A Wrap-Up of CPAC 2011
I was sitting in the Atlanta airport reflecting on this year’s CPAC, and I realized I was slightly disappointed. While it was still a great conference and boasted a record crowd, it lacked some of its usual energy for me. Maybe it was due to all the controversy surrounding the event, maybe it was just the overall dissatisfaction with the current crop of presidential candidates (57% of attendees were not satisfied with the current field and wanted stronger candidates--CPAC Straw Poll), or maybe it was the mediocre speaker line up, but I didn’t sense the enthusiasm of years past.
Several would-be presidential candidates showed up at CPAC, but only a couple wowed the crowd. Mitt Romney’s speech was typical, and he largely skipped over the health care issue. The response was tepid. Only three quarters of the ballroom was full (it had previously been standing room only), and most CPAC-goers didn’t have much to say about it. Tim Pawlenty’s speech was mostly red meat, and was short on specifics. John Thune was okay, but certainly not a standout. Gary Johnson did a good job, but his position on the legalization of marijuana keeps a lot of people from supporting him. Ron Paul got the best reception, but that was largely due to the abundance of Paulies in attendance.
The only two who really stood out were Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels. Daniels spoke at the Reagan Banquet on Friday night, and according to those in attendance, he hit a home run. I watched the video of his speech on the CPAC website, and I agree that he did an excellent job. I even heard some Paul supporters would be willing to get behind Daniels should Dr. Paul not run. Haley Barbour was the topic of a lot of conversation re: 2012, and he delivered a solid performance. Hitting on topics like spending, energy and health care, Barbour sounded like a presidential candidate. He hasn’t announced his intentions, but it sounded like a stump speech to me. I heard he was mobbed all the way to the door.
I was surprised at the number of high profile conservatives that skipped the conference this year. I know some of them refused to participate because of GOProud, but other regulars like Mike Pence didn’t really offer a reason (at least not that I heard). Sarah Palin claimed it was a scheduling problem for the second year in a row. I find that interesting because if I were gearing up to run for president, I think I would make time for the largest gathering of conservative activists in the world. I also think it is worth noting her lackluster performance in the straw poll coming in 9th with 3% of the vote.
The CPAC Straw Poll didn’t contain many surprises this year. Ron Paul won as predicted helped along by his organization, Campaign 4 Liberty, selling discounted tickets to their members. Whatever you think about the Paulies, you have to give them credit for showing up in droves and being very well organized. Romney was the only other candidate with an organized effort and came in second. Gary Johnson and Chris Christie tied for third, followed by Newt, Pawlenty, Bachmann and Daniels.
You can find videos of all the speeches here.
Chris Christie Is a Rockstar
| Gov Christie calls S-L columnist thin-skinned for inquiring about his 'confrontational tone' |
Bringing Thunderous Change to New Jersey
Here's best part:
So he closed the $2.2 billion gap by accepting 375 of 378 suggested spending freezes and cuts. In two weeks. By executive actions. In eight weeks he cut $13 billion -- $232 million a day, $9 million an hour. Now comes the hard part.Government employees' health benefits are, he says, "41 percent more expensive" than those of the average Fortune 500 company. Without changes in current law, "spending will have increased 322 percent in 20 years -- over 16 percent a year." There is, he says, a connection between the state being No. 1 in total tax burden and being No. 1 in the proportion of college students who, after graduating, leave the state.Partly to pay for teachers' benefits -- most contribute nothing to pay for their health insurance -- property taxes have increased 70 percent in 10 years, to an average annual cost to homeowners of $7,281. Christie proposes a 2.5 percent cap on annual increases.Challenging teachers unions to live up to their cloying "it's really about the kids" rhetoric, he has told them to choose between a pay freeze and job cuts. Validating his criticism by their response to it, some Bergen County teachers encouraged students to cut classes and go to the football field to protest his policies, and a Bridgewater high school teacher showed students a union-made video critical of him. Christie notes that the $550,000 salary of the executive director of the teachers union is larger than the total cuts proposed for 190 of the state's 605 school districts.
Think we can get Christie to come down to Alabama next??