few PR shots in New Jersey in the wake of a massive tragedy is the biggest load of bull I’ve heard since Bubba Bill said he didn’t have sexual relations with that woman. We always hear talk about how politicians should “put politics aside” and “act for the greater good,” but when Chris Christie actually does that, he now gets castigated? WTF?

Whereas the gay exclusion is a sign of how resistant to change CPAC and conservatives are, the Christie snub shows how they focus on tiny, arguably insignificant things and blow them completely of proportion. This is indicative of a permanent “war” mindset – a view which holds that you can never speak good of the other guy, for he is the enemy, and the enemy must be destroyed. That mindset may work well on the physical battlefield, but it’s not an effective method of constituency building.

Third, there is the selection of Donald Trump as CPAC’s keynote speaker. This one has conservatives all over up in arms, and for good reason: Trump is a bloviating, self-centered, moronic joke without a punchline. I don’t think I really need to get into why this is a bad thing. Donald Trump, after all, is Donald Trump.

Fourth – and this is what galls me the most – is the award given recently to one “conservative” representative by CPAC’s parent organization:

U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais on Thursday was awarded the American Conservative Union’s (ACU) Ratings Award for 2012.

The annual award is given to members of the House and Senate who scored in the top 20 percent on a wide range of issues important to grassroots conservatives during the second session of the 112th Congress. The award was presented to DesJarlais, R-Jasper, by ACU Chairman Al Cardenas.

“Limited government, balanced budgets and a respect for our Constitution should not just be talking points for politicians to use during the election season,” DesJarlais said in a statement. “Rather, they are fundamental principles that we as Republicans must not waiver from. When I ran for Congress, I made a promise to the people of Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District that I would never let inside the beltway politics come before the conservative values that together we hold. I will continue my fight to return our federal government to one that works for the people — not Washington’s political elite.”

“On behalf of our entire board of directors, I applaud and thank the many senators and representatives who achieved perfect or high scores on our 2012 ACU Ratings of Congress,” said Cardenas. “Their unwavering commitment to our shared conservative principles stands in stark contrast to the liberals in Washington who continue to want an expanded role for government at taxpayers’ expense.”

Yes, the truly conservative DesJarlais … the strident pro-life congressman, who pressured his mistress and ex-wife to both get abortions, and slept with coworkers and his patients all over the place. That DesJarlais.

Like progressives, conservatives seem to talk out of both sides of their mouths. They say they are for X, but then turn around and do Y. How many times have conservative leaders in government called for spending cuts, then started whining (and pointing the finger at Democrats) when tiny, tiny spending cuts were actually enacted?

How hypocritical is that?

CPAC is completely ignorant of how things are changing. Not only that it is refusing to adapt to new conditions, shrinking its tent in order to maintain ideological “purity,” accepting clowns as leaders instead of serious, decisive people and engaging in monumental hypocrisy which erodes any credibility the organization may have had.

And conservatives wonder why they’re losing elections?

Jeremy Kolassa is a libertarian and self-described “athiest science fiction writer” from Washington, D.C. Read more of his stuff here and follow him on Twitter @JDKolassa.

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40 comments

Ken E. March 14, 2013 at 7:16 pm

Jeremy’s an atheist, so obviously he’s a dirty liberal, right BigT?

Reply
BigT March 14, 2013 at 8:23 pm

Does he support 3rd-term, or post-birth abortion, like Obama and you???

Does he not care about struggling familes that have grown esponentially under Obama???
Does he look away when a member of the Gay community, like Jerry Sandusky molests little boys in his care???
Does he bash Christians w/ hateful vitriole because they don’;t give in to liberal scaraments of filth???…like you???

Reply
Please March 15, 2013 at 7:30 am

Tell me again how conservatives like Romney care about struggling families. By supporting tax breaks for large corporations – especially those who stash their money in the Cayman Islands – that struggling families are employed by? Refusing to support a minimum wage or health insurance for the working poor? Sending American jobs oversees and laying off workers? Fighting all attempts by the Obama administration to change this state of affairs through legislation to protect their own private interests at the expense of the struggling families who work for them (or used to before they got laid off)? Yep, that’s caring about struggling families, alright.

Reply
BigT March 15, 2013 at 8:32 am

Just look at Bush’s ROBUST economy and then look at the Miserable disaster of Obama’s economy…(and quit lying to yourselves, too)…
Conservatives want EVERYONE to prosper. They don’t HATE Earners so much that they D@*n everybody to their misery (except themselves, the elites) just to punish their fellow Americans who don’t think @$$-backwards, like them…

Reply
Wage Slave March 15, 2013 at 10:22 am

So, tell us again how cons want to raise the minimum wage?

Ken E. March 14, 2013 at 7:16 pm

Jeremy’s an atheist, so obviously he’s a dirty liberal, right BigT?

Reply
BigT March 14, 2013 at 8:23 pm

Does he support 3rd-term, or post-birth abortion, like Obama and you???

Does he not care about struggling familes that have grown esponentially under Obama???
Does he look away when a member of the Gay community, like Jerry Sandusky molests little boys in his care???
Does he bash Christians w/ hateful vitriole because they don’;t give in to liberal scaraments of filth???…like you???

Reply
Please March 15, 2013 at 7:30 am

Tell me again how conservatives like Romney care about struggling families. By supporting tax breaks for large corporations – especially those who stash their money in the Cayman Islands – that struggling families are employed by? Refusing to support a minimum wage or health insurance for the working poor? Sending American jobs oversees and laying off workers? Fighting all attempts by the Obama administration to change this state of affairs through legislation to protect their own private interests at the expense of the struggling families who work for them (or used to before they got laid off)? Yep, that’s caring about struggling families, alright.

Reply
BigT March 15, 2013 at 8:32 am

Just look at Bush’s ROBUST economy and then look at the Miserable disaster of Obama’s economy…(and quit lying to yourselves, too)…
Conservatives want EVERYONE to prosper. They don’t HATE Earners so much that they D@*n everybody to their misery (except themselves, the elites) just to punish their fellow Americans who don’t think @$$-backwards, like them…

Reply
Wage Slave March 15, 2013 at 10:22 am

So, tell us again how cons want to raise the minimum wage?

BigT March 14, 2013 at 7:46 pm

CPAC needs to take advice from a “libertarian and self-described “athiest science fiction writer” about as much as The GOP needs Mark Sanford to get elected to any office in this state….
This guy cares about Conservatives succeeeding as much as FITS does….

Reply
Thinker March 15, 2013 at 9:20 am

“athiest science fiction writer”
an oxymoron in and of itself.
Do you have a job BigT

Reply
BigT March 14, 2013 at 7:46 pm

CPAC needs to take advice from a “libertarian and self-described “athiest science fiction writer” about as much as The GOP needs Mark Sanford to get elected to any office in this state….
This guy cares about Conservatives succeeeding as much as FITS does….

Reply
Thinker March 15, 2013 at 9:20 am

“athiest science fiction writer”
an oxymoron in and of itself.
Do you have a job BigT

Reply
vicupstate March 14, 2013 at 7:49 pm

Jeremy, unlike the majority of conservatives, you are actually capable of rational, independent thinking.
But the sooner you realize (as I did years ago, in my ‘conservative’ days), that you are aligned with stark raving lunatics, the better off you will be.
As soon as Big T posts something, I will rest my case.

Reply
BigT March 14, 2013 at 8:07 pm

He claims to be a LIBERTARIAN, you F*^@in Idiot….not a Conservative…
Libertarians are not Stupid enough to call themselves liberals…and too Coward to stand up and be a Conservative…

PS: Look at the BEEEPING country…We NEED Conservatives…not Moderate libertarians or the liberals who are ruining the economy…

Reply
Smirks March 15, 2013 at 8:09 am

Well, that was fast, huh, vic?

Reply
southmauldin March 15, 2013 at 10:10 am

I think T had that already written and was waiting for a post to respond to.

Reply
Isotope Soap March 15, 2013 at 10:42 am

Lol!

vicupstate March 14, 2013 at 7:49 pm

Jeremy, unlike the majority of conservatives, you are actually capable of rational, independent thinking.
But the sooner you realize (as I did years ago, in my ‘conservative’ days), that you are aligned with stark raving lunatics, the better off you will be.
As soon as Big T posts something, I will rest my case.

Reply
BigT March 14, 2013 at 8:07 pm

He claims to be a LIBERTARIAN, you F*^@in Idiot….not a Conservative…
Libertarians are not Stupid enough to call themselves liberals…and too Coward to stand up and be a Conservative…

PS: Look at the BEEEPING country…We NEED Conservatives…not Moderate libertarians or the liberals who are ruining the economy…

Reply
Smirks March 15, 2013 at 8:09 am

Well, that was fast, huh, vic?

Reply
southmauldin March 15, 2013 at 10:10 am

I think T had that already written and was waiting for a post to respond to.

Reply
John Boy March 15, 2013 at 10:42 am

Lol!

La Gloria Cubana March 14, 2013 at 9:23 pm

Yeah Jeremy, whatever…. let’s see, if we do it your way, 75% of the conservatives in the country will walk way from the GOP to gain what?… those 25% who call themselves “conservative”. Uh, OK. And, while you speak of the culture wars as being over, there is absolutely no guarantee that they really are. What if in fact we are just living in the golden age of hedonism, tolerance, and perversion?

Reply
La Gloria Cubana March 14, 2013 at 9:23 pm

Yeah Jeremy, whatever…. let’s see, if we do it your way, 75% of the conservatives in the country will walk way from the GOP to gain what?… those 25% who call themselves “conservative”. Uh, OK. And, while you speak of the culture wars as being over, there is absolutely no guarantee that they really are. What if in fact we are just living in the golden age of hedonism, tolerance, and perversion?

Reply
Please March 14, 2013 at 9:33 pm

“Put politics aside and act for the greater good,” you say? I didn’t think conservatives were into that sort of thing. I thought it was, “Let the free market decide.”

Reply
? March 14, 2013 at 10:14 pm

Actually, most conservatives aren’t for free markets, or small gov’t. They just say that. In fairness to them, 50% of self identified Libertarians aren’t either when you start asking them tough questions.

Reply
Please March 14, 2013 at 9:33 pm

“Put politics aside and act for the greater good,” you say? I didn’t think conservatives were into that sort of thing. I thought it was, “Let the free market decide.”

Reply
? March 14, 2013 at 10:14 pm

Actually, most conservatives aren’t for free markets, or small gov’t. They just say that. In fairness to them, 50% of self identified Libertarians aren’t either when you start asking them tough questions.

Reply
Cleveland Steamer March 15, 2013 at 1:06 am

Donald Trump what class. I think of another word for this meeting of the far right….Ipecac

Reply
Cleveland Steamer March 15, 2013 at 1:06 am

Donald Trump what class. I think of another word for this meeting of the far right….Ipecac

Reply
BigT March 15, 2013 at 8:37 am

Liberals = Sink all boats just to punish the Americans we HATE…You’ll get to do (and pay for) what WE tell you you can do and pay for…and jail you otherwise…
Conservatives = A rising tide raises all boats….Prosperity and freedom for all…
Libertarian = We like prosperity brought by Conservatives. We’re just too Gutless to have any core values or stand up for what is right. The media may label us as non-dope-smoking cool…So we result in liberals ruining the country…(and we end up losing our rights anyway)….

Reply
BigT March 15, 2013 at 8:37 am

Liberals = Sink all boats just to punish the Americans we HATE…You’ll get to do (and pay for) what WE tell you you can do and pay for…and jail you otherwise…
Conservatives = A rising tide raises all boats….Prosperity and freedom for all…
Libertarian = We like prosperity brought by Conservatives. We’re just too Gutless to have any core values or stand up for what is right. The media may label us as non-dope-smoking cool…So we result in liberals ruining the country…(and we end up losing our rights anyway)….

Reply
CUvinny March 15, 2013 at 9:58 am

I love you conservatives attacking Jeremy. He puts forth a decent start to actually winning national elections again and you keep parroting that the problem is Romney and McCain just weren’t conservative enough. That you believe there are untapped votes farther to the right in a country that is growing more and more moderate is hilarious.

Reply
sid March 15, 2013 at 12:35 pm

The country isn’t growing more moderate. It has been relatively moderate since at least the 70s. People who get more involved in the political process, and “educate” themselves on issues, tend to be more polarized. They are the ones who get the press, because they are the ones who want the press, but they don’t represent the majority. Thus, the misconception that we are more polarized than we really are.
But there has been little true movement on the overall political views, as it relates to conservative/liberal/moderate, of Americans in decades.

Reply
CUvinny March 15, 2013 at 9:58 am

I love you conservatives attacking Jeremy. He puts forth a decent start to actually winning national elections again and you keep parroting that the problem is Romney and McCain just weren’t conservative enough. That you believe there are untapped votes farther to the right in a country that is growing more and more moderate is hilarious.

Reply
sid March 15, 2013 at 12:35 pm

The country isn’t growing more moderate. It has been relatively moderate since at least the 70s. People who get more involved in the political process, and “educate” themselves on issues, tend to be more polarized. They are the ones who get the press, because they are the ones who want the press, but they don’t represent the majority. Thus, the misconception that we are more polarized than we really are.
But there has been little true movement on the overall political views, as it relates to conservative/liberal/moderate, of Americans in decades.

Reply
This just in . . . March 17, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Portman Inspires Other Republicans to Stop Speaking to Their Children

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — The decision of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to support same-sex marriage after learning that his son was gay has inspired hundreds of other
Republican lawmakers to stop speaking to their children immediately, G.O.P. leaders confirmed today.

“I have gathered my caucus and told them, if your kids are going to tell you something that’s going to cost you the next election, it’s better to nip that situation in the bud,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “Just stop talking to them altogether, for heaven’s
sakes.”

Speaker Boehner said he was advising his fellow Republicans who were “hell bent on speaking to their children” to keep things superficial: “You can talk about sports. You can talk about the weather. But anything beyond that, your policy should be, ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

But even as Mr. Boehner laid down the new guidelines for not speaking to one’s children, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) said that the policy “doesn’t go far enough.”

“What if you’re having a conversation with your kids and it turns out they’re in favor of raising the capital-gains tax or banning assault rifles?” he said. “Do what I do — block their calls.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) agreed with his fellow G.O.P. leaders’ words of caution, adding, “Fortunately, none of my children want to talk to me.”

Reply
This just in . . . March 17, 2013 at 2:27 pm

Portman Inspires Other Republicans to Stop Speaking to Their Children

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) — The decision of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to support same-sex marriage after learning that his son was gay has inspired hundreds of other
Republican lawmakers to stop speaking to their children immediately, G.O.P. leaders confirmed today.

“I have gathered my caucus and told them, if your kids are going to tell you something that’s going to cost you the next election, it’s better to nip that situation in the bud,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). “Just stop talking to them altogether, for heaven’s
sakes.”

Speaker Boehner said he was advising his fellow Republicans who were “hell bent on speaking to their children” to keep things superficial: “You can talk about sports. You can talk about the weather. But anything beyond that, your policy should be, ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

But even as Mr. Boehner laid down the new guidelines for not speaking to one’s children, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) said that the policy “doesn’t go far enough.”

“What if you’re having a conversation with your kids and it turns out they’re in favor of raising the capital-gains tax or banning assault rifles?” he said. “Do what I do — block their calls.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) agreed with his fellow G.O.P. leaders’ words of caution, adding, “Fortunately, none of my children want to talk to me.”

Reply

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