Reflections About CPAC Day 1
18/02/10 19:23
Overall, it was a good day for conservatives at CPAC. We started off with a big bang in Marco Rubio and Jim DeMint. These two men are the example of what most conservatives want in a legislator. There was definitely A LOT of enthusiasm for Rubio. Who would have guessed when Rubio announced his candidacy in Florida that he would pose a serious challenge to Gov. Charlie Crist? Not many people. The NRSC jumped in and endorsed Crist early and you know they have to be kicking themselves now. If Rubio pulls off a win in Florida, it will be a huge victory for conservatives everywhere. It sends the message that conservative candidates CAN win and we don't have to resort to squishy moderates to do so.
As CPAC continued, attendees were in for a few surprises. Liz Cheney brought her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, along with her to the podium; and Sen. Scott Brown made an unexpected appearance to introduce Mitt Romney. Cheney and Brown got the loudest cheers of the day.
Obviously, presidential politics are on everyone's mind. There were Draft Cheney 2012 stickers floating around, and when Sen. Scott Brown showed up the crowed briefly chanted Romney/Brown 2012. Of course there's the yearly straw poll conducted by CPAC. The ballot consists of Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, John Thune or "other." A significant amount of people were grumbling about Senator Jim DeMint's name being left off the ballot. CPAC will announce the results on Saturday.
Speaking of Sen. DeMint, I was lucky enough to get a picture made with him when he took a stroll through the Blogger's Lounge:
Picture quality is poor. I'm guessing it's because of the bad lighting. I was just happy to stand next to the man.
There's certainly a lot of enthusiasm among attendees this year. I think that is in large part because the mood across the country seems to be shifting to the right. Republicans have won several key elections in the last year and things are looking good for the mid-terms. The largest debate amongst the conservative activists at CPAC seems to be over how we ensure our party sticks to true conservative principles of limited government and fiscal restraint once they win back the majority. They are certainly right to be worried. It hasn't been that long ago that Republicans held both houses of Congress and the Presidency and we all know how that turned out...
As CPAC continued, attendees were in for a few surprises. Liz Cheney brought her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, along with her to the podium; and Sen. Scott Brown made an unexpected appearance to introduce Mitt Romney. Cheney and Brown got the loudest cheers of the day.
Obviously, presidential politics are on everyone's mind. There were Draft Cheney 2012 stickers floating around, and when Sen. Scott Brown showed up the crowed briefly chanted Romney/Brown 2012. Of course there's the yearly straw poll conducted by CPAC. The ballot consists of Haley Barbour, Mitch Daniels, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, John Thune or "other." A significant amount of people were grumbling about Senator Jim DeMint's name being left off the ballot. CPAC will announce the results on Saturday.
Speaking of Sen. DeMint, I was lucky enough to get a picture made with him when he took a stroll through the Blogger's Lounge:
Picture quality is poor. I'm guessing it's because of the bad lighting. I was just happy to stand next to the man.
There's certainly a lot of enthusiasm among attendees this year. I think that is in large part because the mood across the country seems to be shifting to the right. Republicans have won several key elections in the last year and things are looking good for the mid-terms. The largest debate amongst the conservative activists at CPAC seems to be over how we ensure our party sticks to true conservative principles of limited government and fiscal restraint once they win back the majority. They are certainly right to be worried. It hasn't been that long ago that Republicans held both houses of Congress and the Presidency and we all know how that turned out...
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