The Real Sporer was unable to attend this year’s CPAC so I took a page from the old Krusty playbook and had correspondents on site to provide an update to interested Iowans.
The Conference was, itself, a huge national success, as I’m sure many loyal readers saw on the weekend cable shows. CPAC had 1705 straw poll participants. Mitt Romney lead the field with 21%. Rudy Giuliani-17%; Sam Brownback-15%; Newt Gingrich 14% and John McCain-12% rounded out the top five. The results alone prove how close our horse race truly is.
The conference was a big success for Iowa as well. Our state E.D., Chuck Laudner was on hand to help sell the Straw Poll and fortify first in the nation status. By all accounts he found a welcome marketplace. Chuck reports that the “most striking thing was the upbeat atmosphere. Nobody wanted to dwell on the losses and everybody wanted to focus on winning in ‘08” as the prevalent mood of the conference. This is a key road marker because fighting over '06 only helps the Democrats.
Chuck and several other attendees reported substantial interest in the straw poll. No doubt. Given the media coverage of the 1705 voters in the CPAC poll, and the 776 voters who gave John McCain a two vote win over Rudy in the Spartanburg S.C. poll (a great event I think, although we didn't have a correspondent on site at that one) can you imagine the impact that 25,000-35,000 voters at the Iowa Straw Poll will have on the national campaign? The Straw Poll will hit Iowa at the same time as the State Fair and stock car Nationals in Knoxville making Iowa a vast political battlefield in early August. Everyone with whom I've spoken felt the CPAC attendees were highly aware of the magnitude of this opportunity and the significance of the challenge for both the contestants and the hosts come August.
Chuck L gets the Calvin Coolidge Award for Outstanding Economy of Expression. When asked by RNC Treasurer, Tim Morgan of California why Iowa should have the first in the nation primary status, like the true Hawkeye his is, Chuck asked “Why do they play the Rose Bowl in California?” Well said! Silent Cal is smiling today.
Do any other attendees have other thoughts that can be expressed without the necessity of subsequent rehab?
5 comments:
Clinton had a secret meeting with the a gay political group. Why the secret meeting? She announced she is against "don't ask don't tell" with respect to the policy that her husband put in place.
Why the secret meeting?????
She announced she will be embracing their agenda.
Let's focus on what the democrats have in mind if they win in 2008.
It matters that NO DEMOCRAT WIN in 08.
Clinton also said she opposes the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military that was instituted during her husband's presidency.
"I am proud to stand by your side," Clinton said in a keynote speech Friday to the Human Rights Campaign. Neither Clinton's campaign nor her Senate office made any announcement that she would be making the Friday address.
In the speech, Clinton joked that she shares the same initials as the group, and pledged to maintain the same close working relationship that last year helped defeat the federal amendment which would have banned same-sex marriage.
"I want you to know that this is exactly the kind of partnership we will have when I am president," Clinton told the group. "I want you to know that just as you always have an open door to my senate office, you will always have an open door to the White House and together we can continue this journey."
Clinton's husband Bill Clinton was president when the Pentagon instituted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which says gays may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private. In 1999, as she prepared to run for the Senate from New York, Clinton publicly opposed that policy.
Previous to Bill Clinton's administration, gays were flatly forbidden from serving in the military.
Sen. Clinton said it would be safer for the nation if openly gay soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen could wear the uniform.
"This policy doesn't just hurt gays and lesbians, it hurts all our troops and this to me is a matter of national security and we're going to fix it," Clinton said.
Her chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, John Edwards and Barack Obama, also favor repealing the policy.
She also attacked the Bush administration for making political appeals based on gay rights issues, vowing that her presidency would mark "the end of leadership that has politicized the most personal and intimate issues."
What's your point, anon? You don't think gays should be able to openly serve?
WAR Chuck Laudner.... "Rose Bowl" nice!
I was there at CPAC with Chuck and he did an outstanding job for the state. For those who have not been, CPAC is a recharge for your conversative batteries. Every conservative groups is there. All Iowa conversatives should be there.
-Andrea Cerwinske
US President Tim Kalemkarian, US Senate Tim Kalemkarian, US House Tim Kalemkarian: best major candidate.
Post a Comment