- As expected, President Barack Obama overturned the Bush administration ban on using federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. Needless to say, the Religious Right is livid: FRC called it a “slap in the face”; Gary Bauer called it “a tragedy”; Operation Rescue called it “morally, unethical and fiscally irresponsible”; and others weighed in as well.
- It looks like Mitt Romney’s appearance at the Club for Growth conference didn’t go so well.
- Human Events reports that Sen. John Thune is the point person for the GOP outreach to conservative groups and regularly meets with the likes of the ACLJ and others.
- Rob Schenck reports that he has been invited to address a “working session of Christian leaders and other community activists working to preserve traditional marriage in the state of Maryland [that] will meet in the Maryland State Capitol at the invitation of State Delegate Don Dwyer.”
- Chuck Norris announces that he may run for president of Texas and declares that, this Friday, “thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation.”
- Quote of the Day honors go to Tom McClusky of the Family Research Council: “The Republicans need to take a step back from the big-tent philosophy. All a big tent does is attract a lot of clowns.”
- Finally, the New York Times profiled 14 year-old conservative wunderkind Jonathan Krohn, who declared Barack Obama “the most left-wing president in my lifetime.” Matthew Yglesias had a good response to Krohn’s sudden stardom:
I really struggle to understand why this particular gimmick appeals to conservatives. What does it accomplish to put a 14 year-old front and center at CPAC? What’s the message it’s supposed to send? That the conservative message is childish? That the right’s talking points can be easily mastered by a 14 year-old? That the CPAC audience doesn’t care about the knowledge-base of the speakers there, they just want to hear certain ritual beats repeated? I wouldn’t want to claim that liberals are so high-minded as to be above all that, but I’m hard-pressed to think of an example of liberals trying to flaunt disdain for knowledge and expertise.
