Best. CPAC. Ever.

Posted on | March 5, 2014 | 32 Comments

Every year, the question is, “How can this CPAC possibly better than last year’s?” I’m not sure, but every year they try:

As soon as attendees at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) check into their hotel rooms, they will see evidence that the 2016 presidential campaign has already begun. Room keys at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center are emblazoned with the face of Dr. Ben Carson and the slogan, “Run Ben Run!” This promotion is provided by the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee, which has already raised nearly $3 million to encourage the famed heart surgeon to pursue the Republican Party presidential nomination.
By the time CPAC ends Saturday afternoon with a speech by 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, attendees will have heard from nearly every politician mentioned as a potential 2016 GOP presidential contender, beginning with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s speech Thursday morning. Cruz will be followed to the CPAC rostrum Thursday by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who was Mitt Romney’s 2012 running mate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and business mogul Donald Trump. Friday’s lineup includes Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, while former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks Saturday, in addition to the speeches by Carson and Palin. Among the names commonly discussed as Republican presidential candidates in 2016, only Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are missing from the CPAC schedule. . . .

Please read the whole thing at The American Spectator.

Category: CPAC

Comments

32 Responses to “Best. CPAC. Ever.”

richard mcenroe
March 5th, 2014 @ 9:38 pm

But are the libertines from Maine College Republicans going to show up again in their licentious dress? THAT’s the big question, since Boehner stated he will not repeal Obamacare and will get Amnesty through.
ariyadesai01
March 5th, 2014 @ 10:38 pm

RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Best. CPAC. Ever. http://t.co/9d99ctCzId #TCOT
Garym
March 5th, 2014 @ 9:40 pm

Something tells me that the straw poll will end in a “Paul” winning once again.
Erick Brockway
March 5th, 2014 @ 9:52 pm

AND…Ron Paul won’t be hacking the straw poll! Maybe.
Bradoplata
March 5th, 2014 @ 9:58 pm

I’ll hit the tip jar hard if you throw some rotten fruit at Christie. Wtf is he doing there anyway?
WaltPimbley
March 5th, 2014 @ 11:02 pm

RT @smitty_one_each: TOM Best. CPAC. Ever. http://t.co/9d99ctCzId #TCOT
Liberals are Bolsheviks
March 5th, 2014 @ 10:07 pm

Charges of racism are a weapon. A very effective, skillfully wielded weapon, pure and simple.

They’re used because they’re so effective and, if anything, bowing to them by attempting to prove that one’s not a racist only puts one further under the thumb of psychological manipulation that the liberal media excels at.

We shouldn’t be wasting our valuable and limited time + resources attempting to disprove a canard conjured up by the liberal media for the sole purpose of continued psychological manipulation.

If anything, attempting to disprove false charges so vehemently brings further scrutiny and media fodder of the subject.

In sum, until conservatives begin to understand the war that we’re engaged in, and honestly assess it, they will continue to struggle against the vicious rip-currents of the TV-media driven tide.
Dianna Deeley
March 5th, 2014 @ 10:20 pm

Not Jeb. Please. Not a Bush versus a Clinton. I simply can’t bear the thought.
Shawny
March 6th, 2014 @ 12:44 am

There’s no lesser of two evils there. I’d have to vote “Other”.
K-Bob
March 6th, 2014 @ 2:59 am

I understand the attraction of actually attending a convention. I’ve been to a few (never CPAC, though).

But you’d have the same amount of fun going to Vegas with friends or having a big, multi-family campout. So let’s have no illusions on the fun factor versus what’s going on at the podium or in the various panels. That’s not a dig at Stacy’s point about fun. (We need him to go cover the mess, after all.) But conventions are all of a type. There’s no masking that.

CPAC as a “thing” is getting less and less interesting to me. Almost every single potential candidate delivers a speech carefully crafted not to alienate anyone. They elevate bland and boring to new heights. I’d rather see two featured speakers at a big rally out West. Especially if I can drag a cooler along.

The real show is watching Republicans contort themselves into accepting poison in the punchbowl as a way to show they are “expanding the tent.” It’s almost like being stuck watching CNN at a doctor’s office.

You’d think they’d learn enough salesmanship to recognize that Trainwrecks work better with explosions.
K-Bob
March 6th, 2014 @ 3:05 am

“Rand Wins Straw Poll in Landslide!”

May as well get ready for it.
K-Bob
March 6th, 2014 @ 3:05 am

It only counts if they demand GBLT bathrooms.
MrSaturn
March 6th, 2014 @ 6:19 am

I don’t have a lot of say about CPAC but I was at the Gaylord for MAGFest (Music & Gaming Festival) at the beginning of the year and damn that area was amazing.
joethefatman
March 6th, 2014 @ 7:24 am

The Ben Carson for President campaign is a nonstarter for me. He has said it depends on where you live as to what type of gun you should be able to own. He’s dangerous for the constitution and the freedoms they guarantee, because if he thinks one amendment is negotiable, then he thinks they all are.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/03/04/dr_benjamin_carson_on_gun_control_it_depends_on_where_you_live.html
Dana
March 6th, 2014 @ 8:40 am

The fact that you are spending time at CPAC does not excuse you from your required posting duties. We expect you to continue to enlighten and entertain us.
Dana
March 6th, 2014 @ 8:40 am

Me, I’m hoping that Kaitlyn Hunt will be there.
Wombat_socho
March 6th, 2014 @ 9:28 am

Katsucon was ungodly expensive and kinda boring. Tell me more about this MAGFest.
StrangernFiction
March 6th, 2014 @ 10:18 am

D vs DIABLO (Democrat In All But Label Only).
Quartermaster
March 6th, 2014 @ 12:08 pm

Either that, or we’ll have a denunciation convention, and we might have too much fun doing that.
rmnixondeceased
March 6th, 2014 @ 2:16 pm

I’m still running in 2016 with my running mate Charleton Heston (Deceased). Remember to vote Dead Dick in 2016!
rmnixondeceased
March 6th, 2014 @ 2:18 pm

Just keep an eye open for members of Team Kimberlin …
Quartermaster
March 6th, 2014 @ 2:32 pm

You ain’t her type. Not girly enough.
Quartermaster
March 6th, 2014 @ 7:25 pm

He’s falling down on the job. So do you want to lead off with the first denunciation, or would you like to defer to someone else. K_Bob does a good denunciation, so perhaps we should defer to him.

Just have your list handy so we don’t miss anyone. Especially not Wombat or Smitty. They might be offended if we leave them out. RSM just because he’s forcing us to entertain ourselves while he enjoys himself in the fleshpots of the district of corruption.
MrSaturn
March 6th, 2014 @ 8:13 pm

4 days of video games, board games, gaming music, panels, etc. A huge selection of free to play arcade games from the 70s to today, an awesome dealers room and more. Honestly it was probably the most fun I’d had in the last 6 or 7 years.
Wombat_socho
March 6th, 2014 @ 10:53 pm

The Gaylord is actually not in DC but in Prince Georges County, Maryland – which by some folks is actually worse. Also, I’m not attending CPAC this year. To quote the late Lou Reed, “Some people like to go out dancing/But other people like us, well we gotta work.”
Quartermaster
March 7th, 2014 @ 6:25 am

Not in DC? You done gone and ruined a good rave.

{goes away muttering}
Dana
March 7th, 2014 @ 6:52 am

I figure that the denunciations should start from a dead man named Nixon.
K-Bob
March 7th, 2014 @ 8:43 am

She’s bringing the finger food.
rmnixondeceased
March 7th, 2014 @ 8:55 am

Congrats Stacy on being awarded the Activism Post Award at BlogBash! last evening!
Dana
March 7th, 2014 @ 10:37 am

And K-Bob wins the Internets for Friday!
Quartermaster
March 7th, 2014 @ 1:38 pm

Nixon’s around here somewhere.
riverlifecallie
March 8th, 2014 @ 2:58 pm

In addition, if Ben Carson wasn’t black, would anyone seriously be promoting him for President? I like the fact that he made an anti-Obamacare speech in front of the preezy, but one issue does not a presidential candidate make. I can’t shake the feeling that he is being pushed BECAUSE he is black, to show how non-racist we all are. We need to stop playing their game and elect candidates that share our views. As you said, I have grave reservations about Ben Carson.