The news you won't get from the state controlled media -- anti-gay speakers shouted down at CPAC as Ron Paulistas and small "l" libertarians and tea partiers take over the audiences if not the speaker's platforms - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFNezndrSII
On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM, M. Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > *The Iconoclast > **Why I'm Not at CPAC > *Mickey Edwards > Feb 18 2010, 2:49PM > > I was asked yesterday whether I would be going to CPAC<http://www.cpac.org/>, > the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which is currently > being held a half-hour's walk from my office in D.C. It was a logical > question, not only since the meetings are so close at hand but also because > for five years I chaired CPAC. > > CPAC brings together conservative activists from every corner of America. > As national chairman of the American Conservative Union, a founding trustee > of the Heritage Foundation, and director of the policy task forces for > Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, speaking at CPAC and shaping the > program were high priorities on my personal agenda every year, even while > serving in Congress. > > But the answer to yesterday's question was "no." No, I'm not going to CPAC. > And, truth be told, most of the folks there wouldn't want me there. They > wouldn't think I'm a conservative; many wouldn't think Barry Goldwater was a > conservative; many, had this been three decades ago, might have been seeking > a "true" conservative to run against Ronald Reagan. I don't begrudge these > activists their views and they are entitled to use the term "conservative" > to describe themselves if they so choose. But the views many of them profess > have little in common with the distinctly American kind of conservatism that > gave birth to CPAC and the modern American conservative movement. Instead, > what many of today's self-proclaimed "conservatives" proclaim is an ideology > borrowed from what Donald Rumsfeld famously dismissed as "old Europe." > Winston Churchill, one of Europe's better-known conservatives, was > half-American and his incredible strength of character helped Great Britain > survive World War II, but when asked to define conservatism, Churchill > responded that conservatism was about reverence for king and church. But > America has no king and has no national church. That distinction is crucial > and one in which today's so-called conservatives have switched sides; > crossed the ocean, if you will. > > What distinguished modern American conservatism was that it had its roots > not in the British kings, but in John Locke and Adam Smith and other > champions of individual liberties and individual empowerment. European > conservatism--the kind that has now become the rage for the American > Right--was top-down and centered on state power. The rise of modern American > conservatism, on the other hand, had a distinctly Madisonian flair, > embracing the fundamentals of American constitutional limits on central > authority. European conservatism found its voice in magisterial decree, > religious edict, and acts of parliaments in which members may or may not > have ever visited the communities they were presumed to "represent." > American conservatism found its voice in a Constitution that placed every > major power in the hands of the people, through their representatives, and > ensured that those representatives would actually be residents of the > communities that elected them. American conservatism embraced a Constitution > that separated and constrained powers, that specified --highlighted--a few > of the protected liberties of the people coupled with clear assertions that > all undelegated powers--all other unsurrendered liberties--remained with the > people rather than the government. A Constitution that placed unambiguous > limitations, including direct prohibitions, on the attempted exercise of > governmental authority. > > Today there are few things that set a "conservatives'" teeth on edge more > than a defense of "civil liberties;" yet that is what American conservatism > was all about--protecting the liberties of the people. It was a system > designed to protect the people from an over-reaching government, not to > protect the government from the people. American constitutionalism was a > historical high-point in recognizing individual worth. Stop at CPAC today > and you will find rooms full of ardent, zealous, fervent young men and women > who believe the government should be allowed to torture (we condemned people > at Nuremberg for doing that), who believe the government should be able to > lock people up without charges and hold them indefinitely (something Henry > VIII agreed was a proper exercise of government authority). Who believe the > government should be able to read a citizen's mail and listen in on a > citizen's phone calls, all without a warrant (the Constitution of course > prohibits searches without a warrant, but nobody cares less about the > Constitution than some of today's ersatz conservatives). > > I'm not at CPAC because I believe in America. I believe in liberty. I > believe that governments should be held in check. I believe people matter. I > believe in the flag not because of its shape or color but because of the > principles it stands for--the principles in the Constitution, the principles > repeated and underlined and highlighted and boldfaced and italicized in the > Bill of Rights. The George W. whose presidency and precedents I admire was > the first president, not the 43d. It is James Madison I admire, not John > Yoo. Thomas Paine, not Glenn Beck. Jefferson, not Limbaugh. > > Ronald Reagan would not have been welcome at today's CPAC or a tea party > rally, but he would not have wanted to be there, either. Neither do I. > > http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/mickey_edwards/2010/02/why_im_not_at_cpac.php > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
