The Yackety Yack On CPAC VII: They Could Have Danced All Night

From time-to-time throughout the next several days, I’ll be posting some quotes and links from the best blogging coming out of CPAC.  My six previous postings can be found by clicking: here and here and here and here and here and here. 

-The party’s over, and a very successful party it was, by all accounts.  Well, that is unless you’re Mike Hucksterbee and you turned down an invitation to be at the successful party and you’re now reduced to trying [and failing] to save face.  From the Politico, Jonathan Martin reporting: 

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 Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.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

Back in December, I think I called it right when I labeled The Hucksterbee a PATHETIC WEASEL LOOOSA. 

Stacy McCain has the right idea [emphasis mine]: 

Heh. So now that he’s got his own Fox News show, Huckabee’s too good for CPAC? I’m thinking of calling Lisa De Pasquale and suggesting that next year’s CPAC feature the Mike Huckabee Award for Outstanding Douchebaggery. 

Who Am I?

-Over at The Sundries Shack, Jimmie Bise has up a great posting [tip of the fedora to Smitty] on the man I consider the Hero Of CPAC: Andrew Breitbart [see my thoughts on him at CPAC here].  A highlight: 

One of the reasons I dig Andrew Breitbart as much as I do is that he takes the fight to the disingenuous, smirking progressive left. For too long, conservatives have allowed the progressives to throw whatever smears they wished without ever really pushing back. Well, Breitbart pushes back. Hard. 

Andrew Breitbart is our Cato The Younger.  From Wikipedia: 

…He is remembered for his legendary stubbornness and tenacity (especially in his lengthy conflict with Gaius Julius Caesar), as well as his immunity to bribes, his moral integrity, and his famous distaste for the ubiquitous corruption of the period. 

That’s our Andrew. 

-Speaking of Jimmie, he’s posted his wrap-up of CPAC here.  A highlight: 

I tweeted earlier this evening that CPAC felt different to me. It felt less like a political convention and more like a big party, like Mardi Gras without the floats and drunken debauchery (well, at least until after sunset)…. 

I ain’t going next year if the decadence ain’t 24/7. 

–Stacy McCain filed a report this morning at The American Spectator on the Convention.  A highlight: 

Reagan Palooza 2010 kept cranking into the wee hours of Sunday morning on Capitol Hill. Young right-wingers were jammed onto the upstairs dance floor of the Hawk ‘n’ Dove where they partied past midnight after the final day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. 

The fire-code capacity crowd was drenched in sweat as they writhed rhythmically to the thunderous bass beats pumped out by the sound system beneath the strobing disco lights. Several of the 20-somethings were singing along to the lyrics — “This is all so crazy, everybody seems so famous” — when investigative reporter Matthew Vadum nudged me and shouted into my ear, “This is that Hannah Montana song.” Further research (which is to say, a phone call to my daughter, a college junior) confirmed that the reggae-inflected tune was in fact performed by Miley Cyrus, the teenage star of the popular Disney TV series. 

“Party in the USA” was certainly appropriate as the soundtrack for this year’s CPAC, where conservatives signaled that they have regained the confidence they lost in the debacle of 2008. 

Miley Cyrus!!!…I should have gone just to prevent that kind of music from being played…Miley Frickin’ Cyrus! 

-Over at his own site, Stacy filed a supplement to the TAS report with pictures.  A snippet: 

…As far as I’m concerned, the real scandal here is . . . Coors Light? Dude. Real right-wingers don’t drink “light” beer. It’s almost as bad for the paleo street-cred as hanging out with [David] Frum. 

Coors Light and Miley Cyrus!!!  Oh they definitely need Bobby Bourbon Belvedere there next year to do some serious polishing of the VRWC image. 

-Stacy posted some more pictures in this posting [including one of Hannah Giles]. 

-He also provided us with some behind the scenes stories of his adventures [with photos]. 

-Over at AmSpecBlog, James Antle ponders the meaning of Ron Paul’s big win in the straw poll conducted at CPAC.  A highlight: 

But it would also be a mistake to dismiss Paul’s strong showing at CPAC entirely. Ron Paul has clearly struck a nerve among a large portion of the young activist right. His supporters are getting savvier and more professional. And Paul’s strain of conservatism does appear to be growing in appeal — slightly on foreign policy, substantially on domestic affairs. Paul has built a movement that has outlasted his 2008 run and may outlast his own political career. 

Indeed, it may.  I think the big take-away from the poll is that the attendees were sending a message to the GOP and Conservative Establishments: we’re serious about the fight we’re in and we’re not going to take any prisoners, so don’t count on us to follow you.  You better follow our lead. 

-Moe Lane’s posted some more interviews with candidates over at his own site.  Good stuff, as you’ve come to expect. 

-The interviews with the candidates are good to see, but, in my book, the most interesting people to listen to are the average Joes and Janes.  To my knowledge, DaTechguy is the only person with a video camera going around and recording these folks.  He’s done great work and is continuing to post them over at his site.  DTG also captured the crowd reaction to Glenn Beck’s speech in pictures. 

-DTG’s also been taping quicky interviews with the Reagan Award winners and you can see them by clicking here.  There are two special Award winner videos I would urge you to view: Little Miss Attila and DaTechguy himself. 

-It seems some bloggers, including Midnight Blue, prevented Code Pink from pulling something at the Convention.  MB has posted the video and tells the story here.  Great work bloggers. 

-Little Miss Attila has up a picture of The Fedora Crew [Smitty, Stacy, DaTechguy]: 

 

My only question is: Who’s the babe? 

-LMA tells us DTG ‘is now, by the way, one of my spiritual advisors’.  He is the most normal looking one of the bunch.