3:15p: CPAC now goes to break out sessions. I’m concluding today’s liveblog. If you watched online or are here in person I’d like to get your thoughts about today. Thanks for following along.
3:14p: Paul: I took a stand, stand with me. Great crowd reaction.
3:13p: Paul: Your job is to maximize your liberty. You need to take a stand. When I heard about citizens being droned, I took a stand, I filibustered.
3:10p: Paul: Our rights are inallenable. They don’t come from the government or the majority. The Constitutional codifies the rights that are already ours. Mr. President we will not allow you to shred our Constitution.
3:08p: Paul: Government unstrained by law is nothing more than tyranny.
3:04p: Paul: A great president would have loudly proclaim that Congress can not overturn the Constitutional right to a fair trail or to allow the NSA to spy on its citizens.
3:00p: Paul: What you do on your phone is none of (NSA’s) damn business.”
2:59p: Paul: We will not trade our liberty for security, not now, not ever.
2:58p: Paul: “Next generation of liberty lovers will you stand and be heard?”
2:57p: Paul: Will we be firm in our convictions or will we be in defeat water down our message.
2:56p: Paul: I’m not talking about electing Republicans, I’m talking about electing lovers of liberty.
2:54p: Packed room for Rand Paul, standing O as he comes in. I think we can safely assume who will win the straw poll.
2:43p: Santorum is done. Al Cardenas, chairman of American Conservative Union, is up. Rand Paul at 2:51p.
2:41p: Santorum: We need to stand with the unemployed, single moms, etc. Help them overcome fear.
2:39p: Santorum: We can take a lesson from Pope Francis – he doesn’t talk about what the Christian faith is against, he talks about what we are for. He talks about the good news. We (conservatives) need to go out and talk about the good news of America.
2:36p: Santorum: How about we have a movement to reclaim the true, beautiful institution of marriage. Society can do a lot to address single parenthood.
2:35p: Santorum: We can’t just address “job creators” not everybody is like that. We need connect with 9 to 5 folks.
2:34p: Santorum: The first economy is the home. When the home breaks down, the economy breaks down.
2:33p: I stand corrected crowd is filtering in for Rand Paul who is also up soon. Room is packed out.
2:31p: Santorum: Just talking about tax cuts for high income earners won’t inspire, but discussing cutting manufacturers in order to create jobs will connect.
2:29p: Santorum: Why do we use the leftist class envy language? Why do we use term middle class? We should use “working Americans.” Unlike them we believe in work. Class lingo divides.
2:28p: Santorum: I won more states (11) as a 2nd place contender since Reagan in 1976.
2:25p: Santorum: At CPAC I hear a lot of “we have to win.” What they mean is that we have to lose. We have to lose those values that will make families healthy & productive. We may have a Republican victor, but America will lose. How did the last two moderate candidates work out?
2:23p: Big crowd coming in for Santorum.
2:22p: Foster Friess is introducing Rick Santorum.
2:17p: Welch: We are going to change the types of Republicans we send to Congress.
2:15p: McCorbin believes that both Democrats and Republicans will become more libertarian in order to sway young voters.
2:13p: Spaulding: We can have freedom as something to unite around. We can agree on inalienable rights, and that we are governed by consent.
2:10p: Spaulding: Founders had an understanding of the moral foundation for the rights of liberty.
2:08p: Medved said he supports gay adoption. He believes that a stable gay couple is better than a single parent, foster care or a home.
2:07p: Medved answering questions re. marriage licenses. Due to divorce, children, etc.
2:03p: Medved: Made a great point that McCobin shouldn’t be supportive of unelected judges forcing their opinion on sovereign states. How is that a libertarian position.
2:01p: Spalding: Loving v. Virginia can’t apply to this argument. Your race is coincidental, being a man and woman is self-evident.
2:00p: Medved: I don’t see social conservatives trying to undo marriage decisions in states that have recognized same-sex marriage legislatively or by initiative.
1:57p: Matt Spalding: Government needs to recognize marriage as an institution that preexists itself. Also libertarians tend to focus on the adults, social conservatives are concerned about the impact on children.
1:55p: It seems like there is agreement over the right to association and the right to “discriminate” and experience the consequences of the free market.
1:53p: Medved: the marriage debate is shifting from the definition of marriage to an argument of religious liberty & federalism which should unite libertarians and social conservatives can unite around rights of conscience and federalism.
1:50p: Michael Medved: Libertarians and conservatives have a similar foe – the forces of big government. We need to give validity to libertarian means for a conservative goal. He gave the example of abortion.
1:46p: Didn’t catch who was speaking, I think Alexander McCobin of Students of Liberty. He said libertarians and social conservatives can work together if we realize we share a similar goal of limiting government.
1:43p: Panel Can Libertarians and Social Conservatives Ever Get Along? Tom Minnery of CitizenLink is moderating. He made a good point about marriage licenses. Regarding the getting rid of marriage licenses “we go beyond the definition of marriage, we are talking about the abolition of marriage.”
1:05p: Metaxas: Government must stay out of marketplace of ideas. Voters should decide on issues of same-sex marriage & contraceptions. When government does get into the marketplace of ideas it violates religious liberty.
1:04p: Metaxas: If I can not speak of America with humility and love let me not speak of it at all.
12:56p: Metaxas sharing the narrative of how people of faith were involved in our country’s history – the narrative of God’s hand in America’s narrative.
12:51p: Eric Metaxas is now speaking. We have let people know that we support good jobs, not people on food stamps. Conservatives are not good at addressing the larger narrative.
12:49p: SD State Representative Jenna Haggar serves in the South Dakota House with her dad. She is a homeschooler and ran at 24. She was another 10 under 40 honoree. I had the opportunity to meet her dad when I spoke at a forum in Sioux Falls, SD.
12:35p: MN State Representative Tara Mack is another 10 under 40 honoree. From Apple Valley, MN serving her 3rd term. She’s a pastor’s wife. Said she heard from the college professor in college who said “without the government the individual can not do anything.” She said the opposite is true. That sparked her interest in politics. She beat a liberal incumbent in 2008.
12:21p: D’Sousa: When someone talks about change we have to ask from what point of view? When termites look at what they do they call it progress.
12:17p: D’Sousa: Our prominence in the world is fragile. Looking at world events – Islamic world, Russia/Ukraine, etc. the remarkable thing isn’t these events taking place, but the Obama’s administration’s response. It’s intentional – he wants to shrink America’s footprint in the world.
12:15p: Dinesh D’Sousa is up. They just showed the trailer of his movie – America. The trailer asked the question – “Can you imagine if America never existed?”
11:26a: Took a spin down to the exhibition hall. Rick Santorum was being interviewed by National Review. Came back into the Potomac Ballroom while Ralph Reed was wrapping up. He pointed out that we are sick of “mushy moderation.” He pointed out that it was Republicans who shot down religious liberty bills in Arizona and Georgia. He said that those bills were mischaracterized that they modeled the Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
10:36a: Panel discussion on criminal justice reform. I’m taking a break and going down to the exhibitor hall.
10:34a: Huckabee: Our fight is for the soul of America.
10:33a: Huckabee: Religious liberty should be unimpeded in this nation. Government should scale back, not people of faith.
10:32a: Huckabee: The reduction of our military doesn’t make our world a safer place.
10:31a: Huckabee: Obama administration has mistreated our only real ally in the Middle East – Israel.
10:30a: Huckabee: I know that when a country spies on its people it invites tyranny.
10:28a: Huckabee: I know the IRS is a criminal enterprise. Enact a fair tax which will eliminate the IRS. I know that life begins at conception. I know what happened in Benghazi does matter.
10:27a: Huckabee: I know parents take of their children better than the Government does.
10:25a: Huckabee: No other way to explain our nation without God’s hand of providence.
10:24a: Huckabee – If our nation forgets about God, then God will forget us.
10:23a: Former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) is up.
10:21a: North: We need to demonstrate that we are not just the land of the free, but the home of the brave.
10:20a: Elect a Congress who will protect our liberties.
10:18a: North: Sanctity of Life & the definition of marriage are not social issues, they are deeply moral and spiritual issues which should be a part of our elections. He reminded the audience that the Republican Party was founded on a “social issue” – the abolition of slavery.
10:17a: North: “We the people” is not a political slogan. It is a way of life, a commitment.
10:16a: North: Our Congress must hold accountable an administration who gives the protections of our Constitution, but strips them from its own citizens.
10:15a: North: Ukraine is paying the price for our “leadership deficit disorder.”
10:14a: North: Our military volunteered to fight an enemy who is dying to kill us. They deserve better than a Commander-in-Chief who continually apologizes for America.
10:13a: North: My heroes wear flak jackets and combat boots.
10:12a: Col. Oliver North is up speaking. He said Fox News gave him the opportunity to speak at CPAC or be in Kandahar.
10:06a – This has been a spirited debate on privacy and data gathering for intelligence purposes. Very worthwhile, I wish more panels were like this.
9:36a: Discussion on whether Edward Snowden is a patriot or traitor. Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R-VA) said traitor.
9:24a: Doing a panel discussion on privacy… going to take a quick break.
9:23a: Cornyn: Keep House, take back Senate… take back White House in 2016, support all conservative (define that please) candidates…. zzzzz…. he’s done.
9:22a: Cornyn: We must foster a new era of accountability. Conservatives must lead in this new era of accountability.
9:20a: Cornyn – we were mocked by President Obama over our concerns with Obamacare, but our concerns came true.”
9:18a: Cornyn – Obamacare website failure, no background checks for navigators, etc. Any accountability, crowd member yells, “hell no.”
9:17a: Cornyn talking about accountability – Fast & Furious, Benghazi, IRS scandals. Good red meat stuff.
9:16a: Tepid response to Senator Cornyn. Thinking back to Gov. Perry’s speech. No reference to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. Perhaps he’s not as impressed with him when he’s not visiting the state?
9:14a: Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is up. “I have to admit speaking after Governor Perry is quite an act to follow.”
9:11a: Perry gave an inspiring speech. Standing O during the last minute. So far this conference his speech has been the best and had the most energy. Very good, quite evident to me that he plans to run for President again.
9:10a: Perry: It is time for the Feds to focus on what the Constitution allows. Get out of the classroom, etc.
9:09a: Perry: Nowhere does the Constitution gives the right to federalize the classroom, the air we breath or health care. “This tendency is a bipartisan offense.”
9:08a: Perry: America can not sustain this current fiscal course. “How can we explode federal and state budgets with entitlements without the bill ever coming due.” “There is a price to be paid for polices that destroy our economy.” Need to change the presidency. Not too late for America to turn around. Return to the Constitution.
9:06a: Perry: Texas created 30% of the nation’s jobs while keeping taxes among the nation’s lowest.
9:04a: Perry: What is the common denominator in red states? Conservative governors “who know the freedom of the individual needs to come before the power of the state.”
9:02a: Perry doing a Red State vs. Blue State comparison… this is extremely similar to the speech he gave to the Polk County Republicans fundraiser a few months ago. He’s bringing up Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who brought red state principles to a blue state. Also gave South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley a shout-out.
9:00am (EST): Governor Perry is up now. “It’s time for a little rebellion on the battle of ideas.” He points to the states as “laboratories of innovation.” He said the answers won’t be found in Washington.
Day one is in the can, welcome to day two of CPAC. I don’t remember if I mentioned yesterday, but this is my first CPAC. Meh… it’s been ok. None of the speakers totally wowed me yesterday. Ted Cruz was good, but it was similar to what I’ve heard before. He gave a bloggers briefing, and I was able to ask him about Common Core. I was disappointed that NOBODY brought it up during their remarks. Rubio gave a great speech on foreign policy. Looking forward to today. Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) is up. He dropped by a bloggers bash last night along with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), former Congressman Allen West (R-FL) and Congresswoman Cathy McManus Rogers.
Photo credit: Dave Davidson – Prezography.com