Finally, we get to the end. Luckily, today is a slow work day so I will use my free time to write up my final summary and analysis of CPAC. It was a great close to the conference and there were lots of great speakers, so I will just get straight to it.
Newt Gingrich
There are lots of things you can say about Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and leader of the Republican Revolution. Some of those things are good, and some aren’t. One thing that you cannot question about Newt, though, is he knows how to put on a show.
Unlike the rest of the speakers at the conference, after being introduced, Gingrich entered the room from the side entrance so that he could walk through the crowd shaking hands prior to delivering his speech. As he did that, “Eye of the Tiger” made famous in the Rocky movies was played over the speakers. I was about two rows of people away from him when he came through. It definitely created a lot of energy in the crowd and was a unique way to set himself apart from the rest of the speakers. It had a very polished, Presidential feel to it. He even met up with the guy who introduced him on stage and they stood together and waved to the crowd like a President and Vice President would do at a nominating convention.
He also knows how to deliver a speech. He began by referring to the other side as a “Secular Socialist Machine.” He then introduced a slogan that he spoke about the last time I heard him speak, back at the Young America’s Foundation Student Conference in the Summer. “2+2=4” The phrase was used in a foreign country where the state began to assume authoritarian control. He listed a couple of meanings, but the main point was that the government can tell you 2+2=5 all day long, but if 2+2=4 then that is all there is to it and nothing they say will change that.
He then laid out his agenda. He said that he would call for the 9th Circuit Court of appeals to be abolished. The crowd enjoyed that one. He made sure to cite precedent to indicate that it really can be done.
He is in favor of a Balanced Budget Amendment.
Any tax increase, he said, “is a job-killing measure and it should be defeated.”
He said that something must be done about the corruption of the government employee unions, referencing specifically teachers’ unions.
He then proceeded to talk directly to Democrats, saying that, if they want to have a debate over these issues, “Let’s get it on.”
He then made some predictions that pleased the crowd.
“I believe we’re gonna control the House and the Senate in 2010.” He also said that he believed we would have a new President in 2012 to which the crowd responded by yelling “Newt!”
He then went back to policy, directly talking about healthcare reform as it is being discussed now. He said that, if they really wanted to do some good in bringing down premiums, then they should start over and focus on litigation reform first.
He called out President Obama on his campaign promises of allowing CSPAN into the Conference Committee meetings.
After all of that, he sort of backed away from policy and talked about the big picture. He told the audience that this was a crucial time in our nation’s history, but to “be not afraid.”
He closed his speech to a large standing ovation and gave the thumbs up to the crowd when he exited. His whole appearance had a very Presidential image to it.
If that had been the only image of Newt Gingrich at CPAC, it would have been a very strong conference for him, but it wasn’t. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Panel on Global Warming
The panel consisted of Chris Horner (Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming), Ann McElhinney (Not Evil Just Wrong: The True Cost of Global Warming Hysteria), Steve Milloy (JunkScience.com), and Myron Ebell (Freedom Action and Competitive Enterprise Institute).
They declared that environmentalists are using the state to create scarcity, increasing the cost of energy to everybody.
The keys to winning the debate on environmental policy are to:
- Demand stay until science is cleared.
- Don’t allow burden of proof to be shoved onto you.
- Ask what the temperature will be if we make changes.
The reality is that the science is not cleared at all, especially in light of the Climategate scandal of late. They are the ones wanting to fundamentally alter energy policy and increase the costs of energy for every person in the country so it is up to them to prove it is necessary, not us to prove it isn’t. And, in the end, they have to show that the policies they promote will actually have a significant effect on global temperatures. None of the policies being promoted right now meet that criterion. In fact, most estimates show that any change in
Then, it got interesting. They commended the work of Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) as an “indispensible man.” Then, they showed pictures in their slides of Newt Gingrich and John McCain that weren’t so flattering. The image of John McCain was with some more liberal members of the Senate and the image of Newt Gingrich was with Nancy Pelosi and it was from an ad supporting one of Al Gore’s environmental groups. They then said that we need to beware of “political opportunists.” It certainly stole a lot of the thunder from Newt Gingrich’s momentum-building appearance at CPAC.
Colonel Allen West
He began by saying that he had tried to think of what brought him to where he was standing that day and he said that it was the, “dreams of my father.” This brought a response of laughter from the crowd, of course, referencing Pres. Obama’s autobiography.
He said that his story was different from the
His parents taught him about individual responsibility and accountability. He said that too many Americans were becoming “victims,” depending on the government for help. He said that he was taught not to be a victim, but a victor.
He transitioned from that to saying that we shouldn’t be in the business of bailouts and that we should be operating with a balanced budget.
Then, in a clear swipe at President Obama, he said that in all the years of attending his home church, he never once heard anybody curse his country. “This is a Judeo-Christian country.”
He said that we need leaders who take pride in American exceptionalism, feeding off the common theme throughout the conference that the President should not be in the business of apologizing for us.
Panel on 2010 Elections
This panel was made up of John Gizzi (Human Events), Michael Barone (Washington Examiner and Fox News), Ed Goeas (The Tarrance Group), and Grover Norquist (Americans for Tax Reform).
John Gizzi began by pointing out that 2010 had already begun and pointed to the primary results in
He then went on to break down the 2010 elections. 36 Senate Seats are up for election, including Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s former seats which he said are in play.
In the House, there are 18 Republicans and 14 Democrats retiring. Of the 18 Republicans retiring, only one is in danger. He also noted that 63 of the Democratic seats went for McCain in 2008. He highlighted the
Michael Barone tried to give the crowd a feel for the uniqueness of the momentum behind Republicans now. He said that, typically, Republican support on a generic ballot in Congress is understated and, even in years of moderate gains they find themselves behind in the polls. Right now, they are actually holding a significant lead in that question.
He also noted that Charlie Cook’s endangered seats have a LOT more Democratic seats than Republican ones. He had one sheet with a list of Republican seats and another with a list of Democratic seats and, even from the back of the audience it was clear that one had a whole lot more black ink on it than the other.
Grover Norquist made an interesting statement about the current set of affairs. He noted, “We spent 50 years not being
He went on to say that the key is not just that Republicans win, but that the Republicans that win have good, conservative ideas. He noted that Sam Brownback, a favorite of mine, has said that, if elected governor, he would create an Office of Repealer in
Straw Poll
Then, the straw poll that has received so much attention from the press was announced. Here, I will give you the real story, not just the conventional story line. Yes, Ron Paul won, but let’s look at this Straw Poll a little more thoroughly.
Respondent demographics: (2,395 total respondents)
Students: 48%
Independent individuals: 32%
(The rest were media or representing their business)
Male: 64%
Female: 30%
Most important priority:
Freedom: 80%
Traditional values: 9%
Security: 7%
Approval Ratings:
President Obama: Approve 2% - Disapprove 98%
Republicans in Congress: Approve 62% - Disapprove 37%
Favorability Ratings:
Jim Demint: 73%
Glenn Beck: 70%
Rush Limbaugh: 70%
Mike Pence: 59%
John Boehner: 56%
Mitch McConnell: 51%
Michael Steele: 42%
Most Important Issue
1) Reducing size of federal government
2) Reduce government spending
3) Terrorism
4) Taxes
5) Abortion
Expected gain in the House
Majority: 33%
Just shy(30-39 seats): 20%
Moderate gains(20-29 seats): 24%
Presidential Preference
Ron Paul: 31%
Mitt Romney: 22%
Sarah Palin: 7%
Tim Pawlenty: 6%
Mike Pence: 5%
Newt Gingrich: 4%
53% also said they are unsatisfied with field of candidates
So, in summary, it is clear that the libertarian, college element of the crowd dominated the straw poll which, by the way, was not a scientific poll. Don’t let the fact that they have a real pollster run it fool you. It is littered with bias. The way it works is they set up booths throughout the building (one of them right next to where college students register) and whoever fills out the survey, that’s who they get. There is no random sampling.
Who do you think is most likely to take the time to fill out the survey? The typical Republican right now who isn’t yet sure who their favorite candidate is for 2012 or the Ron Paul enthusiast who has probably voted in 1,000,000 online polls already and feels like it is their job to buck the establishment any way they can?
The answer is obvious and that is why respondents were overwhelmingly young, college students and security and traditional values were almost entirely unimportant to them. Does that sound like the typical Republican demographics? Not at all. That is why this stroll poll is completely and utterly useless. Does that matter to the so-called journalists who ran with the story that Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll? No. Does it matter to Mike Huckabee who used it as an excuse to bash CPAC and the conservative “extremists?” No.
I apologize for diverging from the speakers for a bit, but this is something that has been bothering me ever since the Conference that day and I wanted to get it off of my chest.
Now, for the grand finale…
Glenn Beck
Let me say first that I have been a huge fan of Glenn Beck ever since he was at CNN Headline News. Some people try to lump him in with the likes of Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly or even say he is the conservative equivalent of Keith Olbermann. I think those people need to listen a little closer. Glenn Beck is different. I can’t stand to listen to Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly for any length of time. They don’t make good arguments, and instead just rely on too many ad hominem attacks and shallow debates. Beck uses a lot of evidence and relies on facts to back up his arguments. He makes points that other people are afraid to make and does it with sincerity. That’s why his fans like him so much. Oh, and by the way, he doesn’t necessarily like Republicans any more than he likes Democrats. He is about ideas and policy, not party.
His speech at CPAC was nothing short of amazing. I honestly believe it was the best speech given in the last 20 years. I will not attempt to summarize it because I do not believe there is any substitute for actually listening to the speech yourself.
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/36618/
Summary
Ok, so, it was a great weekend. The bottom line is that Republicans need to remember that the people that are giving them a chance at a majority in 2010 are the people that this conference is built for. It’s the people who believe passionately in limited government and individual liberty. They believe that people should have the right to triumph and fail all on their own and it is not the job of the government to help them along the way or sweep up the dust. In the end,
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