February 2010

While watching CPAC last week, I was wondering to myself why Mike Huckabee wasn't participating?  Did organizers decide to snub him by not inviting him or did he snub the convention by refusing to attend? After all, Huckabee had been given a speaking slot in the main auditorium each of the last three years.

But this year Huckabee skipped the event and blasted it as pointless, corrupt, and too libertarian:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.

Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate who had spoken at the conference for years, said the reason he blew it off this year was that the meeting has become dominated by libertarian activists.

“CPAC has becoming increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year,” Huckabee said in an interview with Fox News, where he is a paid analyst and has his own show.

He was responding to a question about whether he was upset by his single-digit showing in the conference’s straw poll, which was won by libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

But it wasn’t the only criticism the Arkansan leveled at CPAC.

Huckabee said the rise of the tea party movement had “taken all of the oxygen out of the room,” rendering the venerable conference far less relevant than it had been in previous years.

“Where CPAC was historically the event, the tea parties are having their own events all over the country and a lot more truly grassroots people are getting involved because of the tea parties,” said the former governor.

And, goaded by Fox Host Geraldo Rivera, Huckabee went even further.

“Because of the way that it solicits sponsors, it’s almost becomes a pay-for-play,” he said. “It’s kind of like, who will pay money to be able to be a sponsor and get time in the program. That’s one of the things that has hurt its credibility in the last couple of years.”

I have to say that I agree with Huckabee's assessment that something has happen to CPAC when Ron Paul is winning its straw poll. 

For the last three years, the poll has been won by Mitt Romeny with Paul hovering around 10% ... and this year Paul beat Romney by almost ten points.  In recent years, Paul has largely been treated as a sideshow by the conservative establishment which viewed him as far outside the mainstream of the movement but tolerated him because he had a relatively small but extremely dedicated base of support that somewhat overlapped with the movement in general.

The fact that Paul could pull in 10% of the vote at CPAC in previous years was generally a source of embarrassment to organizers. This year, Paul won (and organizers were utterly mortified.)

If that doesn't signal that the conservative movement has completely lost it bearings, I don't know what does.

• David Weigel: At CPAC, Tea Party Movement Re-Enters Conservative Fold.
• Sarah Posner: As inflammatory tea party rhetoric gets toasted at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Focus on the Family's advocacy arm tries to show a softer, gentler side of the religious right.
• Media Matters: CPAC has always been a welcoming venue for the far-right fringe.
• Think Progress: CPAC audience boos former GOP Rep. Bob Barr for saying waterboarding is torture.
• Joe.My.God: Rachel Maddow Goes To CPAC.
• HRC Back Story: DC Marriage Law Closer to Reality as Court Rejects Opponents’ Injunction Request.
• TFN: David Barton: Garbage in, Garbage out.
• Finally, Steve Benen says "[Scott] Brown is quickly proving himself to a dim-witted clown."

Earlier this year when it was announced that the conservative gay group GOProud would be serving as a co-sponsor of this year's CPAC conference, some Religious Right groups threatened to boycott though, in the end, only Liberty University Law School actually followed through.

Now that the event is underway, CNN is reporting everyone is playing nice:

GOProud has a booth at CPAC just two spaces away from the exhibition for the National Organization for Marriage, which wants the government to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

...

Chris Plante, who is running the booth for the National Organization for Marriage, said being two booths away from GOProud wasn't an issue.

As cameras rolled, he introduced himself to Barron.

"I hope we'll have more time to talk over the next four days. Maybe we can have a beer later," Plante said.

"We can have a beer summit later. It worked for Obama," Barron joked.

A meeting, yes. But don't expect a meeting of the minds.

"Gays and lesbians have the right to live as they choose, but they don't have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of us," Plante said.

But off camera, things look a little different, as NOM felt it necessary to send out a far less friendly statement to reporters on GOProud's participation in CPAC:

Many reporters, including Politico, have asked us how we feel about the fact GOProud is just a few booths over from us. We welcome everyone's right to participate in the democratic process, but we have a message for GOProud on marriage: If you try to elect pro-gay-marriage Republicans, we will Dede Scozzafava them. The majority of Americans, and the vast majority of Republicans, support marriage as the union of husband and wife, and NOM is here to make sure these voters and their voices are heard loud and clear.

Time's Jay Newton-Small also reports that GOPround had a run-in with representative of American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property which, just the other day, released a report defending Don't Ask, Don't Tell on the grounds that homosexuality is fundamentally evil and allowing gays to serve openly would destroy the military's honor.  Needless to say, TFP was not every welcoming of GOProud: 

These days, the group is particularly concerned with gays in the military. Beyond opposing the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the organization of lay Catholics would like to see all homosexuals banned from the military, according to a white and green pamphlet they were handing out. The case against gays in the military is laid out in a book, displayed prominently, called An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC, yours for just $14.95.

While I was flipping through the autobiography, a woman approached the booth. Catherine Sumner, it turned out, was part of GOProud, a group of openly gay Republicans and conservatives that for the first time is taking part in CPAC. “Is this your flyer?” Sumner demanded, waving the white and green pamphlet. Thus launched a debate about gays in the military that pretty much ended when the booth attendee told her that homosexuality is a sin and she's going to hell.

“It's insulting,” Sumner, 31, who edits a military magazine, said turning away. “Across the board the reaction to GOProud's presence here has been positive, but then you have guys like this. Even Dick Cheney came out and says he supports us. Conservatives have to be more inclusive, they have to be.” In fact, just one group, Liberty University, boycotted CPAC over the inclusion of GOProud, though the Catholic crowd weren't the only ones unnerved by their presence: one booth down from GOProud's set up in the fourth row, those manning the National Organization for Marriage, which works to ban gay marriage, kept casting nervous – and slightly envious – glances at the somewhat larger crowd surrounding GOProud's booth.

Considering that a who's who of right-wing leaders, including David Keene of the CPAC-founding American Conservative Union, joined TFP for a press conference yesterday supporting DADT at CPAC itself, its hard to imagine that GOProud or its supporters could have felt particularly welcome at the event:

UPDATE: Via Sarah Posner we see that GOProud's Jimmy LaSalvia is not at all impressed with NOM's tactics: 

UPDATE II: This video from Media Matters is absolutely remarkable: 

Changes certainly are afoot in the state of Virginia with the election of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who recently moved to strip away anti-discrimination protections for gays.

Now, in addition to efforts by state legislators to ensure that money raised from the sale of proposed "Respect Choice" license plates do not go to Planned Parenthood, Gov. McDonnell's long time ally Pat Robertson and other right-wing pastors are seeking his promise to defund the organization:

Some of Virginia's most influential Christian leaders asked Gov. Bob McDonnell and other top officials Thursday to block state funding for Planned Parenthood because the nonprofit organization provides abortions.

The Virginia Christian Alliance presented a petition signed by the Rev. Pat Robertson, the Rev. Jonathan Falwell and dozens of others asking Republicans McDonnell, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to help defund the organization.

The pastors cited what they called the "unethical, immoral and racist practices" of Planned Parenthood, the nation's No. 1 abortion provider.

And according to the Virginia Pilot, McDonnell is going to support the effort:

Virginia's top three elected officials -- all Republicans -- expressed support Thursday for an effort by religious leaders to eliminate any state money that goes to Planned Parenthood, a health care organization that provides abortions.

Here are some responses from their offices:

"Lieutenant Governor Bolling does not believe that public funds should be used to pay for abortions, nor does he believe that public funds should be used to support organizations that provide abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. In fact, in 2007 the Lieutenant Governor cast the deciding vote in the Senate to withhold public funds from Planned Parenthood. His position has not changed."

Ibbie Hedrick, spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling

"Attorney General Cuccinelli supports withholding state funds for Planned Parenthood. It is Constitutional for state money to go to third party contractors, but just because it is Constitutional does not mean that it is a good policy and state funding of Planned Parenthood is a bad policy. Attorney General Cuccinelli supports the overall goal of this group, but does not plan to sign a petition." Dan Dodds, spokesman for Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

The petition referred to in the response from Cuccinelli's office is a document the religious consortium is circulating.

Among its prominent signatories are Virginia Beach-based religious broadcaster Pat Robertson and Jonathan Falwell, son of Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell.

Another noteworthy public figure who plans to sign the petition is Gov. Bob McDonnell, a spokeswoman for the governor said Thursday evening.