It is 2013, but in the GOP it seems more like it is the "Leave it to Beaver" of 1950's.

UPDATE from The Hill, 1:15 p.m., 20 June:

In a blow to House GOP leaders, the House on Thursday rejected a five-year farm bill.
Members voted down the $940 billion bill in a 195-234 vote that only won 24 Democratic votes. Most Democrats voted against the bill because it cut food stamp programs by more than $20 billion.

Many Republicans also voted no, but for a different reason. They said it was too expensive a bill to pass when the country has $17 trillion in debt.

In the final vote, 62 Republicans opposed the bill, and with the Democratic defections that was enough to send it to defeat.

*******
Cong Gingrey (R-GA) wants to teach grade school children proper gender roles in their future life as a "Mommy and Daddy." The GOP House just passed a 20-week Draconian abortion bill to protect a fetus.   In the House Agriculture bill the GOP wants to cut $20 billion from food stamps which would hurt the baby after it is born.  Makes zero sense!      

Are there no Republicans in Congress with the backbone to stand up to their members when they make such ludicrous statements like Congressmen Gingrey?  No one chastised Trey Franks either - they just moved in Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to run his bill as a woman since no women sits on their all male committee that came up with the horrific abortion bill.  Women have no voices in the Republican Party in Congress unless they agree to everything they are told to say.  If you agree to spout their GOP rhetoric, Leadership will put you out front like they did Blackburn to make a fool of herself on the House Floor and in an interview.  Still cannot get over in an interview Blackburn compared the abortion bill to something that will put more rapists behind bars because of its reporting requirement:

In case you doubt that Blackburn, the gentler face of the GOP, is as bad as Franks and Akin, here she is today defending the indefensible HR 1797:

Blackburn went on to defend the reporting requirements in the legislation, arguing, "[T]he hope is that that will help with getting some of the perpetrators [i.e. rapists] out of the population that are committing these crimes against women and against minor females. We certainly would hope that we could rid our society of these perpetrators." 

In other words, the Tennessee Republican thinks her bill will reduce rapes. When Melvin asked, "How do you fight rapists with an abortion bill?" Blackburn changed the subject. 

She went on to say, three times, "Science is on our side on this." The American Medical Association disagrees. Blackburn added that "80 percent" of American women support her bill, but there is no poll that supports this argument.

How Blackburn can do an interview and say with a straight face that 80% of the American women support her bill is beyond me.  First of all it is Trey Franks bill not hers.  Secondly there is no way 80% of women would support that bill.  I will bet no Democrat women, very few Independent women, and even some Republican women will not support that draconian abortion bill.

Why do Republicans keep assuming that all GOP women are pro-life? Is it because the Republican women are afraid to speak out if they are pro-choice because all the nastiness that will come their way.  Unfortunately, many on the GOP side are married to the same type of conservative as Gingrey, Akin, Franks, Santorum, or any other conservative male who believes they know what is best for women which is to be subservient to their husbands - you are to service your husband, get pregnant, stay home with the children and answer to his every want and need which would make you the perfect wife in their small hard right conservative minds.

Then you have Gingrey who wants proper gender rolls taught to grade school students:

“This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area..."

I want to throw up that this man is even in Congress.  The way he talks is so condescending talking down to people like we are all five or six year olds. Revise that to 1-3 year olds when he references Mommy and Daddy.  Unbelievable!  How dare he wants to teach young children their roles in life - there are no roles - each person is different in what they do with their lives.  Some stuffy Congressman have no right to want to put his idea of gender roles in the public schools.

Every morning I wake up I discover some Republican idiot in the US Congress has taken it to new lows and wasn't disappointed this morning when I read this from The National Memo of what Gingrey had to say about Father's Day:

Georgia’s Phil Gingrey: Teach Proper Gender Roles In Grade School [VIDEO]
June 19th, 2013 3:29 pm @LaurieInQueens 

As the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Republican congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia took to the House floor to make the argument for the discriminatory legislation. 

Children, he insists, need both a mother and a father… and should be taught — in separate classes for little boys and little girls, of course — proper, traditional gender roles in school. Because mommies do mommy things, and daddies do daddy things. 

“You know, maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age, maybe at the grade school level, and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what’s important,” Gingrey suggests. “This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area. And the same thing for the young girls, that, you know, this is what a mom does, and this is what is important from the standpoint of that union which we call marriage.” 

And though he believes children need two parents, Gingrey — who is running for retiring Saxby Chambliss’ Senate seat in 2014 — is quite clear that same-sex parents simply do not make the grade. Mommy can work, but afterwards, she should be coming home to daddy. The adult females in his family, he points out, all have jobs. “But they’re still there as moms,” he says. “And when they come home and take over that responsibility, they need a shared partner, and that partner is that partner for life. And I’m talking about, of course, the father.” 

If you can stand it, watch this stunning display of sexism and homophobia below:

Gingrey just doesn't take a swipe at gay parents, as he also hits single parents, and Dads who stay home with their children while their Mom's work.  Then there are the grandparent who may have custody of their grandchildren.  IMHO children need a loving home with parent(s) who they know care and are willing to become part of their lives and be there for them.   The worst part of Gingrey's remarks is that they are shared beliefs of the hard right of the Republican Party and no one in the GOP has the nerve to tell people like Gingrey to sit down and shut up because it might make their hard right base mad - bunch of Republican wimps are in the halls of Congress.  It makes sense when you look at who the GOP put in charge of and members of committees. The GOP Leadership in the House put Lamar Smith in charge along with some members on the science committee who don't believe in science and think the world is 5,000 to 8,000 years old.  There are all GOP males headed by Trey Franks on a committee that handles the numerous abortion bills and women's reproductive rights who believe you cannot get pregnant from rape.  You have people on the Intel committee like Michelle Bachmann which in itself is funny.  She has trouble with the truth and has for some time and you trust her with our nation's secrets?   Then there is the infamous former car thief who plea bargained and insured a building of his for three times the amount - burned down three weeks later who is head of House Investigations.  We saw how dishonest Chairman Issa was when he only allowed redacted transcripts to be released on their feigned IRS scandal.  He was warned by the ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to release all the transcripts but Issa kept up the farce it went to President Obama.  Cummings released the transcripts this week that showed Issa was liar and that it did not go to the White House. The latest one the GOP has come up with to defend their abortion bill comes out of a Texas State Senator on the reason for not getting an abortion is that young male babies masturbate so you have to teach when they are born not to do that.  The Republican Party and its members of Congress have officially jumped the shark!  Wonder if it is necessary to explain to the Neanderthal GOP what 'jump the shark' means? In all this hyperbole about abortion by the Republican Party and the fetus must be protected,  what is lost is their voting in the Agriculture bill to strip $20 billion from food stamps.  It can be summed up in one sentence:

Almost all Republicans in the House have shown a belief a fetus should be protected at all cost but after they are born want to cut the food stamp programs that lead to a healthy baby and child.  

Chris Hayes covered these cuts very well on his new program All In:

All In   |  June 18, 2013 

Republicans want to cut $20 billion from food stamps 

The House is slated to debate a farm bill this week, in which Republicans want cut $2 billion a year from the food stamp program. The president has threatened to veto it. 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There is one person who is standing in the way of the archaic Republican ideas and ready to use his veto pen - President Barack Obama. Best decision in politics I ever made was to join Republicans for Obama and support his re-election. If I knew what I know now, I would have supported him in 2008 against McCain/Palin.  Republican hardliners are making it very easy to switch parties.

Why are Republicans in Congress Against a Balanced Approach Versus Sequester?

Are Republicans so hard headed in their stance against Obama on Sequester that they have no idea that the American people are fed up with their obstructionism?
Congressional Republicans in the Senate cannot get it through their heads that 90% of American people want background checks for all sales at gun shows to preclude terrorist/felons buying weapons.  They also want tougher laws on drug trafficking.  Guess I should not be shocked that today's hard, hard, hard, hard right (to quote Joe Scarborugh) members of Congress don't care what the American people think about sequester if they voted against background checks.  
Why not get with the President and replace Sequester with a balanced approach?   That's a pipe dream that is not going to happen because it is the President's idea.  Some of the racist Republicans will not go along with any idea the President has come up with preferring to allow our economy to tank and people lose benefits.  Despicable is actually too nice of word to describe a lot of today's hard right Republican office holders.  
Watch the video and ask yourself why the Republican Party is so loathe to compromise with the President as his ideas are good common sense?

This is hard for me to even think because I was a Republican for so many years, but I think the GOP in Congress is permeated with a bunch of neanderthal racists in the hip pockets of major donors.  How else can you reason some of the dumb statements Fox News and Republicans make against the President? According to the website Right Off A Cliff, 95% of what the far right says about Obama is false with most of it coming From Fox news which the hard right members of Congress repeat day after day.  Here are some examples:

Obama has been the biggest spending President in history!  FALSE.  Year to year spending increases have been less than 1%.  They’re also at their lowest rate of year to year increases since Eisenhower. 

Obama has spent more than all other Presidents in history!  FALSE. On January 20, 2009 our national debt was $10.6 trillion, today it’s $16.7 trillion—for a $6.1 trillion increase.  For the mathematically challenged, $6.1 trillion is less than $10.6 trillion.  This also doesn’t factor in the money spent in 2009, which gets tagged to President Obama, was actually passed by Bush.  *This also doesn’t take into account much of the cost of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had not been put on our books by the Bush administration. 

Obama is a Muslim!  FALSE. You’re an idiot and I’m not even going to explain why. 

Obama isn’t an American!  FALSE.  See above. 

Obama is a Communist/Socialist/Fascist!  FALSE.  They’re all different—it’s impossible to be all 3.  Then with stocks setting new records, having their best 10 day stretch since 1996, and increasing by more than 100% since their lows in 2009…he would be the worst Communist, Socialist or Fascist that has ever existed. 

Obama is always on vacation!  FALSE.  President Obama took 131 vacation days in his first 4 years in office.  That puts him on pace for 262 days during 8 years in the White House.  By contrast Bush took 1,020 days (including a 5-week vacation–the longest by any President in nearly 4 decades), and Reagan took 484 days.  Once again for the mathematically challenged, Obama is on pace to take fewer vacations than both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. 

The economy has gotten worse under Obama!  FALSE.  Are you insane, have selective memory or both?  In February 2009, we lost  651K jobs.  In February 2013, we added 236K jobs.  Again, for the mathematically challenged, that’s a positive shift of 887K jobs from our losses in February 2009 to our gains in February 2013. 

I’ve seen the rebuttal to these numbers, so I’ll squash it right now before moving on:
Those jobs numbers are a lie!  No, they’re from the same source which Republicans have used to saddle Obama’s job losses (from his first year in office… and only his first year).  So you can’t use a source to support your argument, then ignore that very same source when it no longer supports what you want to believe. 

Unemployment is at record highs!  FALSE.  Unemployment hit a high during November 2009 of 10%, it’s now at 7.7%. 

I can already hear the Republican rebuttal to this one as well, “But that doesn’t include the people who have stopped looking for work!”  I hate to burst your bubble, but the unemployment rate never includes those who have given up looking for work.  This isn’t a shift in what defines our unemployment rate, this is how it has been calculated for quite some time.

Read some fun History lessons at ForwardProgressives.com to get the facts not the spin Fox News and the hard right put out as news.
Some members of Congress did a good job of hiding they were hard right over the years.  Many of us never would have supported them or worked for their campaigns if we knew they were hard right zealots against minorities, women, veterans, and education for starters..  I have had enough of the hard right to last a lifetime from some websites so never would have supported some of these Republican office holders that are now part of the hard right run by the Koch Brothers.  
When are people going to finally wake up and realize that conservative talk radio, Fox News, and the hard right is not supported by the vast majority of the American people?  Guess they didn't learn a thing from 2012 or Mark Sanford wouldn't have gotten the nomination in SC.  RNC should be prepared for a shock in 2014 as more and more Republicans tell GOP candidates to go jump refusing to work or donate to them.
Would be gone from the GOP if Independents could vote for candidates in the primary, but not giving up my primary vote.  

Republican Party's Hard Right are Driving Longtime Republicans to Support and Vote Democrat in 2014

When I signed on to be a Republican, I did not sign on to be told what to think by a group of hard right, social conservative, evangelical malcontents.

Below is the Farewell Address to the Nation by President Dwight D. Eisenhower who my Dad said was the greatest President of the Century.  Shame the Republican Party of today forgot the words of this great man in order to become a selfish, self-centered party which has little to no empathy for those less fortunate instead bowing to their wealthy donors:


Went looking for a speech by President Eisenhower this morning after a conversation back and forth last night with a long-time friend. This Farewell Address by President Eisenhower is as true today as it was when he gave it to the Nation in January 1961.  This is the first time I have watched this speech and am blown away by his comments.  This man is the reason I became a Republican because I supported his beliefs as I grew up and still support them today.  The Republican Party of Dwight Eisenhower does not exist today.  There is a bumper strip on my refrigerator that says "I Like Ike" which I look at every day and realize how low the Republican Party has gone from the days of Eisenhower when he believed in equal rights for all Americans.  Eisenhower would not be a Republican today because he believed in working across the aisle to get things done for the Country.  That is totally missing in today's Republican Party.

Know it is not happening but it would have been nice to be part of a Republican Party that emulates the ideas of President Eisenhower who not only believed in equal rights for everyone at all levels but acted on those beliefs.  He also believed that the Country had to be extremely careful not to allow the Government/Defense industrial complex to grow which has happened over the years.  Ike integrated the schools in Arkansas against the wishes of a Democrat Governor.  Now in some places in the south Republicans want segregated schools back in NC or segregated proms in Georgia.  The parties have done a flip since the days of Eisenhower who is now considered a liberal by the hard right along with Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.

It is becoming clearer that there are a lot of  mainstream, common sense Republicans who have had it with today's Republican Party and their lunge to the hard right.  One thing a lot of us are finding is how nice the Democrats are who we have met.  That sounds like an odd thing to say, but it is true especially on-line.  Used to routinely get in dust-ups with some of the nastiest people I have come across who called themselves "Republicans" but had it out for anyone daring to mention the necessity for gun control, solutions for undocumented immigrants, the safety net, and the list goes on.  Had a poster tell me one time he had a right to have a tank in his back yard - you cannot argue with someone who is so far out of reality.

My distaste for the hard right agenda is best summed up in my early days of posting on a website.  I objected to Presidential candidate Alan Keyes going into an elementary school in New Hampshire talking to young children about being anti-abortion.  Out of 500 posts there were only two of us that disagreed with Alan Keyes.  The administrators at that elementary school should have been happy that my children were not attending his school and been forced to hear Keyes because I would have been livid.  What got me the most was the fact that only two of us said it was wrong.  Being naive, I thought the hard right would remain the fringe and the GOP would go merrily along.  Was I ever wrong!  Over the years that fringe group of nutcase 'my way or no way' crowd is now in charge.  This paragraph sums it up perfectly what being a Republican today is all about:

The lesson of North Carolina is a reminder of the sort of Republican Party we’re dealing with today.  It’s a Republican Party controlled by people who believe they are entitled to buy legislators and judges to silence the voices of Americans who don’t belong to the billionaire boys club. It’s a party of plutocrats that not only can’t relate to most Americans, and all American values, but hold contempt for both. The real leaders aren’t those moderate faces on the campaign trail, they are those men hiding behind the curtain.  (Politicususa, 12 Apr 2013)

This morning Adalia Woodbury has an article on Politicususa.com, Meet The Puppet Master Who’s Turning North Carolina into a Tea Party Utopia,  detailing how a 'moderate' Republican McCrory won the NC Governorship when in reality he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.  He wasn't a moderate but a hard right conservative puppet of Art Pope who is good friends with the Koch Brothers and co-founder of the Libertarian Party at the age of 20.  Pope is now the the NC Budget Director for his puppet McCrory so we know who runs NC State Government.

This synopsis of what they are doing in North Carolina a state now fully controlled by hard right Republicans sends chills up my spine as the Koch Bros and their billionaire friends have this planned for other states through ALEC and Americans for Prosperity:

Since McCrory took over the Governor’s mansion with Pope as his budget director, the litany of Tea Partyesque legislation has been spell binding. Attacking women’s rights, access to education, savage cuts to unemployment benefits, voting suppression on steroids and much, much more. Also proposed under Art  Pope’s watchful eye, Romneyhood, a constitutional amendment for a right to work for less, and government handouts for homeschooling.  As Think Progress said, Pope with McCrory as his face is rapidly turning North Carolina into a Tea Party Utopia.

Pope and his puppets are convinced with his money and the gerrymandering that took place for State Legislature seats in 2010 there is no way for the Democrats to take back over.  On paper that sounds correct but they are not factoring in how many down to earth, long-time Republicans are "mad as hell" at the hard right Republican Party then any Democrat could ever be and will be voting for Democrats at all levels in 2014.  Factor in Independents and with the right GOTV, North Carolina Democrats can begin to take back their state from the hard right.  Some will be quiet about it and have their voices heard at the ballot box while others like me are so disgusted at what has happened to the Republican Party across the Country we are speaking out against Republicans and their hard right office holders/candidates.

When I signed on to be a Republican, I did not sign on to be told what to think by a group of hard right, social conservative, evangelical malcontents.  Hard pressed to find anything I agree with the hard right on today including if they told me the sky was blue, I would have to go check to see if a thunderstorm was headed our way.  In fact I have so little respect for today's Republican Party that I refuse to even consider voting for any Republican in 2014.

The GOP in Oklahoma lost my vote completely starting when they decided to support my out of control State Rep for re-election here in another state where districts were gerrymandered for Republican seats.  How many state reps stop another car on Main Street and start berating the other driver not to mention he is a conscientious objector for convenience as he didn't want to be deployed with the National Guard but stay in college while other members of the Guard deployed?  Then the GOP nominated Mitt Romney who I refused to support in 2008 and actually loathed as a candidate in 2012.  Romney and his 47% remark along with his wife and her dressage horse got what they deserved in 2012 - defeated by millions of voters.

Never put an Obama bumper strip on my car for fear of what would happen to my car with some of the hard right crazies in Oklahoma.  Ran into one of them on twitter yesterday who felt he had the right to berate anyone who supported Obama.  I put up with that on a website after supporting Rudy for President in 2008, but never again as I have a right to my own opinion and if someone doesn't like it - tough!  Freedom of speech goes both ways which the hard right has a hard time dealing with as they believe only they have all the answers.

First time I heard evangelicals say the earth was only 5,000 years old which some have upped to almost 10,000 years old now, I knew I was dealing with Republicans not facing reality here in Oklahoma.  I love visiting the Sam Noble Museum of History here on the OU campus to learn more about the progression of life on the earth which dates back 3-4 billion years.  Quite different from the 5-10 thousand years that the hard right wants taught in the schools in Oklahoma.  Republicans should stay out science with their archiac ideas.

When you stop to realize that the 1994 "Contract with America" had no social issues and fast forward to today, you see a Party that has been spirraling out of control since those Congressmen elected in 1994 honored their pledges to leave after three terms.  The people who replaced them in a lot of instances were hard right social conservatives like Paul Ryan, Todd Akin, and Michelle Bachmann for starters.  Then in 2010 Tea Party Republicans were elected many of them who do not believe in the Constitution unless it is the 2nd Amendment.  Even then the Tea Party office holders rework the wording of the 2nd Amendment to fit their agenda of buying any gun they want with large capacity magazines with no background checks.  After all, in their minds they believe the NRA that the Federal Government is coming to take their guns and they must protect their property at all costs from those evil federal officials led personally by President Obama.  (sarcasm) These people do not live in reality.

Republicans especially here in Oklahoma supporting the militia is one of the dumbest things I have heard.  Guess they forgot that the home grown militia is where Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols who blew up the Federal Murrah Building in downtown Oklahoma City got their start.  The fringe has now become the central part of the Republican Party along with John Birchers and Republican Assembly types.  There is no place left for center right or centrist in today's Republican Party who they want to kick out so we cannot vote in 'their' primaries.  Good Luck with that - I will leave when I am good and ready!

Social conservatives are threatening to leave the GOP if they embrace marriage equality.  Time for the GOP to support marriage equality and for hard right social conservatives to follow through on their threat. On the way out the door, please take the Koch Puppet RNC Chair Preibus, 29 GOP Senators who voted to filibuster any type of gun control, and over half the GOP House along with the Tea Party office holders at all levels.  Will be most happy to hold the door open for them to leave - would even help pack their offices.  I think it is a worthy idea and one they should follow through to walk out the door.

Don't know what I am going to do in the long run as I wait to see what happens to the Republican Party but I know one thing for sure is that in 2014 and 2016, I am supporting and working for Democrat candidates at all levels. I want to see Charlie Crist once again as Governor of Florida with being able to govern without having to worry about placating the hard right.  Want to see John Boehner bite the dust in my old home district in Ohio, Mitch McConnell thrown out in Kentucky, and all Tea Party members of Congress shown the door starting with Michelle Bachman.  Want the obstructionists out of the Congress in order to move the Country forward.

The only way to accomplish taking the Country back from the obstructionists is to vote and support Democrat candidates in 2014 to Take the House Back and Keep the Senate.  I am all in for the 2014 elections to do everything possible to evict as many GOP hard right Tea Party types as possible from the Congress and State Legislatures.  There are also Republican Governors who need to be evicted as well with a toss up between Snyder in Michigan and Corbett in Pennsylvania vying for #1 spot on who needs to be defeated closely followed by Scott of Florida, Perry of Texas, Walker of WI, Brewer of Arizona, and Haley of South Carolina for starters.

Bottom line is that this long-time Republican going back to when I was a teenager has had it with the selfish mostly white Republican Party of today with their war on women, minorities, education, veterans, military, and every American citizen who in some way will most likely be affected by the Republicans refusal to end the sequester.

Count me in on doing whatever I can to help send good, honest people to Congress, Governor's offices, and the State Legislatures who believe in their oath to uphold the Constitution.

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.