Elephant Dung #17: At CPAC, Ron Paul libertarians attack Cheney and Rumsfeld

Tracking the GOP Civil War

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(For an explanation of this ongoing series, see here. For previous entries, see here.) 

Highlighting a major divide within the Republican Party -- that separating isolationist (often Tea Party) libertarians from interventionist, warmongering neocons (and their ilk) -- Ron Paul supporters used the right-wing insanitarium known as CPAC to launch into a verbal assault on two of the major figures of the Bush regime, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the latter (hilariously) receiving this year's CPAC "Defender of the Constitution" award:

One shout of "where's Bin Laden?" rang out as Cheney spoke of Rumsfeld.

That led to the pro-Cheney contingent (which it should be said greatly outnumbers the opposition) to shout the hecklers down with the familiar "USA, USA" chant.

It was all very odd, especially considering that when Cheney appeared as the "surprise guest" at last year's CPAC he was greeted with the kind of cheers generally reserved for a rock star.

But Team Paul -- whose numbers appear to have grown at CPAC in 2011 -- were not going to let that happen this time around.

"Uh, Defender of the Constitution?" Justin Bradfield of Maryland scoffed when I caught up with him after he walked out of Rumsfeld's speech. "Let's see: he expanded the Defense Department more than pretty much any other defense secretary and he enforced the Patriot Act."

"[Speaking] as a libertarian, that's not really the type of person who should be getting Defender of the Constitution," he added.

Bradfield said the moment showed that "half" of CPAC this year is libertarian, which means his side is winning in the civil war between "libertarians and right-wing conservatives."

"We're loud," he said.

Ah, yes, the GOP civil war. (Hence this whole Elephant Dung series.) Good times.

Oh, by the way, someone even shouted "war criminal" at Cheney. Sure, that could have been someone on the left who just happened to be there, but the battle was clearly being waged between the Ron Paul Teabagging libertarians and the supporters of the warmongering neocons.

That divide isn't going away anytime soon, and it promises to contribute to the further fracturing of the GOP's coalition, not least with the Teabaggers gaining more and more confidence.

Here, watch it for yourself:

Elephant Dung #15: Santorum jabs Palin for skipping CPAC

Tracking the GOP Civil War

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(For an explanation of this ongoing series, see here. For previous entries, see here.)

As we get closer and closer to 2012, more and more Republicans seem to be taking shots at one another, mostly subtle jabs meant to knock an opponent, or potential opponent, down a notch or two, as well as to reinforce one's own partisan, ideological bona fides. Take this, for example:

Rick Santorum knocked Sarah Palin's decision to skip CPAC, saying on Tuesday that she must have "business opportunities" that are keeping her from the annual conservative conference that is a showcase for potential presidential contenders.

"I have a feeling that she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them," Santorum told conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, who hosts an online radio show on Glenn Beck's website.

Santorum added that Palin has "other business opportunities" -- implying her paid speeches were the former Alaska governor's priority.

Ouch! Take that, Sarah!

Now, there's little doubt that Palin is in it -- politics, that is -- for herself, to enhance her stardom and to make more and more money. That's not to say that she isn't really a right-wing extremist with sincere views, just that those "opportunities" are driving her.

So Santorum is basically saying that she's not committed enough, not enough of a team player, and he's pretty clear that she should just stay the hell up in Alaska, out of the way:

Santorum -- the father of seven children -- also said that Palin has "other responsibilities," such as raising her children, that he doesn't.

"I don't live in Alaska and I'm not the mother to all these kids and I don't have other responsibilities that she has," he said.

I guess a good Catholic father like Santorum doesn't have any such responsibilities, what with his wife staying home and obeying his every command.

Here he's just being a jerk, and for once I'll defend her. Palin has just as much right as he has to be in politics, and Santorum can take his sexism and go fuck himself.

That aside, though, this is all getting better and better -- and worse and worse for Republicans. And there will be a lot more to come, from Santorum and others, as they try to position themselves in holier-than-thou ways in anticipation of 2012.

********** 

Update: Perhaps not surprisingly, Santorum is now in full-on revisionist mode:

"This article is garbage," Santorum tweeted this morning, linking to the POLITICO story. "All I said was- she is VERY busy, PERIOD. Reporter trying to create something out of nothing."

Um, no, that's not all he said. So much for taking responsibility for yourself.

Elephant Dung #8: Right-wing groups pull out of CPAC over inclusion of gays

Tracking the GOP Civil War

By Michael J.W. Stickings

(For an explanation of this ongoing series, see here. For previous entries, see here.)

Alright, this has more to do with the conservative "movement" broadly than with the GOP, but still -- these days, you can't have the GOP without the right-wing insanitarium known as CPAC, and the target here is a Republican group. As the right-wing WND is reporting:

Two of the nation's premier moral issues organizations, the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, are refusing to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in February because a homosexual activist group, GOProud, has been invited.

"We've been very involved in CPAC for over a decade and have managed a couple of popular sessions. However, we will no longer be involved with CPAC because of the organization's financial mismanagement and movement away from conservative principles," said Tom McClusky, senior vice president for FRC Action.

"CWA has decided not to participate in part because of GOProud," CWA President Penny Nance told WND.

FRC and CWA join the American Principles Project, American Values, Capital Research Center, the Center for Military Readiness, Liberty Counsel, and the National Organization for Marriage in withdrawing from CPAC. In November, APP organized a boycott of CPAC over the participation of GOProud. 

Forget financial mismanagement. This is all about the gays. Conservatives don't want them in the military and they certainly don't want them in their own political ranks.

Maybe they're worried about what might be going on in the washroom stalls at CPAC events.

Or what might happen if they ever found themselves in a shower with a GOProuder.

Or maybe they're just a bunch of bigots.

And the bigotry runs so deep that it's threatening to fracture one of the essential cornerstones of conservative politics, CPAC, and with it any attempt to broaden conservatism, and with it the Republican Party.

It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out.