The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment
And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).
The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....
T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???
Rand Paul won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, a victory that cements his status as a tea-party favorite.
Paul, who spoke at CPAC earlier this week, drew the support of many college-age activists and libertarians. Throughout the conference's hallways, the support for Paul was strong, and his backers handed out "Stand with Rand" posters.
Conservative leaders say Paul's victory is a sign of his popularity within Republican ranks. "I'm glad someone who says bold things is rising," says Arthur Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute. "At a time when many conservatives are reflecting on the future, his views are connecting."
Boyden Gray, a former counselor to President George H. W. Bush, agrees. He says Paul may not be cheered in every corner of the party, but he's a formidable figure. "Even within the GOP, people are beginning to question big institutions, from big government to big banks, and Rand Paul is speaking to them," he says.
Senator Paul, a Kentucky Republican and ophthalmologist, follows in the footsteps of his father, Ron Paul, who won the CPAC straw poll in 2010 and 2011.
Paul's supporters were not the only activists pushing a candidate at the Gaylord National Hotel in suburban Maryland. Supporters of Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and supporters of New Jersey governor Chris Christie also had informal get-out-the-vote operations.
But Paul's group was, by far, the most vocal, and its efforts paid off. According to a CPAC official, Paul was expected to win, and he drew heavy, consistent support.
Other Republicans on the ballot included Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Bobby Jindal, and Governor Scott Walker. Rubio, for his part, came in a close second. Paul won 25 percent, and Rubio won 23 percent.
Tea Party favorite, rising Republican star, libertarian heartthrob - but a successful candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016?
It won't be his fiscal conservatism, or his ability to articulate conservative principles. But it may be his foreign policy positions that would make Rand Paul a bridge too far for a majority of Republicans. Is the party ready to accept isolationism as a foundational principle in foreign affairs? This remains to be seen.
Rand Paul is not as stridently anti-interventionist as his father and that has to count for something. But you can bet the major line of attack of Paul's primary opponents will be questions about his commitment to Republican foreign policy principles.
Rand Paul won the CPAC straw poll and was closely followed by Marco Rubio… and many feel that if Ted Cruz had spoken earlier in the event that he would have come in higher in the poll… but again, Sarah Palin rocked the house!!
Big Government: The American Conservative Union (ACU), which runs the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), announced on Monday that Sarah Palin will speak at the 40th annual gathering of conservatives in March.
“We are pleased to again welcome Governor Sarah Palin to CPAC in March,” ACU Chairman Al Cardenas said in a statement. “Governor Palin electrified the crowd in 2012 and we are thrilled to welcome her back this year.”
CPAC 2013 will be held Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16, 2013 at its new location in National Harbor, MD at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.
The non-Washington, D.C. location of this year's conference is fitting for Palin, who blistered the permanent political class and crony capitalism during her 2012 address last year in the nation's capital in her first appearance at the conference.
Last year, she was mobbed in the hallways before her speech. Palin stayed for nearly an hour after speaking, engaging conservatives and supporters who were there to listen to her. Reporters and observers at CPAC noted in 2012 they had not seen anyone who resonated with the conservative base more than Palin.
At CPAC 2012, Palin said Washington, D.C. had become "something that our forefathers never envisioned, and they would have sworn their lives, their fortunes, their sacred honor to change."
Palin said the "old Washington of our Founders" was a place where people "came to serve your government, not prosper over it and on it and from it and off of it." She mentioned the country's wealthiest counties were all around the D.C. region, a theme director Stephen K. Bannon and Peter Schweizer's Government Accountability Institute would later document a year later in "Boomtown." She referenced her speech in Indianola, Iowa in 2011 when she spoke of "crony capitalism" that "isn't the capitalism of free men and free markets, of risk and sacrifice, of innovation and hard work." She said the new crony capitalism is one of "connections" and of "government bailout and handouts" and waste, "corporate welfare and corruption."
After her Indianola speech, "crony capitalism" and "permanent political class" were injected into the political vocabulary.
"This is the capitalism of Barack Obama and the permanent political class," Palin said at CPAC in 2012.
She lambasted the Occupy protesters who were at the conference in 2012, saying they should be instead protesting at Obama's White House, which has "spurred the expansion of government which diminishes freedom and opportunity for all to rise and to succeed." Palin derided politicians who come to Washington, D.C. "denouncing the place as the cesspool of corruption" only to, after a year or two, see it as a hot tub.
"And they are hopping in and enjoying the Jacuzzi," Palin said, noting it was "time we drain the Jacuzzi and throw the bums out with the bath water."
After Palin turned down Fox News' offer to renew her contract, she spoke exclusively to Breitbart News about her future. When asked what her response was to the mainstream media's declarations that she and the Tea Party were "buried," Palin said she was raised "to never retreat and to pick battles wisely, and all in due season."
"When it comes to defending our republic, we haven’t begun to fight! But we delight in those who underestimate us," Palin told Breitbart News last month.
I cannot say that I knew Andrew Breitbart well, but I knew him, spent time with him at a tea party event in Santa Ana (where he and his father-in-law Orson Bean spoke) and it felt like he was a friend I’d known forever. And from what I hear, he made everyone feel that way. He was fun, exuberant, and bigger than life. It was one of my first tea party events and he welcomed me and let me hangout with the “Big” Dogs. He was definitely a friend of the people, of America and of the fight to “right” our ship of state!
Andrew’s death at only 43 is a terrible loss and he will be missed. Andrew was a powerful force and an outspoken light in the wilderness for the conservative movement. He leaves behind a wife (daughter of Orson Bean) and 4-small children that he adored and a political family that loved him as well.
Breitbart was not always political, his parents were secular liberals; he grew up in Southern California. His first big job was for the very liberal Huffington Post. Like many who get involved in the trenches and see the reality they find their voice and often move to the right (like David Horowitz).
Most recently, Breitbart made a splash at CPAC and he is well known for exposing Anthony Weiner and providing a platform in the battle against ACORN. Andrew Breitbart had his own special style, almost a mirror image of Abbey Hoffman… an actor and warrior, but for the right. He loved his work, loved fighting for the cause and against the left, loved the political theatre and even loved making enemies. He was on a mission. As my dear friend Terresa Monroe Hamilton from the NoisyRoom, who knew him better than I, writes below, “I will miss you my friend!”
Marion Algier~
Conservative Blogger and Publicist – Andrew Breitbart
Sometimes, God takes his warriors home early and so was the case today with Andrew Breitbart.
The Conservative Blogosphere is in shock and mourning today as the news of Andrew’s passing circulates – he was 43. I am numb and am very sad – today I lost a friend and mentor. His family lost a caring husband, a wonderful father and their center of gravity. Conservatives lost a happy warrior, a leader and a true scrapper. The loss is immeasurable. He was described as “the Upton Sinclair of the mainstream media.”
Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center, Bean said. Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies.
Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.
Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us.
I will grieve today and for a long time for his passing and our loss. But one thing I am certain of, Andrew would want us to fight on and double down. If you ever had a doubt about what we do or if you ever felt weary, Andrew is screaming from Heaven, get over it! Move on and fight!! For myself, that is what I will do. The researchers and bloggers I know will do the same, because the fight is far bigger than any one of us. Should another fall, more will rise and carry on because we have to. Our country and our loved ones depend on it.
DEAR READER: In the first decade of the DRUDGEREPORT Andrew Breitbart was a constant source of energy, passion and commitment. We shared a love of headlines, a love of the news, an excitement about what's happening. I don't think there was a single day during that time when we did not flash each other or laugh with each other, or challenge each other. I still see him in my mind's eye in Venice Beach, the sunny day I met him. He was in his mid 20's. It was all there. He had a wonderful, loving family and we all feel great sadness for them today... MDRUDGE
I’m sure Media Matters, George Soros and Progressives are dancing in the streets this morning. I wouldn’t celebrate too hard guys. We are coming for you. You will not stay in power and you will not succeed in your evil, destructive plans. You are at the top of our dance card and we can’t wait to take you for a spin. This only makes us more determined. You’ll long for the days when Andrew walked among you, because now he is working through each of us. Let’s dance.
To Andrew’s family – Susannah and his four children, our heartfelt condolences. May you find peace and strength in the coming days and know that you are not alone. There is so much love for you and Andrew – there are millions out here for you to lean on.
Andrew was the epitome of a warrior. He dared to go where others would not, so that America could regain her freedom. He was the leader of the Tea Party Movement and he was a giant in the New Media. He pioneered a future way to get news information that was honest and timely. He brought truth and light into the darkest of corners and tread unafraid amid evil and its supporters. He has not gone, just shifted his presence. His ventures in Big Hollywood, Big Peace, Big Journalism and Big Government will continue as will the Tea Party. Andrew, you will be missed, but we will keep fighting.
I will miss my friend – he always had a kind word for me and encouraged me. Rest in peace Andrew.
“This hits far closer to home than I would care to share at this time. “We got work to do.” Breitbart’s words at CPAC just recently:
“I’ve got videos. This election we’re going to vet him”
“To show why racial division and class warfare are central to what hope and change was sold in 2008.”
“The videos are going to come out; the narrative is going to come out that Barack Obama met a bunch of silver ponytails back in the 1980s like Bill and Bernadine Dohrn, equally radical, who said one day we’re going to have the presidency. And the rest of us slept while they plotted....”
*Greg Gutfeld, co-host of The Five and host of Redeye gave a great tribute to Andrew Breitbart on The Five today. Andrew and Greg were friends and political cohorts with a like sense of humor. Gutfeld thanked Breitbart for his introduction of Greg to Fox. Tonight on Redeye, they will do a one hour tribute to Andrew Breitbart who appeared on that show many times. Greg Gutfeld said of his friend: Breitbart Was The Spiritual Leader of the Modern Conservative, Libertarian Cause.
For many conservative Republicans, the dream outcome of the 2012 primary season is a brokered convention. Disappointed in the four remaining choices, they hope to change horses in August, at the end of the primary stream. drafting their preferred candidate, be it Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, or ???
But as sure as Jeb Bush will be proposed, so will Sarah Palin. She is now and always has been the singular Reaganesque super-star voice in the original Tea Party phenomenon; the only one who can bring it to the mainstream. Her absence from the primary race has left a vacuum and no substitute has been found. Every other possible or potential leadership hopeful has risen and receded in this already seemingly long Republican primary season.
All reports from the CPAC conference, the former Alaska governor received far and away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception at the convention of about 10,000 conservative activists. She drew the audience to its feet more than a dozen times during her keynote address on Saturday. “The cheers for Palin were so loud that they drowned out her remarks again and again,” he writes. “Conference organizers had to set up three overflow rooms to accommodate the throngs of supporters eager to hear her words.”
Sarah Palin bated clean-up at CPAC and hit a home run! Her appearance reminded CPAC’s attendees how much they missed her. Palin was/is the conservative super-star. She brought the red meat to CPAC and crowd loved it… as they loved her! Palin repeatedly said the door was open for a conservative victory, but the door that seemed to be open the widest was the one to her political future as the leader of the conservative movement and as heiress to the Reagan legacy. Sarah once again proved her conservative relevancy… It was her party on Saturday, and it could be for the foreseeable future. The only questions remains, could that include a place for here on the party ticket in a brokered primary?
Remember… Palin has already been there once for a dress rehearsal.
Photo: McCain Election Album 2008
Many have been adamant that the outcome of a brokered convention is extremely unlikely. For it to occur, there has to be an almost perfect storm of events; the GOP elites can’t just declare shenanigans on the primary season and select a new nominee. Instead, something has to prevent any of the current candidates from clinching a majority of the delegates; if one of them amasses that majority, he will be the nominee on the first ballot at the convention in Tampa. But has anyone else noticed how often they ask Mitt Romney about this possibility?
It is looking more and more like the the GOP fight could eventually degenerate into an ideological battle between the very conservative and somewhat conservative/moderate wings of the party, with Romney on one side and a single alternative on the other. Unless there was a late entrant or Ron Paul caught fire in the caucus states, someone was virtually assured of claiming the requisite number of delegates in that scenario. (However, there are signs that the Romney and Paul camps may have already brokered a deal.)
Something else to remember, the GOP does have super-delegates of a sort, in the form of the 63 RNC members. They aren’t as numerous as they are in the Democratic Party, but they are still there. While many of them have already declared allegiance to one candidate or another, those commitments can evaporate quickly, as Hillary Clinton learned all to well to her sorrow in 2008.
Additionally and perhaps even more importantly, demographic and geographic splits are beginning to surface in the GOP that resemble the splits in the Democratic Party in 2008. That year, Hillary Clinton laid claim to working-class whites and Latino voters, while Barack Obama laid claim to college-educated whites and African-Americans. This divide continued throughout the primary, right up to the last day of voting.
The GOP split is still speculative at this point. But to see the possibility, examine the map of U.S. counties and how they have voted so far. Blue counties backed Romney, red backed Gingrich, green are for Santorum, while white have gone for some other candidate (or not yet voted).
Romney has done well in New Hampshire and south Florida; the latter is basically the North transplanted to the South. This suggests continued strength in the Northeast. He’s also done well in the Mountain West: Nevada was in his camp, as was a large portion of the Western Slope of Colorado. Note also the handful of counties in southern Colorado that went for Romney; they are heavily Mexican-American, and Romney has run well with Latino voters in the GOP contests thus far.
Next, Gingrich. There is continued resistance to Mitt Romney in the GOP among evangelicals. These voters are concentrated largely, but not exclusively, in the South. And as we see, the former House speaker ran well in South Carolina as well as in northern Florida, and is expected to do well in Georgia. This caused many to conclude that Gingrich was on the verge of emerging as the definitive not-Romney.
But now we have to consider that Santorum has won Iowa and Minnesota in the Midwest, and won Colorado largely on the strength of his showing in eastern Colorado (which is basically the Great Plains). He also won Missouri -- which is culturally more southern than Midwestern -- but Gingrich wasn’t on the ballot there. For now at least, he is the "anti-Romney" in the Midwest. Santorum is getting a bit of boost from the Catholic birth control mandate issue, but some aren’t so sure about his fiscal conservatism.
If this split continues -- Romney in the West and Northeast, Gingrich in the South, and Santorum in the Midwest -- we could easily find ourselves in a scenario where no candidate crosses the 1,144-delegate threshold by the time voting ends. Consider this: Right now, Romney barely has a majority of the delegates. If Gingrich successfully contests the winner-takes-all allocation in the Florida primary (based on the RNC’s rule against such a format before April), no one would have a majority of the delegates as of today.
We will find out how viable this path is in the next few weeks. In the lead-up to Super Tuesday, we’ll probably see Romney win Arizona, Michigan and Maine. Arizona and Maine are in his demographic wheelhouse, while he is a native Michigander and his father was governor of the state (Although in a recent survey 67% of the people living in Michigan were not born or did not live in Michigan when George Romney was Governor). Washington is a coastal state, where Romney’s strength hasn’t been tested, so it is up in the air.
Super Tuesday will likely be tougher for him. Four of the five largest states -- Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia -- are Southern (or in Oklahoma's case, culturally Southern). Romney will likely win Virginia by default, but he will probably fare poorly in the remaining three. If Gingrich can stay in the race and maintain his strength in the South, he will likely win them.
On the other hand, Romney will probably do well in Massachusetts, Idaho and Vermont. Santorum seems well-positioned to win North Dakota. But let us remember, Santorum is fourth in delegates, behind Ron Paul.
So the viability of a three-way split probably comes down to Ohio, which has a fair number of evangelicals, though not to the degree that Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia do. Santorum has some strengths he can draw on in the Buckeye State, as his blue-collar message could play well even among Republicans there. If he wins, it means that we probably do have a deeply divided GOP, with Gingrich taking the anti-Romney vote in the South, and Santorum taking the anti-Romney vote in the Midwest.
The key is that neither Gingrich nor Santorum can begin to do so well that the other drops out. Both must remain effectively regional candidates. If Gingrich’s support collapses in the South, it might leave an opening there for Santorum. We’ve seen some potential evidence of this, as Gingrich’s support in Gallup’s tracking poll is down about seven points since the Florida primary (although it isn’t down in the wake of Santorum’s wins Tuesday night). If that were to occur, we would be back to a two-person race. There is also now word that Gingrich’s financial supporter, Adelson, has pulled out. Most feel he will stay in the race, but that his star has faded.
Alternatively, Santorum’s support could turn out to be confined to caucus states and/or states where Romney failed to spend money. Remember, Colorado and Minnesota are small state caucuses, virtually ignored by the candidates. Santorum’s win in Minnesota was large enough, however, that it could indicate broader support among the general electorate (as was his showing in eastern Colorado). This might allow Gingrich to step in, or Romney to wrap up the nomination. But Santorum says he has a plan to beat Mitt in Michigan.
But in the event this scenario does unfold through Super Tuesday, we would then begin a long slog. But unlike 2008, where Obama’s states were frontloaded and allowed him to gain an air of inevitability early on, here the states are spread out. The remainder of March contains Northern caucuses in Wyoming and Kansas. There are Southern states: Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. At the same time, areas with heavily Latino population such as Puerto Rico, and states with relatively liberal Republican parties (Illinois) will cast their ballots. The fact that these contests award their delegates proportionately will prevent any candidate from breaking out.
In April, Gingrich would have a great chance in Texas, Maryland and Delaware (increasingly de facto Southern states in the GOP primary electorate), while Romney would receive large delegate hauls in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. Santorum would have primaries in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
In the end, we could end up in California in early June with no clear nominee. While that state is nominally winner-take-all for a whopping 172 delegates, in fact it allocates the overwhelming majority of those delegates by Congressional District. Who is voting in a Republican primary in Nancy Pelosi’s or Maxine Waters’ district? I honestly have no idea, but if they’re different from the voters in the Latino central valley districts, and if they’re different than the voters in Orange County, and if they’re different from the voters in the Sierra districts, we really could have a situation where the state doesn’t produce a winner for the GOP.
If this occurs, and Ron Paul wins around 100 delegates along the way, we have a situation where no candidate has more than 900 delegates, and three have more than 400. In that situation, no one would be able to lay claim to the mantle of presumptive nominee. The convention would eventually deadlock, and an outside candidate could emerge.
The Bush family secret agenda has been a subliminal theme for months with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the favored proxy and pitchman. But at CPAC it broke through to the surface: Al Cardenas, head of the American Conservative Union, says that Republican turmoil might lead to a brokered convention in which Jeb Bush would emerge as a “possible alternative” party nominee. (Cardenas is already walking back his comments and his speech is disappearing from the Internet… but the cat is out of the bag.) It made Drudge this past weekend.
This would not be without its difficulties. We’ve seen the problem with sudden, late entrants before. The nominee would have to be able to put together a platform, a fundraising organization, prepare for debates, select a running mate, and hit the campaign trail, all in a manner of weeks.
And the candidate would not be fully vetted. There might be some skeleton in his closet, or his family’s. One wing of the party might not be satisfied. Chris Christie’s name is frequently mentioned, but he believes in climate change and favors civil unions. How will the religious right react when that is in the spotlight? Mitch Daniels may bore Tea Partiers looking for a fighter, and his past as Bush’s budget director is a black mark waiting to be exploited by his opponent. Jeb Bush is a Bush. And so forth. And then there are the the new, independent, states-oriented, freedom-seeking constitutional conservatives… a ticket of the Western states, a Palin/Perry ticket ticket from Alaska and Texas. Now wouldn’t that be interested?
Conservatism is at the shore of a new awakening but is afraid to cross the river. It goes back to Gov. Rick Perry’s Texas primary race. From Quigley’s Pundits Blog of Jan. 21, 2010: “The Austin Statesman reported that former President George H.W. Bush will endorse U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary for governor in her race against Rick Perry. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Margaret Spellings and Karen Hughes [W.’s agent] also support Hutchison … But Sarah Palin supports Rick Perry and will appear with him at a rally on Super Bowl Sunday. Does one Sarah Palin equal a Bush, a Rove, a Spellings and a Hughes? In Texas, I believe it does.” …Bernie Quigley
Perry won in a landslide. But why would the Bush establishment pull out all the stops to support Hutchison, who was sure to lose? Because they saw a new conservative movement building with Perry and Palin and were determined early on to stamp it out. They still are. Bush/Christie or Christie/Bush as “establishment” representation is bound to bring muffled chuckles (“Hey Abbott!!!”) and Obama would win in a landslide. But Bush/Christie vs. Sarah Palin/Rick Perry positions coming head to head at the Republican Convention would pit the storied worlds of Dexter and Paulie Walnuts; the most notoriously corrupt, burned-out, busted-up, used-up, dangerous, underwater and broke Eastern states, against the new, independent, states-oriented, freedom-seeking constitutional conservatives like Palin of the Western states, Texas and Alaska. Now that would be interesting.
The path to this outcome is still a very narrow, precarious one. But for the first time, I can see it. A Jeb Bush/Christy fight against Palin/Perry with maybe even a Romney/Santorum or Romney/Rand Paul option still sitting out there… or a Palin/Santorum option? Can you see it? I am beginning to!
Reuters (Photo) Palin Bats Clean-up at CPAC… Hits Home Run!
WASHINGTON, D.C – CPAC attendees packed the main ballroom, an extra ballroom and several overflow rooms -- some with men in suits and women in dresses sitting on the floor -- to hear Sarah Palin speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
The conservative superstar capped off a weekend of speeches, movies and networking by political activists of the American right.
Sarah Palin came to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. on her 48th birthday. The crowd serenaded her. And her speech was received raucously, as conservatives saw in her someone who articulated conservatism while clearly -- and surgically and defiantly -- differentiating herself from President Barack Obama.
Symbolically clad in a bold-red blouse (and not in a pale, pink pastel color, which symbolizes the Republican establishment of which she is not a part), Palin also reminded the CPAC audience why CPAC was born.
“Conservatives wanted not so much government but the Republican Party to hear us,” Palin said, in describing the genesis of CPAC. “At the 1975 CPAC, Ronald Reagan … laid out a blueprint for rebuilding the GOP under a banner of bold colors not pale pastels … And ever since then, CPAC has been a rally for conservative action.”
Added Palin: “Today, the conservative movement has never been stronger or brighter … Yet, the federal government has never cast a bigger shadow.”
But while Palin said Americans were waving a “bold banner that shouts ‘Don’t Tread on Me’" and that “our movement is bigger than one person, one candidate, one party …”, the conservative movement lacks a leader who can not only galvanize conservatives but also attack the opposition while having a record to personally back up those criticisms.
And on a day when Palin reportedly generated more enthusiasm than every presidential candidate combined who spoke at CPAC and owned the room and conference, one could not wonder how many who were listening to the speech were coming to the realization that Palin should be the GOP nominee for president much in the same way the majority in attendance at Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1976 at the Republican National Convention, in their hearts, knew that Ronald Reagan -- and not Gerald Ford -- was the rightful standard-bearer of bold conservatism.
"Candidate Obama promised to fundamentally transform America and that's one promise he has kept. Turning a shining city on a hill into a sinking ship," Palin said.
Most of her speech was aimed at President Barack Obama and what she called crony capitalism and the permanent political class.
Exhibit A: Palin indicted Obama for his “Winning the Future” plan she dubbed “his WTF plan” and his “bankrupt green energy plan,” and said, regarding the debt: “Cut it, gut it, get rid of it.”
"We look up and what do we see in our rear-view mirror? We see you (Obama) trying to overtake us, accelerating frantically in a direction we have been going," she said. "My friends, there is still time to turn aside."
Exhibit B: Palin fiercely defended life speaking out against abortion and for the rights of the unborn: “We believe every child is created equal with right to life,” Palin passionately said. “I ask you to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves … if not us, then who?” It brought the strongest applause of the evening for Palin.
"We believe every child is created equal with the right to life," Palin said.
Exhibit C: Palin said she did not want Obama’s economy that lasts and, instead, wanted an end to his administration and false promises.
Sarah used Obama’s own words against him, “He can keep his change,” Palin said. “We’ll keep our God, our guns, our Constitution.”
Exhibit D: Palin’s fiercest words were against the crony capitalistic system of Washington that has turned all Americans off.
Palin said this is not the Washington of our founding fathers and it is “something our forefathers never envisioned.” She said the “permanent political class is content,” and they exempt themselves and play by a different set of rules.
She said the “money-making opportunities” for those in D.C. are endless and they “spread their wealth” to their friends and donors. Palin has repeatedly rebuked and attacked this culture of “crony capitalism.”
Describing a shrinking economy and stubborn unemployment, Palin said America is failing. "It is not a failure of the American people, or America itself, but of our leadership," she said to thunderous applause.
“This isn’t the capitalism of free men and free markets,” Palin said. “It’s the capitalism of connections. … This is the capitalism of Barack Obama of the permanent political class.”
She called Washington a “playground of the government rich” where “millionaires are minted overnight” even though nothing is produced except favors to friends and cronies.
“Our permanent political class is content, they are immune to the realities that the rest of us face; they exempt themselves, they play by their different set of rules,” Palin said, before adding politicians are elected by promising more programs and “new freebies and new favors” and government grows to accommodate their promises.
“It never shrinks,” Palin said, in reference to the ever-growing government that “crowds out equal opportunity” and “extinguishes the independent, pioneering American spirit.”
She said politicians run by indicting Washington as a “cesspool” but then, once they arrive in Washington, decide it is like a hot tub.
“Well America, it is time we drain the Jacuzzi and we throw the bums out with the bath water,” Palin said.
And then, Palin brought down the hammer. Walked the walk. And cast herself as someone who faced the same problem that Obama faced and took a different path than Obama.
“I came from a state with a corruption problem too -- though you don’t make many friends in the establishment doing it, I fought the corrupt political mistake,” Palin said. “Barack Obama used it … he brought it here with him.”
To combat Obama’s cronyism, Palin said conservatives needed reinforcements and the Republican establishment should give the coming reinforcements leadership posts and described why it was essential for Republicans to be united in the fall.
But while she said conservatives and Republicans had to unite around the eventual nominee that she hoped would address CPAC in 2013, Palin said that the GOP nominee must be “strong,” “fortified,” “passionate,” and “a fighter for America’s ideals.”
She called for the activists in the room to support whoever the Republican nominee is in order to defeat Obama, who she claimed was trying to turn America towards a European social welfare state.
She added, in a veiled shot at Mitt Romney: “Our candidate must be someone who can instinctively turn right to constitutional conservative principles,” Palin said. “It’s too late in the game to teach it or spin it … it’s either there or it isn’t.”
Palin said the 2012 election was critical because Americans could “look to the old world to see the new world’s future” if America does not take care of its fiscal crisis. Her remarks echoed those of British politician Daniel Hannan, who earlier in the day had warned Americans not to follow the European experiment.
“So help me God, it’s not the future we will ever accept,” Palin said.
Palin will not accept that future because it is an un-exceptional one. An un-American one, to say the least.
“We are the heirs of patriots who cast off the chains of tyranny, of immigrants who braved the seas, of pioneers who pushed into the great unknown, of soldiers who stormed foreign shores, of farmers and workers laboring in field and in factories from dusk to dawn,” Palin said. “They toiled so their children would have a better life. That is America. And that is freedom. And that is why we are exceptional.”
Palin repeatedly said the door was open for a conservative victory, but the door that seemed to be open the widest was the one to her political future as the leader of the conservative movement and as heiress to the Reagan legacy.
A brief attempt by protesters to interrupt Palin's speech was quickly ended by security and chants from the crowd of "USA, USA."
Sarah Palin proved her conservative relevancy... It was her Party on Saturday, and it could be for the foreseeable future.
Palin and Wallace began discussing the ‘positive’ (false) numbers being churned out by the Obama Administration on jobs, etc. Palin’s comment was, “Total Spin!” She asked why we aren’t we counting all the people who are no longer looking for work, have dropped off the unemployment rolls but aren’t collecting welfare, or are under-employed. Palin also said, just ask the average American who isn’t working (or is supporting someone who isn’t working), about the recovery.
When asked, Palin said she thought Mitt Romney was a good candidate and that he was evolving in his Conservatism. She said she could support any of the four candidates if they are chosen as the nominee, but none have risen to the full measure of conservatism, and that is why she wants the primary process to continue. She said all the GOP candidates have their strengths but that they all needed to lay out their plans and specifics.
When asked about the upcoming liberal HBO movie about Sarah Palin, based on a false narrative, starring Julianne Moore, Palin said she should have her own jobs act, for putting so many liberal to work! She also said she would not watch the movie and that there was no truth in it. She encouraged others to spend their time on something more positive than on that dribble!
Chris Wallace talked to Sarah about how her latest Newsweek essay (also posted on facebook) on her life with her special needs child, Trig, touched his heart. She says that Trig teaches the whole family much more than they can teach him.
Happy Belated Birthday, Sarah (Friday at CPAC) and as she said, Happy Birthday, President Abraham Lincoln, the man who freed the slaves and was the 1st Republican President.
If Sarah Palin had been on the ballot for the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, there is little doubt she would have won. The former Alaska governor received far-and-away the most spirited and enthusiastic reception at this convention of about 10,000 conservative activists. She drew the audience to its feet more than a dozen times during her keynote address on Saturday.
Washington, DC -- It wasn't speeches by Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich that generated the most enthusiasm at CPAC 2012. That honor would go to former Alaska governor and Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin, who stole the conservative summit with a rousing speech on Saturday. Palin mania was palpable throughout the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. Earlier in the day hundreds of attendees swarmed Palin for photographs and an opportunity to get a glimpse at one of the most famous conservative women in the United States. Elsewhere thousands of CPACers waited in line to try...
Occupy hecklers tried to disrupt Sarah Palin's CPAC speech, in which she regularly turned President Obama's rhetoric against him, but the crowd shouted them down and Palin turned the moment into a example of how grassroots conservatives can beat Obama. "We aren't red Americans, we aren't blue Americans, we're red, white, and blue and President Obama we are through with you," Palin said in an appropriation of Obama's 2008 campaign lines. She called for "Change that we can believe in, change we need," she said, continuing that meme, explaining that "we can't wait -- our country hangs in the balance."...
Palin Calls On Romney To Work Harder For The Conservative Vote Peter Hamby Washington (CNN) - Sarah Palin issued a warning to Mitt Romney Saturday, calling on the former Massachusetts governor to do a better job explaining his record to conservatives or risk dampening voter turnout in November if he wins the Republican presidential nomination. In an interview with CNN and The New York Times before her speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, Palin said she was confused by Romney’s declaration here on Friday that he was a “severely conservative Republican.” “I wasn’t quite sure what the...
Dana Bash's tweet is now being re-tweeted many times over, and Palin's "dig" at Romney will, I predict, become the subject of news articles and be the chief political take-away from her CPAC speech. There's no way she's talking about anyone but Mitt Romney. Here's the full tweet, and later we'll get a transcript of Palin full speech: Palin dig at Romney: "we need someone who can instinctively turn right..it's too late to teach that or spin...it must be there"
C-SPAN continues its LIVE coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Saturday in Washington. The last of the 3-day conference wraps up today with speeches by Grover Norquist and Sarah Palin. Also speaking today, Chairman of National Republican Senatorial Committee Sen. John Cornyn. On Friday, the three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- addressed the conference. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak this year but instead stayed on the campaign trail. More than 10,000 conservatives are in...
Palin called for the activists in the room to support whoever the Republican nominee is in order to defeat Obama, who she claimed was trying to turn America towards a European social welfare state.
The major members of the EU and Europe, Germany, France and Canada, are now outwardly admitting that multiculturalism is a failure, doesn’t work and threatens the existence of their countries and their way of life. Rep and Ret Col Allen West agrees 100% while Australian Prime Minister had issued an ultimatum to immigrants. The question is when will the United States wake up and realize that they have been had by the Progressive globalists, which include radical Islam, using the tools of multiculturalism, political correctness and dumbing down the youth and average populations of all these countries to move us toward a new global order ( or NWO)?
WASHINGTON -- Now the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has joined the chorus. The other day he said, "My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure." The "it" was multiculturalism, and he was on French national television. In pronouncing multiculturalism defunct, the French president joins German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australia's ex-prime minister John Howard, Spain's ex-premier Jose Maria Aznar, and, most recently, British Prime Minister David Cameron in heaving a failed policy into history's dustbin. The question is, what will replace it? Or actually another question: how did multiculturalism ever become a policy of these European countries anyway?
"If you come to France, you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community, and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France," explained Sarkozy. "Of course," he explained, "we must all respect differences, but we do not want…a society where communities coexist side by side." Actually they have not existed side by side in recent years. Certain cultures were deferred to by the Europeans, namely Islam. Others were not. If your culture entertained cannibalism, you could not sit down to a nice leg of neighbor. Yet if your culture was Muslim, and you wanted to arrange a marriage for your daughter, authorities looked the other way. If you were the village atheist, you could not say God is a monstrosity and Allah is an impossibility. That would be a "hate crime," and you would be in hot water. On the other hand, you could say "Allah akbar," and no one was offended other than the village atheist.
Now the European leaders are giving this sort of tolerance of intolerance a second look. Prime Minister Cameron has called for a "more active, more muscular liberalism," one that requires the active promotion of democratic values, the rule of law, freedom of speech, and equal rights. In a recent speech in Munich he argued that, "under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream." The result is alienation and occasionally jihadism.
So how did the Europeans end up with multiculturalism, a multiculturalism that seems to favor Islam over other cultures? The Germans have outlawed Nazi culture. The Italians are not particularly hospitable to fascism, and as I have already pointed out the French are appalled at cannibalism and do not even have a good word for McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken. I think it started with the way they teach their history. Militarism, colonialism, and racism are all prominent ingredients of European history books, particularly British history. For that matter, American history stresses these ingredients also. I have been reading American college history texts and they present an alarmingly ugly view of the Western past.
By presenting the West as repugnant and the other civilizations as our prey, particularly during colonial days but also in modern times, we encourage such social pathologies as jihadism. President Sarkozy says he is not going to tolerate the kind of fundamentalism in France that leads ultimately to jihadism. How is he going to achieve this without calling for a fundamental reform in how French history is taught?
Then there is another matter. All the aforementioned statesmen and women are democrats and espouse democratic values, but there are fashions of thought in the West that do not like democratic values. For want of a better term, they are fashions of thought that follow political correctness. The politically correct do not like free speech. For that matter, the adherents to political correctness do not like many of the values of the West. What are Mr. Sarkozy and Mr. Cameron going to do about them? They are going to be even trickier to deal with than the practitioners of jihad.
R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. is founder and editor in chief of The American Spectator. His new book, After the Hangover: The Conservatives' Road to Recovery, was published on April 20 by Thomas Nelson. His previous books include the New York Times bestseller Boy Clinton: the Political Biography; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton; The Liberal Crack-Up; The Conservative Crack-Up; Public Nuisances; The Future that Doesn't Work: Social Democracy's Failure in Britain; Madame Hillary: The Dark Road to the White House; and The Clinton Crack-Up.
Fla. Congressman West: Multiculturalism Leads to Political Correctness | On the Record
This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," February 14, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
REP. ALLEN WEST, R-FLA.: I believe that we should celebrate the diversity of the melting pot called America, but never allow multiculturalism to grow on steroids and define itself as making American culture subservient! Because yes, there is a definitive American culture!
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Florida freshman congressman brings down the house at CPAC with his rousing speech. He probably gave many people in the crowd aching feet because they were standing, they were shouting and cheering for him while he closed out the three-day event. Florida congressman Allen West joins us. Good evening, sir.
WEST: Good evening.
VAN SUSTEREN: Boy, you...
WEST: Good to be here.
VAN SUSTEREN: You brought down the house at CPAC.
WEST: Well, we did a little something. I think that was that buzzer that I had in the seats that I kept popping and...
VAN SUSTEREN: The electric one.
WEST: Yes, the electric one, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: OK, in the speech (INAUDIBLE) sound we just (INAUDIBLE) you talked about defending definitive American culture against "multiculturalism on steroids." And it's about the same time that Prime Minister Cameron in London was saying essentially the same thing in Germany. What do you mean?
WEST: Well, I think it's important that we recognize that there's an American culture. I mean, there's an opening to everyone to come here to this great land. But we want them to be a part of who we are, not trying to make American culture play second fiddle to them, which I think is what you're seeing in London, in Germany, and France and several other places. So that's critical to the sustainment of this American society.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, you also got a standing ovation when you said political correctness has no place in our national security strategy. Are you suggesting that multiculturalism is political correctness? And correct me if I'm wrong. And if that is...
WEST: It leads to it. It does lead to it because I think that we are so afraid of, quote, unquote, "offending" people. So you look at the national strategy. It says nothing about Islamic terrorism, nothing about jihadism, Muslim extremism. All of a sudden, we're calling combat operations "overseas contingency operations." Terrorist attacks are now "man-caused disasters." So I think that when you have leadership that is very afraid of saying that you do have a definitive enemy, that you don't want to offend people, then you kind of lead yourself down a rosy path.
VAN SUSTEREN: How do we -- I mean, where do we draw the line or how do you make the determination because one of the things that's also very enriching is learning different cultures and having friends from different backgrounds or anything. Where do you draw the line between sort of the enrichment of different cultures and the multiculturalism?
WEST: Well, I tell you, for instance, you have a multicultural family. My wife was born and raised in Jamaica, and you know, we celebrate her Jamaican culture, but it's very important that our daughters understand that they are part of a greater United States of America and understanding our history but still being respected to their culture.
And so I think that when you look at all of the different people that come here to this great nation, they come to be part of America. But we have to make sure that we are presenting it as such and that we're proud of them coming here and of them participating in what is called the American dream. But you can't sit back and say there is no language that we want to stand for, there is no definitive belief system that we want to stand up and defend. So I think it's not about losing the respect of others, it is about making sure that we don't lose a sense of who we are.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right. You're a freshman congressmen. And a lot of the freshman congressmen are rattling the GOP a little bit over this whole business about budget cuts and how much to slash. What's your view in terms of what to do about the budget?
WEST: Well, it's very simple. When you look at the pledge that they made, it said $100 billion. And it's so important that your credibility is not lost, especially early on. So when they came back to us and they said they want to have a less amount of budget cuts, we said, You can't do that. You made this pledge. You said this is what we're going to go after. And the American people, just the same as Senator John Thune said, it's a spending problem here in Washington, D.C. And you just said, you know, everyone comes up here and says they're going to do this and they're going to do that, and they never do. Well, I think now is the time that we do make that change because you can't tell me what can't be done because I'm not part of a Washington, D.C., establishment. I believe that it can be done.
VAN SUSTEREN: Are your fellow freshmen as sort of passionate about that? Are they going to stand tough with you against sort of the -- the GOP -- like, those who've been here a little bit longer in the House?
WEST: Well, I think it's very important that they do, or else in two years, they'll be going home because they made commitments to the people back in their constituencies, and there's a level of expectation. No one thinks we're going come up here and turn the ship around in the first six months or even a year. But at least we need to start showing the positive indicators that we're not going to fall prey to what you just talked about earlier.
VAN SUSTEREN: So at the end of two years, your first two years -- I assume you'll run -- what do you want to accomplish?
WEST: I want to make sure that we get this fiscal situation under control. I ran on two very basic things, fiscal security and national security. And I think that if we can set the conditions for long-term, sustainable economic growth in this country, we got to make the hard decisions. You're right. We've got to look at the big three entitlement programs.
VAN SUSTEREN: That's not going to be popular.
WEST: Well, you know something? When I was a commander in the Army, there were sometimes you made decisions that weren't popular, but they were based upon the fact you wanted to keep your men alive in combat. So I want to do the things to make sure that the future generations of Americans have the exact same life that I was able to have, that my parents and grandparents left for me.
VAN SUSTEREN: Congressman, thank you. And welcome to Washington.
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks…
Separately, Gillard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying she supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote:
'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT.. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '
'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'
'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society. Learn the language!'
'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'
'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'
'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'
'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'
Pamela Geller, the most vocal of the activists opposed to the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” to be built two blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center, said Friday that the Conservative Political Action Conference she was speaking at had itself been “corrupted” and “compromised by Muslim Brotherhood activists.”
Speaking at a non-official CPAC event on Friday afternoon, Geller said that many members of the board of the American Conservative Union had to go because they were allowing the event to be infiltrated by Muslim Brotherhood activists.
“If you look at the agenda of CPAC, look at all of the panels and then look at your daily news headlines, they’re either clueless or complicit,” Geller said. “And I’m telling you that before you throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are 12,000 people that come to this event that don‘t know they’ve been completely sold out by CPAC leadership. We have to take CPAC back, you can’t create this again.”
thecommunists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest; I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, I did not protest; I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
Election 2014 - What Is Really At Stake
Help Stop Voter Fraud!! Stand for the Constitution and God
Time to remember that: "We Surround Them", not the other way!
Stand Up Against Voter Fraud... Demand Re-Counts and Verification Until It is Right!! A Little Ink Goes a Long Way Toward Honesty... 1 Person 1 Vote... No More Mickey Mouse or Dead People Voting
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about IT! --Albert Einstein
Call Congress Today and Tell Them To Vote Against Cap and Trade
The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality -- Dante Alighieri / Often Quoted by Mark Twain
Thanks for calling the Congressional switchboard. Keep up the pressure: "NO on Cap and Trade"!!! "NO Vote on Obamacare", NO on another Stimulus Bill, NO to the never ending parade of "Power Grab Bills", and ABSOLUTELY NO on the Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen!!
"No" on Cap and Trade and "No" on Government Controlled Healthcare!!! And Keep up the good fight! Keep up the Pressure on both the House and Senate! These are 2-fights the American People cannot afford to lose!!!
If you choose not to go this route… call and fax your Senator and as many of them on the list yourself, but don’t sit idly by!!
United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121
We apologize in advance for any Videos or links that are not functioning in these or other older posts. Internet information... like 'true' history in our student's textbooks are under constant attack by the Progressive Movement and even more so under the present administration. Try to save what you can to your own computer.
"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly
Updated:If you'd like to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, here's the contact information that you'll need.
