Reflections on the Revolution at CPAC 2010

I have been to two CPACs, in 2008 and 2010.  In 2008, the Ron Paul supporters were a few isolated crazy people and Paul came in fourth in the presidential straw poll, with 12% of the vote. In 2010 -- well, you already know.

The shift in power toward Ron Paul and the Campaign for Liberty is so astounding that I probably would not fully believe it had I not been present at CPAC this year myself -- which is not to say that C4L is anywhere close to its goal of reclaiming the Republican Party. We should remember that 69% of straw poll voters voted for someone other than Ron Paul. Dick Cheney got a standing ovation, to chants of "Run, Dick, Run!" (meaning "run for president," not "you better run, you bastard" as per my chant.) And Marco Rubio got similar applause when he giggled over the thought of waterboarding terrorists.

Nevertheless, revolutions don't occur by sheer majority force alone. They occur when a determined minority is well organized enough to actually realize its ideals. It is often cited that before the American revolution, one third of people were patriots, one third were loyalists, and one third were indifferent. By this standard, the libertarians are well on their way to reclaiming the GOP. When I was passing out flyers for C4L, more than a few people responded, "I already have five of those! You people are everywhere!" This is true testament to C4L's excellent organizational capacity.

Is Dick Cheney Unpatriotic?

Ivan Eland certainly thinks so and so do I!

The former vice president has been noted to be highly critical of the Obama administration, especially regarding foreign policy. Since the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day, Cheney's critical tone has escalated.  He told Politico:

We are at war...We are at war, and when President Obama pretends we aren’t, it makes us less safe.

The president's "low key response" regarding the Christmas Day incident and his refusal to use "the War on Terror," Cheney continued, indicates the president's belief that the War on Terror is more of a law enforcement issue than a military issue.

Dick Cheney -- Conservative of The Year?

At least according to Human Events.  Of course, Cheney deserves this commemoration because he is conservative in his values. His policy of preemptive war, torture, extraordinary rendition,  the Patriot Act, diminishing civil liberties, expanding the American empire are all many authentic, traditional conservative values.

It gets even better too. The article was written by none other than neocon chicken hawk John Bolton.  Yet what is so amazing about this article is Bolton's  overt admiration for the former vice president. 

Shame on Human Events for calling itself "Headquarters for the Conservative Underground." Better yet, shame on Human Events for even identifying itself as conservative!