Hold the images of joyous Egyptians in your mind. Then think of President Obama's wonderful acknowledgement that yesterday was their day.
Now Cut TO: CPAC
On Egypt,leading Islamophobe Pamela Geller told a reporter 'We are witnessing a complete seismic shift in the direction of the world away from freedom."
Tim Pawlenty excoriated Obama that "With bullies, might makes right." and that Obama refuses to condemn jihadists and should stop apologizing.
No one spoke at CPAC in favor of the Egyptian people. From the various so-called presidential candidates there was no one word--astonishing when you consider these people are trying to become Commander-in-Chief.
Today's panel on "creeping sharia law" is overflowing. David Horowitz led the way by claiming that the Muslim Brotherhood had infiltrated American life, even the White House and even the conservative movement itself.
James Woolsey, former Freedom House Board member and CIA chief, said that being against the abuse of women and beheadings doesn't make you Islamophobic.
Teabagger Col. West said that it was normal for the United States to monitor all Muslims because we did it during WWI when we interned all Japanese-Americans.
Herman Cain, the black entrepeneur who founded Godfather's Pizza, said that stupid people were ruining America. He apparently didn't advise his colleagues above.
The White Supremacist movement, which is in attendance for the first time this year,reassured Americans that there have nothing against gay people.
However, the new management of the American Conservative Union thinks that next year they are going to re-invite GOProud because they think their wesbite isn't conservative enough.
THE MOST IRONIC MOMENT OF CPAC. Covering the meeting is Dan Savage, famed advocate of gay rights. Savage made Santorum a household word for the leavings of gay sex. While there, Rick Santorum, wearing glasses which he doesn't need, spoke,almost confirming the views of the readers of Savage Sex, who coined the term for him. Santorum spoke on and on about the "stools of conservatism" without any sense of irony or self-awareness.
Why do modern conservatives believe you can persuade people by acting like a bunch of bullies? Do you really want to vote for a thug? Apparently Pawlenty thought so. He acted like the tough guy on the block. Even Romney thought he should start slinging smears and try out nasty cracks about Obama. Romney doesn't do insults very well. In his latest incarnation--he now has surpassed John McCain in the cameleon factor--he went teabagger to link Obama with Saul Alinsky, the righwing's greatest bete noire. Previously, we had Newt Gingrich, who was positively mummified. He makes Haley Barbour look like Jack LaLane. Newt entered to the "Eye of the Tiger" as if it was a funky state of the union, walking through the crowd as opposed to just stepping on stage. Newt has so many double-chins now that it is hard to believe he can phsyically run for President.
Former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, who is pro-gay rights, pro-choice, and pro-legalization of marijuana, was run off the stage by the organizers.
The Defender of the Constitution Award was awarded to none other than Donald Rumseld and presented by special guest, Dick Cheney. But the libertarians in the hall chanted "War Criminal","Where's Bin Laden" at the torture chief.
Andrew Breibart had ample speaking time to falsify everything anyone knows about the Pigford settlements with black farmers, which he says was part of the "hidden reparations agenda" of the Obama Administration. He also said that ACORN had set up a children sex ring in every office on the Hill. On this he missed which Administration had pedophile ring issues.
Ron Paul spent over $100,000 to bring college kids to CPAC. Paul denounced bipartisanship and actually made an interesting offer to the young. Would they forego all government benefits and programs for their life if they only had to pay 10% income tax. This is actually a version of Amitai Etizione's communitarian proposal that those who are against government simply pay for the defense bill on their taxes but forfeit any other rights to government-provided services.
Ron Paul did make a good point that the Patriot Act basically nullified the Fourth Amendment.
Rick Perry came in with an argument on state's right and praised to high heaven the Tenth Amendment. he didn't tell the audience he had used the stimulus money to shore up his state's debt, which far exceeds California.
Mitch Daniel, another former Freedom House board member, wowed the crowd by pronouncing the national debt as the "new Red Menace". Previously, Pawlenty in his new tough-guy move said we shouldn't raise the debt ceiling level.
On the second day of the confab, Fox News ran its national poll on Obama versus the leading GOP presidential lights. Obama beat everyone by 6 to 15 pts. PPP did its swing state polls that show basically Obama would win the same number electoral votes.
But Haley Barbour announced to the CPAC crowd that America agrees with the GOP. That's not self-evident. Recent Gallup polls indicate the America people are concerned about health of the economy and unemployment. Last on their list is the deficit or national debt. And almost off the charts are any concerns about so-called value issues. But that was true with the mid-terms also and it still didn't stop the GOP from taking the House.
Rush Limbaugh on his radio show seemed to tap into the new conservative embrace of Egyptian freedom by referring to the demonstrators as "your typical rent-a-mob--cmmunists, environmentalists, feminists and organizers."
Jane Hamisher of FireLake should call home. Her political partner Grover Nordquist said "There were no partnersonthe Left, just parasites who should be crushed."
While some Bush supporters are claiming credit for changes in Egypt as part of his Freedom Agenda, I say people should tolerate this. We need some Republicans left who are internationalists. Progressives criticized Elliot Abrams for quickly endorsing the democratic movement in Egypt. I say hurray. The dark clouds of isolationism have descended on the GOP. Even George W Bush remarked last week about his concerns that isolationism, xenophobia, and nativism have emerged like in the 1920s.
Think about that. When the Bush people sound rational and sound, then you know how far gone the Republican party is.
So far on removing Arab dictators by peaceful means it's Obama 2 Bush 0.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
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