Uncategorized

Before His Arrival, Ron Paul Is Everywhere At CPAC

By Michael Scherer | @michaelscherer | February 11, 2011 | +

Just five years ago, the Conservative Political Action Conference still had a Doris Day feel, like a time warp to 1978, when everyone was still filled with nostalgia for 1961. Pat Boone was the musical act, and he played before a screen that showed flapping flags, rhyming the word “God” with the word “God.” It was an old stale act.

This year, I have seen several attendees with earlobe-stretching hoops, and Gary Johnson, a former New Mexico governor, got rousing applause from the main hall for declaring, “Legalize marijuana.” When Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, two icons of old conservatism, came out before the crowd on Thursday, they faced jeers of “draft dodger” and “war criminal” and a staged walkout by dozens of participants.

The reason for this shift won’t even appear in the main hall until 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Ron Paul is a star here, even when he doesn’t show up. When Rep. Paul Ryan, the head of the budget committee came out Thursday, he tried to connect with the youthful crowd by name dropping the superstar. “I understand that there are some Ron Paul fans here,” he said. “I’m the other Paul.”

The most electric moment of Thursday’s event was Donald Trump’s improvised comeback to hooting Paul supporters. “By the way, Ron Paul can’t get elected. I’m sorry,” Trump said. On Friday morning, Brian Baker, of Taxpayers Against Earmarks sparked an eruption of boos and cheers when he noted an earmark Paul had requested $2.5 million for, among other things, street lighting in Baytown, Texas. For many of the young attendees, this was heresy.

Last year, Paul won the CPAC presidential straw poll by nine points, with 31 percent of the ballots. Paul is likely to do well again this year. Though Trump is right–Paul is unlikely to ever be president–it is just as true to say that because of Paul, the conservative movement will never be the same.

Related Topics: cpac, ron paul, Uncategorized

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  • Ivy_B

    NPR said this morning that the attendees were a majority of students and the kids were a result of a concerted effort to bring them out. Seems like the Ron Paul phenom might be more likely. Morning Edition also had a segment on the gold standard and why no serious economist would even consider it.

  • afguy

    Isn’t a LACK of “serious economists” in positions of influence what got us into the pickle we are in now?
    .
    Define serious. “Village” serious or “intellectually” serious?

  • Ivy_B

    They were talking about intellectually serious. Not those in the admin or necessarily the ones beloved by the Village. They do present both sides of the argument.
    .
    http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/02/11/133662179/a-wingnut-argument-for-the-gold-standard

  • afguy

    i know. But the “intellectually serious” economists aren’t the ones invited on all of the Sunday AM “Dueling Gasbags” shows.

  • Ivy_B

    I have not watched them for a couple of years. Had begun to feel those hours were making me dumber.

  • pintortwo

    I think we’re seeing the Tea Party, with its libertarian roots, is turning the Republican party conservative– and I mean actual conservative, in contrast to what we’ve seen in my adult life. It will be interesting to see how the party’s establishment and media respond. At present, conservatism is a threat to the party and its benefactors. In fact, it is a threat to the way our government operates.
    .
    Now that the Rs have the House, and especially if they capture the Senate and executive office, I expect FOX (and like-minded media and think tanks) to increasingly distance themselves from the TP. They will most likely revert to ignoring the movement and treating libertarians like unserious outliers.

  • afguy

    Ivy,
    .
    I’m old enough to remember Lawrence E. Spivak on “Meet the Press”.
    .
    He had the personal presence of Ed Sullivan needing an enema but the panel members and questioning were first-rate.

  • Ivy_B

    afguy, me too. You’re exactly right. If the program were like that again, it would be on my never miss list!

  • diecash1

    I think we’re seeing the Tea Party, with its libertarian roots, is turning the Republican party conservative– and I mean actual conservative

    Hold on now. It seems like you getting a bit carried away there. I’m not sure upon what you base that belief but “forcing” the Repub leadership to follow through with their pledge to cut $100 Billion in spending while not really touching any of the big ticket items is not what I call “conservative”.
    ..
    The vast majority of the tea party freshman voting to extend the Patriot Act isn’t exactly “conservative” either. These people are ideological frauds IMO.
    ..
    Regardless, it’s way too early to make any pronouncements about the effect of the tea party on the Repubs anyway. We’ll have to wait and see what the tea party and the Repubs accomplish in the next two years. I don’t have any grand expectations.

  • romerjt

    When Bush was elected in 2000, William Safire,conservative columnist for the NYT, reflecting on the what the Republicans had accomplished noted that they had created a platform and operation that enable them to govern for years if not decades unless, he added “they run it into the ground”, which of course they did.

    The Reps are all about winning arguments and elections – that’s all. Their greatest talent is misrepresentation, lying, and scaring . . . like “government takeover of health care”, and attaching “jobs killing” to the phony “repeal” of the health care act. These “talents” create Sarah Palins and Glenn Becks but are not very useful for actually governing. Smart money will short the Republican party, not just yet but sooner than everyone thinks.

  • pintortwo

    Yeah, I agree diecash1. It is “way too early to make any pronouncements” and you give solid examples of the party’s resistance.
    .
    I’m speculating that the jeers for Cheney and Rummy, along with occasional inferences that military spending needs to be cut, show a TP-influenced shift in the conservative mindset.
    .
    Further, if this does represent a change of perception, I’m interested in the how Republican institutions will respond. I’ve said before, FOX’s coverage of the TP and its acceptance by establishment republicans is a strategic move to enhance the party’s influence and solidify corporate power.. but they are playing with fire. If this turns out to be a genuine conservative popular movement (as opposed to an anti-Obama/dem FNC production), one that can no longer be steered by the R hierarchy, they will rock those very institutions- to FOX and the establishment’s detriment.

  • diecash1

    if this does represent a change of perception, I’m interested in the how Republican institutions will respond.

    Not well, I would bet.

    If this turns out to be a genuine conservative popular movement

    While I think there may be some of that contained within the tea party, I have serious doubts as to what it will amount to over time. Any group that claims to be a populist movement with a guy like Dick Armey leading the parade is highly suspect in my mind. I think there may be some holdouts but I suspect that most of them will become co-opted (if not already so) by the Borg…er Repubs and they’ll fall in line over time. Right now they’re trying to see what kind of power and influence they can wield, that’s all.

    one that can no longer be steered by the R hierarchy, they will rock those very institutions- to FOX and the establishment’s detriment.

    That would prove mighty interesting if it were to be true. Count me among the doubters but I’ll be watching with great interest. Besides that, if your supposition is correct, it will likely create a schism in the party — good times for all.

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