The Conservative Political Action Conference is the beginning of a new conservative order–conservatives organized as libertarians, conservatives on the attack, and conservatives offering a common sense approach to the issues America faces.
Many of the conservative candidates are running on a quasi-libertarian platform because when the pendulum swings too far in one direction, it swings back hard in the other.
“CPAC has become increasingly libertarian and less Republican over the last years,” Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said, “[that’s] one of the reasons I didn’t go this year.”
Texas Rep. Ron Paul–an outspoken libertarian–won the CPAC straw poll with 31% of the vote. The crowd booed at the announcement; however, cheered wildly at the announcement of the second place winner, Mitt Romney.
President Barack Obama and his elitist Democrat cronies have called the Republicans the party of no. You bet your ass we’re the party of no! If standing up for the Constitution and for the American people, and standing against big government means being called the party of no, it’s a small price to pay.
There is a push by many to return to the Constitution as it is written in order to bring about change in the political climate. This push will undoubtedly resonate with the American people.
“It begins with the principles of our founding documents, principles that recognize that our rights come from God, not from our government,” Marco Rubio said in his opening speech at CPAC. Rubio is running in the Republican primary for a Florida Senate seat.
Rubio received much applause during his speech, and speakers after him used his name as an applause line.
February 22, 2010, Rasmussen Reports had Rubio ahead of his competitor with 54% of the vote.
CPAC was not just a stop on the conservative campaign train, many bloggers, pundits, researchers, and columnists took the CPAC soap-box to call out Obama; Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; and others.
Referring to Obama’s Executive Order ordering the closing of Guantanamo Bay, Erick Erickson called out Obama.
“Air American is shut down and gitmo is still open,” Erickson, who runs the conservative news website Red State, said.
Some used some controversial laugh lines to get a point across. Jed Babbin of Human Events, suggested that waterboarding should be used as an interrogation technique. To make the idea more attractive to liberals, he said, “the CIA will be limited to using Perrier.”
Some people were a bit more restrained in their criticisms. Tucker Carlson of Fox News said that conservatives should stop referring to the left wing media as the mainstream media because there’s nothing mainstream about framing news stories to fit an ideology.
“Assume you’re mainstream. Assume you really are representing America when you tell the truth–honestly, forthrightly and without fear,” Carlson said.
Others were not as level headed in their criticisms of the media.
Andrew Breitbart accused the mainstream media and salon.com of partaking in the politics of personal destruction.
And still, there were others who offered a common sense approach. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said the conservative motto should be “2+2=4.”
This election year and that in 2010 will usher in a new era of Change. HopeandChange brought the American people more of the same. And with the Conservative promise of smaller government, lower taxes, and defense of the Constitution, the Conservatives will surely offer change you can believe in.
