Once a year at CPAC, a bunch of angry white people get together to yell and complain about things they know nothing about. Granted, I’m not on the ground so I can’t provide first-person eyewitness, but according to Thom Hartmann, who worked radio row at the conference, he spent his time “looking at a sea of white people.”
CPAC has been described by the Washington Post as the “preeminent gathering of conservative activists,” and so I was eager to hear some of this mythical “conservative common sense” I keep hearing so much about, but yet see succeed in any manner. Unfortunately, with the conference now wrapped up, it appears that the amount of substance contributed at this conference could fit into a 140-character post on Twitter.
Nah, scratch that. Probably more like half a Tweet, 70 characters followed by a string of hashtags, such as: #obamasucks #nobama #wheresthebirthcertificate, etc. etc. You know, the extent of wit as provided by conservatives…
This lack of “conservative common sense” is unfortunate, as our country faces some incredibly pressing issues. Entitlement spending is approaching unsustainable levels; a non-existent manufacturing base has led to a lack of economic resiliency, resulting in increased borrowing from abroad simply to extend unemployment benefits; and middle-class families continue to face possible bankruptcy due to double-digit annual increases in health care premiums, resulting in a record level of spending on health care in 2009. As should be typically expected from conservatives, however, all of these issues were ignored during their “love-in” as instead it was decided that a better use of time would be to attack the Obama adminsitration and the Democrats who are actually attempting to confront the problems this country faces.
Obviously, the entire GOP mindset is that by ignoring problems, they’ll simply go away. (Which might explain the 200 House-passed bills that collect dust due to the efforts of the obstructionist Republican minority. After all, let’s not forget that Mitch McConnell said that the Senate Republicans “will not be offering a comprehensive” health care reform bill. In other words, the memo by the GOP to the middle class is: Double digit premium increases? Tough titties. Suck it.)
Basically, being a Senate Republican is the sweetest job in the world. What other jobs allows you to collect taxpayer-funded paychecks while doing absolutely nothing? (Actually, I guess they don’t do nothing. One of the required “actions” you have to take as a Senate Republican is to rail against those who receive federal funds while not working. Yes, this is me pointing out irony.) I bet Scott Brown felt like he won the lottery when he pulled off his improbable victory over Coakley last month- “The taxpayers are paying my salary for three years, and in exchange I don’t have to do a goddman thing? Sweet!”
Little wonder this prized gravy train seems so appealing to Marco Rubio, the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives who is challenging Governor Charlie Crist in the Florida douchebag, I mean Republican primary. Rubio has become a favorite of the foxbaggers, and was given a prominent speaking role at CPAC. I don’t really care who has the dubious honor of “winning” the Florida Republican primary, but Rubio’s campaign is making much use out of pictures of a hug between Governor Crist and President Obama at an event that happened last year, shortly after the passage of the Stimulus bill. This was also shortly after Florida’s budget deficit hit $6 billion, and the stimulus bill provided Florida with $4.7 billion, with $12 billion in stimulus funding coming to the state over the next three years. As the picture of Crist hugging Obama was snapped, I guarantee that Crist was thinking, “Thank you for saving my state.” Yet the crux of Marco Rubio’s case is: If he was Governor, he would have rejected the stimulus funds, and the state of Florida would even be more in debt. Because such a fool-hardy stance represents fiscal conservatism. Obviously, the economic morass that is currently California would be Rubio’s preferred alternative for Florida. Therefore, he should be supported for the Senate.
Yes, with such utter lack of logic exhibited in that argument, its little wonder that he’s a favorite of the foxbaggers.
So, despite such an utterly insane case to be a Senator, Rubio took the stage and shored up his support with his “base” by taking digs at Obama. “The best thing about the snowstorm is that Obama couldn’t set up a teleprompter to read his latest taxes,” said Rubio, referring to a President who still has yet to pass any tax package. In fact, as Nate Silver pointed out over at FiveThrityEight.com, President Obama has cut taxes for 98.6 percent- virtually all- Americans. This means, in simple terms, Barack Obama has cut more taxes for more Americans than Marco Rubio has. (But, you see, Republicans can’t win elections until they repeat “tax cuts” at least five hundred thousand times, and scare you into thinking that the President who cut your taxes is actually raising them…) And besides, Mr. Rubio, if the teleprompter didn’t work, what would have prevented the President from, oh I don’t know, reading off his hand?
That’s the other thing about being a Republican: the ability to benefit from the double standards you insist demanding onto others. Obama reads from a teleprompter, just like every other President before him the past few decades? Why, he should be mocked! But Sarah Palin needs to scribble “tax cuts “and “energy” on her hand to get her through an interview? Why, have you ever seen such a qualified candidate? Oh, and let’s dismiss talk of the Democrats possibly recruiting John Cougar Mellencamp to vie for Evan Bayh’s vacated Senate seat, as typical Democrat enchantment with the Hollywood elite and other entertainers. Not like Ronald Reagan, the patron saint of conservatism, who didn’t epitomize Hollywood elitism in the least bit. Not one bit.
Another example of this double standard can be revealed in Bill Moyer’s latest NOW episode on PBS, which detailed the effect “Angry Voters” will have in the 2010 mid-terms for incumbents. A lot of this anger uncovered by Moyer was directed from middle-class homeowners who, as a class, are perhaps the biggest benefits of government assistance in this country, yet are perhaps the whiniest about “government intrusion” as well. The government has long recognized the importance home ownership meant to this country, and implemented many policies to increase home ownership, from government-provided mortgages, to the ability to write mortgages off your taxes, to Obama’s mortgage assistance plan that prevents entire neighborhood property values from being destroyed- all which have benefited the bottom line of these homeowners. Yet, that won’t prevent these homeowners from complaining about “property taxes.” Hey, here’ a thought these homeowners can consider: Let’s follow California’s example and slash property taxes by 57 percent, as California did thirty years ago. And look at California now, currently flush with cash and not at all in danger of violating the mandates from the state constitution to fund basic services. I don’t mean to pick on the Golden State- which, after all, gave us both Nixon and Reagan- but anyone who repeats that tired and substantially incorrect talking point, “Tax cuts raise revenue” point out California and tell them, kindly, to shut the fuck up.
Oh lord, my diatribe against these conservative retards has gone on for so long, but I feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface. Let’s consider that CPAC also coincided with the attack on an IRS building by Joe Stack, a frustrated former computer engineer. I’m curious whose books they will find in Stack’s apartment, Glenn Beck’s or Mark Levin’s. Or, perhaps both? I mean, you’d have to be an idiot to claim that Stack’s anti-government posting on his website could be taken, “word-for-word” as being from Nancy Pelosi or Barack Obama, right? Oh, wait…
But, finally, to cap the CPAC off in a high note, they had a 2012 presidential straw poll, testing which candidate has the conservative bona fides to challenge for the nomination in the next presidential election. Ron Paul won. The results were booed by the CPAC attendees. They booed their own frickin’ straw poll!
Yeah, its safe to say that similar to Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, “Conservative common sense” simply does not exist. Or it least no evidence of it was made apparent the past few days.
If this is the best that the other side has, Barack Obama will be re-elected. Easily.
2010 mid-terms | Beck | California | conservatives | CPAC | Crist | Democrats | economy | Florida | foxbaggers | GOP | health care | Joe Stack | Levin | McConnell | Obama | Palin | Republicans | Ron Paul | Rubio | Scott Brown | Senate
