Jeff Dunetz: What the media didn't tell you about CPAC

The Ronulan hatefest was under-reported
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In his CPAC Wrap-up at The Lid, Jeff Dunetz explains that much of what the media reported about the conservative confab just wasn't so:

Sarah Palin Did Not “Pull Out” Of Giving The Final Speech At CPAC... This year CPAC once again tried to arrange for a conservative mega-star to give the final address. The press reported that Sarah Palin had agreed to give the speech but pulled out when it was announced that GOProud a group of gay conservatives were participating in the event. That was a total fabrication.

First and most important was the fact that Sarah Palin never accepted the invite to appear at CPAC. Secondly, Ms. Palin supported the group’s participation in the conference.

[...]

Ron Paul Supporters' Hate Was Under-Reported, Their Presence Was Over Reported. Every year at CPAC Ron Paul’s political action committee buses supporters to the convention (more on that later). While this group does not represent more than 15-20% of the attendees, they are very passionate, very unruly and very bigoted.

[...]

The mainstream press correctly reported some Paulocks were calling Cheney and Rumsfeld war criminals, but left out that they were also screaming "shekels" a reference to the bogus anti-Semitic Ron Paul claim that Israel control's our foreign policy and got the US into Iraq war.

The mainstream press protects Ron Paul, his crazy positions create a wealth of story ideas, and his continued participation provides the opportunity to label the entire conservative, Republican and/or libertarian movements as right-wing extremist nut jobs.

Ron Paul Purchased the Straw-Poll Victory

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The meaning of Ron Paul’s victory was simple; his PAC The Campaign For Liberty was willing to pay for the victory.

It is part of the Texas Congressman’s strategy. He doesn’t have enough supporters to win real primaries or caucuses; usually they get about 2% of the vote, Paul tries to win the unofficial votes to give the appearance of being a front-runner.

[...]

As they do every CPAC, this year Paul's Campaign for Liberty reserved blocks of tickets for CPAC and urged supporters to come out and support their guru. Many of these unruly supporters were college students who volunteered (and some say paid) to make sure that Paul winds up with the straw poll win. They even bused in 700 kids for the effort. During the conference, the young Paulocks were all over the place, on the conference floor and even in the bloggers lounge, handing out “Campaign for Liberty” lapel stickers, pitching them as “giving away free liberty," all with the purpose of winning a meaningless straw poll.

Only 3,742 of the 11,000 conference attendees voted in the Straw Poll. Ron Paul got 30% or approximately 1,123 votes which represents about 10% of the attendees.

[More]

For the moment at least, forget GOProud, Islamofascist influences, FedExGate and other CPAC controversies. The once respectable annual winter gathering of conservatives started going downhill when the Ronulans started trying to dominate it a couple of years ago. Now it's not really all that conservative anymore, and it's just another club for the left to beat us with. The CPAC acronym has become shorthand for Crazy Paulnut Annual Comedy.

Related: More from RedState.com here and here.

- JP

TRS Video: Sarah Palin, Rand and Ron Paul on 'Freedom Watch'

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Here are Sarah Palin, Rand and Ron Paul, and "Freedom Watch" host Judge Napolitano on Fox Business this morning, courtesy of TheRightScoop:



- JP

It's not your Tea Party,but you can cry if you want to

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Daria DiGiovanni finds the reaction from Ron Paul's followers to Sarah Palin's Tea Party address "not only incendiary, but much more troubling" than that which came from the Left and its in-the-pocket media. The Left mostly got its undies in a knot over Gov. Palin's palm notes, going after her on style more than substance. But the Ronulans were much more hysterical, claiming that Citizen Palin had "hijacked" the tea party movement:

Kleinheider lamented it was "the beginning of the end," as Palin used her platform not to encourage and inspire more grass-roots activism against massive government spending, but to set herself up for a 2012 run. On a personal note, one of my Plaxo contacts repeatedly posted a succession of status updates, asking if Palin had deliberately "stolen" the Tea Party from Ron Paul.

Excuse me, but Ron Paul’s Tea Party? When did a movement started by fed-up, everyday Americans become the domain of any politician, let alone Ron Paul?

I have news for the Paulnuts: I’ve been involved in the Tea Party movement in South Florida since it began a year ago on the corner of US 1 and Oakland Park Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. And from the very first day, not only were participants equipped with signs decrying bailouts, stimulus and socialism, but also placards of support for the US Military, strong national defense, waterboarding, Gitmo and treating radical Islamists as the enemy combatants they are — not as common criminals.

Having been fortunate enough to attend the 9/12 March on Washington last year, I can honestly report that the vast majority of the approximately one million in attendance were just as concerned about Global Jihad as they were about crony capitalism, the welfare state and the assault on individual liberty.

[...]

In her speech, Palin correctly pointed out that protection from enemies foreign and domestic is listed among the limited responsibilities ascribed to the federal government by the US Constitution. Therefore, much like Reagan’s approach to communism, our philosophy in regard to Global Jihad must be "we win, they lose". So while she excoriated D.C. to get out of the way of small business by obliterating oppressive, job-killing regulations and to remove the barriers to the pursuit of individual happiness by reducing taxes, she also demanded that our president start behaving like "a Commander-in-Chief, not a law professor standing at the lectern."

DiGiovanni says Sarah Palin's assessment of Obama’s foreign policy weakness is accurate, though it may be something the Ronulans don't want to hear. Yes, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate would consider running for president in 2012. So what? She made no secret of it. As for "regurgitating" the GOP platform, it is a list of principles which many in the Tea Party agree with. just because too many elected Republicans have abandoned those principles is no reason to slam Gov. Palin. She is calling for the party of Reagan to return to its conservative roots.

All across the country Tea party activists are working from the precinct level on up to take control of the Republican Party. If the Ronulans don't like that fact of life, that's their problem, not Sarah Palin's.

- JP

Ron Paul and Sarah Palin: Contrasting Visions for America's Future

- by Lisa Graas
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Ron Paul has revealed his assessment of the tea party movement to Politico. He notes that it is "unpredictable" and that, according to Politico's analysis, "the tea party movement is not likely to revive the Republican Party." Paul is quoted as saying,

" I don't even see them as being Republicans."

Herein lies strong evidence of what I would argue is the primary difference between Sarah Palin and Ron Paul. One is a leader and the other is satisfied with a back seat.

Paul is, quite predictably, offering us his traditionally pessimistic view which will certainly resonate with his characteristically cynical base and thereby discourage them from involvement in the Republican Party any further than may be deemed necessary to advance his personally-defined agenda. In this, he gives us a clear signal that his wish is to continue to be what he has ever been -- a cynical voice for a correspondingly cynical faction that will never rise above any point beyond his cult of personality.

Paul is correct in saying that the tea party movement is unpredictable. Because it is unpredictable, there is a phenomenal opportunity now for true leaders to emerge at the state and national level. Ron Paul has now clearly failed the leadership test in rejecting the notion outright that the tea party movement is made up of people who could be called "Republicans".

Sarah Palin, to the contrary, with her characteristic optimism, continually points to the Republican Party platform as the common agenda worth fighting for. I argue, this is unquestionably a mark of effective leadership.

What does a leader do? A leader gives voice to a broad coalition of people who can agree to share a common agenda (e.g., a party platform). A leader presents this common agenda as a solution, calling for assistance from those who are inspired and empowered by that call. These empowered people then work together and move forward with a shared vision to establish the common agenda and to bring about actual results. The more common the agenda, the more likely results will occur.

While the Republican Party platform is always subject to change, it has remained generally the same for many years and has brought proven results. Some may argue otherwise, but it is reasonable to say that the only "Republican" things about the Republican Party today are its platform and those who value it. The common acronym used within the tea party movement -- "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) -- is universally known to apply to those who do not fight for the planks in the platform. It is appropriate to say, then, that Ron Paul himself is a "RINO" as he does not embrace the party platform. To be sure, the only voice continually promoting the platform at every opportunity is that of Sarah Palin. In this alone, she is establishing herself solidly as the antidote to RINO-ism.

Ron Paul, ostensibly to "reform" the party, has achieved little more, over the years, than successfully impeding the fulfillment of the Republican Party's efforts to advance its common agenda - its platform.

True leadership does not live where there is satisfaction with taking a back seat, nor does it occur within pessimism and divisiveness. A true leader would never think to say,

"I don't even see them as being Republicans."

With these words, Paul has forsaken the opportunity to lead anything more than the same obstructive faction, albeit with some new faces, that he has been consistently leading for many years. We can all now settle into the fact that Paul is quite uncomfortable with the idea of taking on the role of a true and effective Republican leader. He proves it with his remarks.

Sarah Palin, unlike Ron Paul, will be successful in rising above any currently perceived confines that some attribute to a "cult of personality". In leading the tea party movement with a clear agenda that has a long record of proven results, Sarah Palin, like Reagan before her, may very well prove to be the personification of Republicanism for the next generation. Ron Paul will just continue to be Ron Paul.

- Lisa

Lisa Graas is editor of the Palin Twibe Blog and several other websites. She is a regular contributor to Texas for Sarah Palin.

NY Sun Editorial: Palin and Paul

The New York Sun? Yes, it's still around, though only on the world wide web. The Sun published it last print edition September 30, 2008. Here are some excerpts from its October 10 editorial:

Those of us who have been waiting for a politician to pick up on the monetary issue are perking up at Governor Palin’s demarche on the dollar. This came last week in a posting on her Facebook page, where she reacted to a report that Gulf oil producers were negotiating with Russia, China, Japan, and France to abandon the use of the dollar in pricing petroleum. She noted the report in the Wall Street Journal that Arab oil officials were denying the story, but reckoned that “even the possibility of such talk weakens the dollar and renews fears about its continued viability as an international reserve currency.” Then she pointed out that “a United Nations official called for a new global reserve currency to replace the dollar and end our ‘privilege’ to run up huge deficits.” Most importantly, she warned about the price of gold, which that day had hit a record in what she called a “response to fears about the weakened dollar.”

Time will tell, but what this suggests is that the former governor of Alaska is ahead of the rest of the undeclared contenders in 2012.  

[...]

Mrs. Palin’s comments suggest she’s savvier than many give her credit for being. No sooner did she issue her warning about the dollar than Reuters found a number of Republicans declaring she was right.

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It is true that the only politician who has been campaigning on this issue, Ron Paul, failed to prosper at the polls. We would argue that had less to do with his monetary policy than other issues, the war among them, on which he has been in error. But maybe he should have been a bidder for that famous lunch with the former Alaska governor. We’re not ready to make endorsements, but Palin and Paul could make a whale of a ticket.

- JP

Who's the Country Club Republican, Dr. Paul?

In an interview with Politico, Ron Paul, the libertarian Texas congressman who operates under the cover of the Republican Party, has tagged Sarah Palin's supporters with the dreaded "double-C" words:

As for soon-to-be departing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Paul dismisses her supporters as "more establishment, conventional Country-Club type of Republicans."

"I wonder whether she's energizing the 15-20 year olds," Paul muses. "That would be a question I would have. Because she doesn't talk about the Federal Reserve and some of these issues. She doesn't talk too much about personal liberties, civil liberties, getting rid of drug laws, attacking the war on drugs, punishing people who torture."

Strange, we don't recall ever having been members of any country club, nor do any Palin supporters we know have such memberships. How out of touch with the people can Ron Paul be? In fact, most of the Palin backers we know are blue collar conservatives, not Rockerfeller elites. They are much more interested in the latest NASCAR standings than  in who is atop the PGA  leader board. 

As for the Palins themselves, it's unlikely that they belong to any country club. Golf is not their game. Sarah is a runner, and Todd is into snowmobiles, not golf carts. And with all that hunting and fishing they do, it's doubful that they have either the  time or inclination for the game of golf. Sarah and Todd both played basketball in their youth, and their kids are more familiar with the hockey stick than the nine iron. We have it on good authority that the Palin clan has been known to ski, however, Alaska being more of a place suited to the winter sports.

And if you were to check the membership rolls of the Lake Jackson Country Club here in Texas, I'll bet real money that you will find the names of Ron Paul and his wife Carol listed as lifetime members.

Paul was always a loose  cannon. His lying lips now tell us he's also a hypocrite.

Update 1: On reflection, it is the country club Republicans who have been most critical of Sarah Palin. That would be the Peggy Noonans, the David Frums and the Colin Powells of the GOP's Vichy wing.

And if Sarah Palin were to advocate for legalizing the same drugs that are enslaving and killing our children, her supporters would drop her like a hot hockey puck.

Paul must not have been paying attention when, in her resignation announcement, Gov. Palin said:

"Energy independence and national security, fiscal restraint, smaller government, and local control have been my priorities and will remain my priorities."

And again:

"...We can advance this country together with our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint."

Smaller government and less government intervention are essential to those personal and civil liberties Ron Paul claims that Sarah Palin doesn't talk much about.

Paul is so far off base about Sarah Palin that he is way out there in left field.

Update 2: More from Evergreen Conservative, Adam Brickley, Lew Waters and Thomas Lifson, with thanks to the latter for the link.

- JP