More CPAC Stuff

Watching more videos and live-streaming of the ongoing CPAC conference (and waiting for the 4:30 announcement of the Conservative Journalism Award -- do you think I have a chance?), I have some news for you: the Republican Party is going to re-gain power by explaining to the American people that the economy would have been just fine if the United States Government had never offered to back GNMA mortgage securities with its full faith and credit. So, you know, watch out.

Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina -- high on my list of potential '12 Pres. nominees -- was among many who have made this point at CPAC. DeMint also specifically blamed the entire economic problem on "the government and political greed" and said that the only solution is to completely de-regulate the financial industry. (Of course, I could be a totalitarianist; I went to public school, and DeMint said today that the US is in trouble because "A nation that raises its children in government schools cannot expect its people to stand for the principles of freedom.")

BTW, has anyone ever seen any poll that suggests that conservatives and/or Republicans become more attractive to Americans every time they call the Democrats socialists? Because I've never seen any such poll, and yet they use the term as if Frank Luntz has issued some sort of directive. Scott Garrett, the super-conservative congressman from New Jersey -- speaking on a panel specifically addressing the new American socialism -- warned that we've moved from the "honest socialism of the past," ie, socialism, to "dishonest socialism," by which he means whatever the Democrats are doing, which, is socialism that Democrats are sneakily slipping past the people by not being, you know, socialism.

Also: Ronald Reagan is more conservative than Gerald Ford; Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter; Ford lost to Carter; ergo the more conservative a Republican is, the more electable he is. QED. Also, the last time the people had an up-or-down vote on liberalism versus conservativism was in 1994, and they chose conservativism. That last one comes from John Shadegg of Arizona, who was elected with that GOP Class of '94; he says that 

Oh, and Wayne LaPierre of the NRA, who is always good for a laugh, said that "our Founding Fathers knew that the guys with the guns make the rules." So, I guess they really screwed up in drafting our American Constitutional system, putting the military leaders under civilian command and all.