Spring is Around the Corner

After months of cold weather include -13 chill factor in Norman a short time ago, it was over 70 degrees today and is still 69 degrees at 8:35 p.m.  What a difference!  We have one more day of warm and then here comes slightly colder but now near as cold as it has been.  Looks like spring could be on the way.

With that in mind, I spent most of my afternoon outside and finally was able to start planting the early garden where if this keeps up it will run into the other.  This year I am not trusting the frost free date to be 1 April -- could be a real April Fool!

There is a lot to do outside and decided instead of sitting in here doing my blog, I would be outside working and it felt great.

The only thing really going on over the weekend was CPAC which I refuse to cover as I didn't like it when I was a so-called conservative which seems a long time ago -- cannot feature being a member of the same party as that group at CPAC.  Just shake my head at abject stupidity on display and was trying to figure out which I thought was the dumbest and think that has to go to Michael Medved who said it was liberal lie that some red states banned gay marriage.  Where has he been.  Oklahoma had a referendum shortly after the turn of the century to ban gay marriage.  Now when it has been overturned by the SCOTUS, a state legislator wants to be all marriage to keep gay marriage from happening.  What has Medved been?  Obvious he has been in any of our states.  Heard some people in OK were really mad he said it and thought he was making of Oklahoma for having it overturned.  OOPS!

The other major happening which is much more serious is a Malaysian Airlines 777 airliner that has disappeared at 36,000 feet two days ago -- search and rescue cannot find the wreckage so they are looking at other areas the plane might have gone.  It is just strange with all kinds of intrigue with two Syrians with stolen passports with tickets from a code share with one number after the other.  A lot of theories banded around but no one knows.  Prayers go out to the over 200 passengers and crew.  Not knowing would be horrible.

Hopefully with expanding the range of search they will be able to locate the plane and find the boxes if they haven't been turned off.  This is not a deep area and the Navy's Orion planes can see something that is very small which would explain expanding the search area.  It looks like it is not located in the flight path over the seas before entering Vietnam as that area has been gone over with a fine tooth comb.

Really strange that no ships have spotted anything.  Hopefully morning will bring some news to families.

Republicans No Longer Mainstream as They Embrace Hard Right CPAC

A Republican Party who considers CPAC part of their establishment is no longer Mainstream as it has gone hard to the right. 

After hearing yesterday that Mitt Romney was going to be one of this year's main speakers, thought it is time to spotlight the invitees to this year's Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) which is hosted by the American Conservative Union to be held in DC March 14-16.  CPAC has lived up to my low expectations by not inviting Governor Christie (R-NJ) which is good for Christie who is not only running for reelection as Governor but if he wants to run for President in 2016.

Politicus has the take on the Christie snub as well as other information on CPAC that makes those of us who have said we won't support this group of hard right Republicans in 2014 smile:

CPAC is suggesting that they snubbed Chris Christie this year. He is not “invited” to the cray-cray. That’s what he gets for helping his constituents by dealing with the President. 

Another way of looking at this is that only Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) is smart enough to avoid addressing CPAC this year. He’s already proven that he’s able to strategize for the long term and knows the value of being seen working with the President and Democrats. 

The rest of the clowns are piling into the shrinking GOP tent, including electoral losers Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney. Of course, neither of them have a thing to lose; they’ve already lost.
For some reason, NBC suggests that this means CPAC is mainstream. While I get how they got there (CPAC used to be far right of the party, anti-establishment), I think what it really means is that the entire Republican Party has gone fringe. They just don’t know it yet.

From Politicus

This political cartoon says it all - the era of the big tent Republican Party is dead as they have gone more hard right and now cater to the while male southern voter.

Republican Party has gone so far hard right that those considered the hard right fringe movement four years ago are now the establishment of the Republican Party while those of us center right are considered progressives and liberals.  No wonder only 22% of people identify with Republicans today.  When CPAC becomes part of the Establishment, you know how far right the GOP has become.

Since Mitt Romney, the loser of the 2012 Presidential election, is now a speaker several questions come to mind.  Could Romney be getting ready to run in 2016 a third time?  Is Romney going to try to out hard right other speakers in his speech as he plays to the hard right conservative attendees at CPAC?

Here is the list of Speakers for this year's CPAC which is a who's who list of hard right Republicans:

Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Senator
Jeb Bush, Former FL Governor
Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader
Al Cardenas, ACU Chairman
Francesca Chambers, Editor, Red Alert Politics
Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator
Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Attorney General
Artur Davis, Former U.S. Representative
Carly Fiorina, Jeff Frazee, President, Young Americans for Liberty
Newt Gingrich, Former House Speaker
Kristan Hawkins, President, Students for Life
Ron Johnson, U.S. Senator
David Keene, President, NRA (Former Chair of ACU)
Katie Kieffer Wayne LaPierre, Executive VP, NRA
Mike Lee, U.S. Senator
Dana Loesch, Host, The Dana Loesch Show
Alexander McCobin, President, Students for Liberty
Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senate Republican Leader
Sarah Palin, Former Governor of Alasa
Rand Paul, U.S. Senator
Katie Pavlich, News Editor, Town Hall
Mitt Romney, Former Republican Presidential Candidate
Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Nominee for Vice President
Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator
Paul Ryan, U.S. Representative
Rick Santorum, Former U.S. Senator
Pat Toomey, U.S. Senator
Scott Walker, Wisconsin Governor
Allen West, Former U.S. Representative

The only person I can see on this list who has not gone hard right is Jeb Bush.  Is he thinking of running in 2016 for President or trying to put a more moderate face on this group?  No other explanation for his attendance.

This is mostly the hard right of the Republican Party who lack empathy for those worse off as they prefer to obstruct in Congress to protect wealthy tax loopholes, want no gun control, no regulations, are social conservatives who are part of a War on Women, and are in the hip pockets of wealthy donors for starters.

As CPAC and the Republican Party has moved even harder right they are losing support rapidly among Republicans with Common Sense:

Let’s recap: Republicans, including the headliners at CPAC, are all polling poorly and have lost national elections precisely because of their positions. CPAC is the driver of those losing positions (wrong on immigration, wrong on gay rights, wrong on women’s rights, wrong on taxing the rich, etc). 

CPAC is also a happy home for white supremacists and the NRA while banning gay Republicans like GOProud. If you were planning to run for President in 2016 and thought you might like to actually win, would you want to be seen pallin’ around with plummeting poll contagion? Would you want your picture taken with Mitt 47% Cayman Romney or Sarah Death Panels Palin? 

Still have not recovered from the John Birchers being welcomed back in the Republican Party - that blows my mind along with having Republican candidates who want the militia to be the military arm of the Tea Party.  They obviously don't understand the Constitution which talks about a well-regulated milita which is equal to the National Guard in the states today.  Their reading comprehension to miss "well regulated" says it all as everything they do has to fit a narrative whether true or not.

A good example is the 'Friends of Hamas' that Ted Cruz (R-TX) and others tried to tie to Chuck Hagel, nominee for Secretary of Defense as having given a speech there.  There is no such group but that didn't stop the hard right from going after Hagel and making themselves look like fools.  Did the hard right in the Senate say they made a mistake?  No way they doubled down sending a letter to President Obama wanting a different nominee.  Remind me again who won the last election.  Here are the names of the  15 who signed the letter who are all hard right:

Signing the letter were John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican; Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott of South Carolina; Roger Wicker of Mississippi; David Vitter of Louisiana; Ted Cruz of Texas; Mike Lee of Utah; Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania; Marco Rubio of Florida; Dan Coats of Indiana; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; James E. Risch of Idaho; John Barrasso of Wyoming; and Tom Coburn and James Inhofe of Oklahoma. 

It is not the prerogative of the Republican Senators to choose any nominee for President Obama.  Using phony information during the confirmation definitely put Hagel off his game as you could tell he was taken back by the venom and lies from Republicans.  Their attacks on Hagel about Israel  made you think they were interviewing the Secretary of Defense for Israel.  Obviously some of these Senators are bought and paid for by big defense and Israel hard right lobbying groups who support Republicans.

The Hagel nomination is an example of just how far hard right the Republican Party has gone today to the point many of us think there is no return to common sense.  IMHO, the GOP will continue to lose elections until it is a minor blip on the screen as more and more Americans are fed up with the hard right obstructionism of today's Republicans in Congress.  The following from Politicus points out what so many of us have had to admit who are/were Republican -- establishment Republicans are no longer mainstream but hard right:

CPAC is snubbing the Republican with the highest approval ratings (Chris Christie), while cozying up to already-losts and never-will-bes. So while CPAC may be establishment Republican now, it’s not mainstream. And that’s because the Republican Party is no longer mainstream. 

The Tea Party has driven the Republican Party off of the cliff of reality and national electability. Republican “stars” Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Paul Ryan will all be hawking their wares at CPAC (anyone want to buy a water bottle?). 

Anyone seen their polling numbers lately? They have to go to CPAC. A section of the conservative fringe is all they have. 

"Where's the rest of me?"

There may be some gnashing of teeth because this article by Frank Gaffney is posted here as it goes after CPAC Leadership, but we agree with Gaffney 100%. Without a strong national security in place, everything else is secondary including the economy.

As for Beck's speech, words fail us that could be used on this site. We already knew that Beck was more Libertarian then anything but his attack on Republicans was out of line especially the since the Republicans in Congress at such a huge disadvantage in numbers have done a remarkable job in slowing down the Obama agenda. Republicans have never quit fighting for the American people. For Beck to call the Democrats and Republicans the same was WRONG. How can you compare an Inhofe and a Schumer -- you cannot as Inhofe is 100% Conservative and Schumer is 100% Progressive. Then we discovered last night the reason Mark Levin did not attend CPAC was because CPAC allowed the John Birch Society to have a booth. That was one of those WHAT?

Is CPAC all about money today and as a result, has dropped the #1 priority of Ronald Reagan's Conservative principles -- National Security? We hope not, but we are not so sure when they ignore National Security and allow John Birch and the Libertarians a prominent place at CPAC.

Read this article from Frank Gaffney, a renowned foreign policy expert, who heads the Center for Security Policy and ask yourself if he is not correct. If you disagree with our comments or those of Gaffney, please feel free to submit an op-ed to truesoft.474@gmail.com.

"Where's the rest of me?"
Center for Security Policy Feb 22, 2010
By Frank Gaffney, Jr.

Ronald Reagan the actor once famously screamed on screen "Where's the rest of me?!" after waking in a hospital to discover that a sadistic surgeon had amputated both of his legs. My guess is that Ronald Reagan the national leader would express similar horror at what is happening to his beloved conservative movement as some in its ranks seek to sever from its agenda the priority "the Gipper" consistently gave to the national security.

One need look no further than the various functions held in the Washington area last week to see why Mr. Reagan would be so alarmed. On Wednesday, I joined a group of prominent conservatives assembled for the purpose of unveiling a document dubbed "the Mount Vernon Statement." It was intended to emulate an earlier articulation of the principles that unite the Right, issued fifty years ago at the Sharon, Connecticut home of William F. Buckley, Jr.

It was noteworthy that, during the press event where the new statement was released, Colin Hanna of the remarkable organization Let Freedom Ring read passages from the previous one. The latter spoke of "eternal truths" to be affirmed, including: "That we will be free only so long as the national sovereignty of the United States is secure; that history shows periods of freedom are rare, and can exist only when free citizens concertedly defend their rights against all enemies; that the forces of international Communism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties; that the United States should stress victory over, rather than co-existance with, this menace; and that American foreign policy must be judged by this criterion: Does it serve the just interests of the United States?"

By contrast, the Mt. Vernon document made no mention at all of today's totalitarian ideology - what authoritative Islam calls Shariah - or the threat it poses to America, let alone declare that victory should be our purpose in dealing with this menace. To be sure, there were passing references to the Founders' "secur[ing] national independence," "warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere" and the proposition that "energetic but responsible government is the key to America's safety and leadership role in the world." Thin gruel by comparison with Sharon's statement, and woefully short of the sort of express commitment to "peace through strength" Mr. Reagan exemplified and practiced.

Still, the Mount Vernon Statement is a paragon of robust national security- mindedness in contrast to what took place in the succeeding three days at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). With a few notable exceptions - including powerful addresses by former UN Ambassador John Bolton and former Senator Rick Santorum - the program was bereft of the focus one would think 10,000 people who cherish the memory of Ronald Reagan would have demanded, especially in the midst of a global war with two active combat fronts.

Incredibly, there was but one panel held in the plenary hall that had as its principal subject the question of national defense. Entitled "What is a Conservative Foreign Policy?," it featured remarks by: a junior (but promising) Member of Congress, Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah; an old Reaganaut, Don Devine, who urged America to emulate President Reagan's abandoning of Lebanon and the use of force only in tiny Grenada; and Joanne Herring, the colorful Texas patriot/philanthropist best known for her persona played by Julia Roberts in "Charlie Wilson's War."

With all due respect to the participants, it is inconceivable that CPAC's organizers could not have arranged a more formidable program to address this and related topics. We are entitled to know why they did not do so. Watch this space for the answer.

Whatever the reason, the intended take-away from most of the other major speakers-- including Glenn Beck, who closed the conference with an extraordinary, hour-plus-long "pox on both your houses" call-to-action that never once mentioned national security-- and the featured panels was unmistakable: It's the economy, stupid. Or at least, it's the deficit, or excessive government spending or just excessive government.

As a result, it came as little surprise to this attendee that libertarian Rep. Ron Paul won 31% of the vote in the CPAC straw poll. In the absence of the sort of serious attention to national security that was emblematic of the conservatism of Bill Buckley and Ronald Reagan, why shouldn't those present feel free blithely to endorse a man who is committed to small, cheap government even if his positions on foreign and defense policy are so extreme and so critical of America as to make Barack Obama's look responsible, if not hardline.

And there's the rub. Even if a robust security policy platform were not, on the merits, the right stance for the Right, it has proven repeatedly to be the winning-est stance politically, especially in times when our countrymen properly feel insecure. Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts was wildly acclaimed by the CPAC masses, yet he would be the first to acknowledge that some 64% of his voters supported him because of his rejection of Obama's fecklessness on terrorism.

In time of war, the American people deserve at least one party/movement/team that is unabashedly Reaganesque in its commitment to the national security of the United States. If conservatives and Republicans fail to articulate and demonstrate such a commitment, it is a safe bet that - even in an election season seemingly so promising - they will wake up on November 3rd screaming, "Where's the rest of me?"

Source: Center for Security Policy

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) at CPAC

Steve King takes on the Troika of Obama/Reid/Pelosi with facts. Excellent speech detailing what has been happening for the last year in this Country orchestrated by by this Troika. Cannot think of a better word for the threesome then the word Steve King has dubbed them -- Troika!

Conservatives Pack Largest-Ever CPAC

Conservative Republicans are energized and ready to continue winning more seats following the wins by NJ's Governor Christie, VA's Gov McDonnell plus that huge win by Senator Scott Brown in MA who now fills the People's Seat of MA previously held by Ted Kennedy.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was a surprise guest this afternoon who brought the House down with his comments about Obama being a one-term President. We will post some of the speeches as they become available.

Conservatives Pack Largest-Ever CPAC
Thursday, 18 Feb 2010 10:39 AM
By: Ronald Kessler

This time last year, pundits were predicting the end of conservatism and the Republican Party.So-called conservative columnists like David Frum, formerly of National Review, and David Brooks of The New York Times were warning conservatives that something was wrong with their beliefs.

But Dave Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, was predicting that President Obama would overreach and help Republicans return to power.As the elections in Massachusetts, Virginia, and New Jersey demonstrated, Keene was dead on.

This week, Keene presides over the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where a 28 percent increase in registrations over last year underscores his optimism. With more than 10,000 conservative activists attending this year, CPAC has moved to Washington’s Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, where the ballroom holds 2 1/2 times more people than at the previous location.

Besides speeches by the likes of Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, Newt Gingrich, Glenn Beck, Michele Bachmann, Liz Cheney, and George Will, CPAC features panels focusing on issues, workshops on campaign techniques, booths run by 96 co-sponsors, and receptions and dinners.

Excerpt: Read More at Newsmax