The last week of February I joined close to 9,000 Conservatives, Libertarians, and other Center-Right thinkers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C.  Of course, there is a lot to talk about after such a momentous conference.  The concept “Republican 2.0” deserves an article all its own, as do countless speakers, workshops and panel discussions (not to mention the comments I heard in the media lounge from “unbiased” reporters). 

But, two people in particular have sparked media frenzy and must be commented on:  Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh.  I had front row, media section seats for both – Rush even stopped the speech and posed for one of my photographs.  Having heard both speak, I honestly can’t believe the media fuss!

Coulter was her traditional biting self.  Entering to “We Will Rock You,” she opened with her traditional “liberals are ugly” jokes and continued for a half hour, leaving a packed conference room rolling on the floor laughing.  Her commentary was biting, harsh, and brutally critical, and almost immediately drew fire from liberals as hateful.

Given a similar royal welcome was radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.  Able to work a crowd like few others, Rush’s slotted thirty minutes soon turned into an hour and a half that left everyone in the room inspired and excited. 

Of course, as with Coulter, it didn’t take the media long to decry the speech as hateful, racist, and a slew of other epithets.  Having listened to the speeches, I honestly cannot imagine what has drawn so much ire from liberals.

We’ll address Coulter first. 

Admittedly, Coulter’s charm is that she is offensive.  Like most standup comics, the harsher the comment, the funnier the joke.  Yes, Coulter is a standup comic, of course she is.  Unlike the dry authors and university professors one expects to see on C-SPAN, Coulter’s popularity is derived primarily from her ability to make people laugh. 

But, compare Coulter’s humor to that of left leaning comics such as Kat Williams, Lisa Lampanelli, Kathy Griffin or D.L. Hughley and she doesn’t seem to be “mean spirited” at all.  A case in point would be a contrasting of Coulter’s routine about Carter and Williams’ about Bush.  The only substantive difference is that Coulter’s humor targets liberals and there’s a refreshing lack of the “f” word, “mf” words, son-of-a…, well, you get the point.

So, why does Coulter draw more criticism than traditional comics?  To argue that she is a political figure first is specious at best.  CNN took the air out of that argument when they gave Hughley his own show.  And the cast of “The View” is greatly comprised of comediennes.

Why should Coulter be held to any higher standard than liberal comediennes who take on political issues? 

But even if one still finds fault with Coulter, the critique of Limbaugh is even more inexplicable.  Having listened to his speech I cannot fathom what has caused the cries of “racist” or “mean spirited” against him.  Rush too is an entertainer and has made a career out of providing humorous responses to the news.

When one actually listens to Rush’s speech, one has to use words like “hopeful,” “entertaining,” and “patriotic.”  He talked about possibility.  He talked about individual achievement.  Most of all, he talked about how Conservative values have helped liberate and enlighten people all over the world. 

Free markets and free people were the discussion of the speech, not hate and certainly not vitriol. 

So where do commentators stand calling his speech hateful? 

The one comment made by Rush that detractors routinely bring up is, “I want the Obama Administration to fail.”  To begin with, it must be noted that the very people decrying Rush’s comment were the same people saying the exact same thing about the Bush administration eight years ago when George W. was elected. 

Were the shoe on the other foot, liberals would be saying the same thing about a McCain Presidency, or, even more obvious, a Huckabee Presidency. When Huckabee says he wants to appoint judges that will overturn Roe v. Wade, do Liberals want him to succeed?  When Ron Paul says he wants to abolish the Departments of Education and Commerce, do Liberals want him to succeed?  Of course not.

The fact is that any honest Conservative hopes that Obama fails because they hope that America succeeds.  Anyone who is truly a Conservative or truly a Liberal does not see politics as two equally good ways of accomplishing the same goals, but as two ideas in conflict, only one of which can be right!  Politics is not a choice of chocolate or vanilla, but of right and wrong.  Abortion rights, the death penalty, healthcare reform are all truly issues of life and death.  To achieve what is right for America, advocates on each side must hope that the other one fails.

Rush has every right to hope that Obama fails, and every Republican out there should feel the same way.  If you believe Obama’s stimulus plan will make the recession worse, then you should hope Obama fails.  If you believe that an unborn child has a right to life then you should hope that when Obama proposes Pro Choice judges, he fails.  Or should liberals become Pro Life as soon as a Republican president is elected.  Oops, too late, one already was.

Rush Limbaugh is drawing fire from the left, not because he is hateful, but because they know they can make him sound that way to people who haven’t heard the rest of his speech or honestly thought through how the political systems work!  Coulter, the same thing. 

They are criticized because they are entertaining and difficult to rebut in an argument.  Rather than trying to defeat Limbaugh and Coulter’s ideas, or counter their claim that only the free market can produce free people, too many pundits are copping out and just calling them mean. 

The March 4th edition of Politico must be credited with uncovering the truth of this story.  In an article by liberal journalist Jonathan Martin, Democrat strategists admitted that the White House decided back in October to target Limbaugh with attacks.  By keeping the focus on Limbaugh, Emanuel, Carville and other Democrat leaders would demonize Republicans as people rather than debating the ideas of Conservatism.

The arguments have gotten so heated that in Limbaugh’s show March 4th he challenged the President that if the Obama administration said Limbaugh wanted to claim he was in charge of the party, then he should come on and debate him live on Rush’s show. 

But Obama won’t.  Neither will Emanuel.  Rather than talking about ideas the Democrats will continue to lob hateful rhetoric at those who disagree with them.  It was done to Bush.  Now it’s being done to Limbaugh.  But Limbaugh is fighting back.  During the Clinton years, Democrats tried to blame Limbaugh for everything from the Lewinsky scandal to the Oklahoma City bombing. 

But people who actually listen to Limbaugh’s show know better.  Limbaugh’s beliefs are those of a free state, a free market, and a free people.  And no amount of “Change” can ever be better than good old-fashioned freedom. 

But before anyone calls Limbaugh or Coulter names, listen to their speeches in full and then listen to comedians Kat Williams and Lisa Lampanelli.  If anything “mean” couldn’t be said, few entertainers in general, and virtually no liberal entertainers in particular, would have jobs.

The House just passed a 90% tax on executive bonuses from companies.  And people say Socialism isn’t alive and well in DC.

Not that I think the bonuses are a good thing, quite the contrary, they are but a small amount of bad, in a sea of evil.  At a time when trillions are being spent by the federal government all this fuss is being made over a few hundred million. 

Not to descend into the vulgarity of the run-of-the-mill blog, but I’m reminded of the 1988 war movie Off Limits by Twentieth Century Fox:

“You're floatin' in a big sea of s**t, and instead of just stayin' in the boat...No, you reach out and you pick up this one little turd and you say: “THIS turd...well THIS turd pisses me off. I'm gonna do somethin' about THIS turd!””

The problem is the bailout in general.  And people are complaining about the bonuses.  When you're boating down the sea mentioned above, it might be better to talk about why you're there to begin with.

Major kudos to TBS for Friday night’s showing of the movie Independence Day, a beautiful cinematic experience and a conservative movie.  From celebratory cigar smoking to Will Smith yelling “Peace” right before nuking the alien invaders, this is a real “Man’s Man” movie and just the sort of thing America needs to see right now.

Aside from just being a fantastic work of art, this feature film has several important messages weaved throughout its action packed plot line that just makes my right-wing heart smile!

First:  There is evil in the world and this evil must be eliminated.  The aliens were not misunderstood, they did not have “cultural differences” with Earth, they were war-like savages who massacred planets only to strip mine them and move on to the next target.  Sound at all like Soviet Russia?  Sound at all like what we’ve seen in Africa and the Middle East? 

Evil is real and cannot be compromised with.  Yet this is what we are continually called upon to do!  Since the defeat of Hitler, it has become politically incorrect to call anything evil.  But that is exactly what the Soviet Union was!  The Radical Islamo-Fascists that we fight today are cut from the same mold as the communists and Nazis before them.  But it is not politically correct to say that, not culturally sensitive. 

Second:  Sacrifice is heroic.  One of the most tense and yet uplifting moments comes when the last missile on an American plane jams just before the alien ship strikes the American base.  Realizing this may be humanity’s only chance, a crop duster turned military ace rams his plane right into the belly of the beast, bringing down the alien war vessel and saving humanity!

The point is that this man willingly laid down his life for a greater purpose.  Christ said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”   The message of loving service to ideals greater than one’s self is what America was founded on!  America was not founded on a person, but on an ideal.  An ideal that must be preserved and defended at all costs!

There’s much more to be garnered from this movie, but it’s late.  I hope everyone watches this movie and is inspired to believe in evil and fight against it with all their might!

So, once again, Michael Steele is coming under fire for comments.  This time, for reportedly saying that abortion is a personal choice.  Sure, he’s backtracked on the comment, saying that he has always been pro-life, but this shows a grim portent of things to come.

The problems facing the Republican Party in the 2008 elections were because the organization had moved away from its conservative roots.  Liberal Republicans had driven the party into big spending, moral corruption and a public relations nightmare.  The real low point came at the CPAC 2008 when Mitt Romney withdrew from the Presidential race and John McCain became the party’s de facto nominee. 

This did not make conservatives happy.  McCain’s liberal stances and refusal to actually fight the war of ideas made him one of the most lackluster Presidential candidates possible.

Then, after a trouncing in the November election, Republicans regrouped to elect a new RNC Chairman.  At the time, I endorsed Saul Anuzis, not Michael Steele.  Steele seemed too weak, too untried, not the strong leader we need to set the party back on track.

Steele seems to be proving me right.

Since ascending to the chairmanship, Steele has repeatedly run headlong into controversy and set aside conservative principles in order to make the party more appealing to moderates. 

This is the same thing that caused us to lose in 2006 and 2008.  We do not expand our party by watering down our beliefs but by convincing others that our beliefs are right!

Our “big tent” is that our beliefs are right for everyone!  The Democrat’s policies are detrimental to America, to our founding, and to the principles that have made this country great! 

If Republicans want to become a majority party again, this identity crisis must end.  The platform of what is a Conservative has already been laid out for us.  Free Markets, Free Trade, Free People, Free Choice, Free-dom.  A pro-life stance is part of that – preserving the freedom and God-given rights of every person, no matter how small.  To compromise on such an issue is to destroy the very foundation of the party and of the country.

In response to Steele, former Ohio Secretary of State and RNC Platform Committee Vice Chairman Ken Blackwell said, “He needs to get to work or get out of the way.”

I’m not calling for Michael Steele to resign.  I’m calling for him to do the job he was elected to do – fight for Conservative principles. 

Politics is not about building a consensus or creating a compromise, it is about doing what is right for the people one is elected to serve.  The Republican Party has a duty to do what is right by the American people and Michael Steele needs to realize that.  We will never win by compromising and acting more like the opposition.  We will only win by convincing moderates or the opposition that we are right! 

Steele was elected to communicate the Conservative message more effectively than it has been in the past.  It’s time he started communicating that message and stopped repeating the mistakes of the past few years.

This message first appeared in the Jackson Free Press.  It still applies even more today, so this is what we will start off with!

    For Conservatives, and people who support limited government, this week feels wrong. Fifty-three percent of the American public has chosen a man whose campaign for “change” has felt to the remaining 47 percent more like a return to the old failed ways of Jimmy Carter and Democrats of the past.
     Time will tell.
     For now it is time to start looking toward how we will stand for freedom in the wake of what will surely be government expansion and media bias, and how we will make efforts to win in 2010.
     Barack Obama won last week because throughout the campaign his speeches inspired hope—the way Reagan’s did. And though it pains me to say the names of those two men in the same sentence, Obama used the Reagan strategy of excellent and hopeful communication combined with an emphasis on individual achievement: “Yes, We Can.” 
     Conservatives must now focus on the message that though Obama’s rhetoric says “Yes, We Can,” his policies say “No, We Can’t.”  Though Obama campaigned on change, his policies are a re-hash of the failed policies not just of Carter and Hillary Clinton, but of European leaders whose health-care systems and economies are teetering at the edge of the abyss, and were it not for American aid, would have been overrun by the Soviets in the 1970s.
     This vote was by no means a landslide.  Though it may first seem that way in the electoral college, the vote totals show that Obama only achieved 53 percent of the vote.  In the House and Senate, our losses were primarily among Liberal or moderate Republicans.  All this while conservative and libertarian ballot initiatives passed in state elections—even in California. 
     Tuesday may have been a loss for the Republican Party but it was not a loss for Republican principles.
     Under the Carter administration the Misery Index (percent unemployment plus percent inflation) reached an all-time high of 22 percent.  Higher taxes mean the so-called wealthy, the ones who provide the majority of Americans with jobs, are not able to hire as many people.  High taxes, particularly on businesses and the upper tax bracket limit their investment potential and thus their ability to create new jobs.  Obama’s tax plan will return us to the highest individual tax rate since Carter. This is not change, but more of the failed policies of the past.
     Obama’s health-care plan is akin to the failed “Hillarycare” of the ‘90s. Socialized programs in Europe have stifled medical development and research, resulted in a decline in the condition and cleanliness of British hospitals and is already being rejected by the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden in favor of privatization.  In hospitals throughout the EU, cost cutting and politicization of medical decisions has not resulted in a universal heath care system but a mismanaged and substandard system that denies innovative treatments to patients.  This is not change, but more failed policies.
    Conservative ideology is one of change, a change that starts with the individual, not the government.  Conservative ideology and policies promote innovation because they promote individual achievement. Compare the 15 Nobel Prizes in medicine awarded in the past 10 years to American researchers to the seven awarded foreign scientists.  The expense of American healthcare provides money for research and competition among service providers to provide the best service or loose their customers.  The free market American system has brought more research money and thus more innovations.  The free market brings progress, it brings hope, it brings change.
     Let us take a stand and actively show that the true hope for America lies not with government action but with government reduction and individual action. The true hope of any nation lies not with its leaders, but with its people.
     Conservatives and Libertarians must find a leader able to articulate these politics of hope as Reagan did—one who leaves the concept of being a “moderate” behind and doesn’t feel the need to water down our beliefs. Instead, we should show America that liberty and the free market are the right, progressive, moral, hopeful and successful values that have made this country strong.
     We must look for a leader with the strength of character to stand up to Obama and the harmful, big government ideas he and his liberal companions in Congress have already put forth and surely will continue to advocate.  In our search for national unity after a vitriolic election, we should not resign ourselves to policies we know can hurt America.  Our patriotism demands that we stand in opposition to the growth of government. Unity does not mean giving in to Obama’s political demands.  Unity means standing as Americans for American values.
     More than 57 million Americans voted against Obama and his policies last week.  Our job is not to stand with unity beside Obama and policies we know to be wrong, but to stand up for what is right, for what over 57 million Americans said was right.
     As we look toward the congressional elections of 2010—or sooner for some local and statewide elections—conservatives must remember that we do not win elections by compromising our beliefs but by standing by them.  We should take a lesson from Obama’s playbook—and that of our hero Ronald Reagan—and preach the hope that is America. 
     Remember: Republicans survived Jimmy Carter, and it gave us Ronald Reagan. Republicans survived Bill Clinton, and it gave us Newt Gingrich.  Now is the time to regroup and refocus ourselves as we did after 1976 and 1992. Now is the time to draw the line against government waste, government growth and government corruption.
     As Obama’s “Yes, We Can” turns into “No, You Can’t” let us be there to pick up the mantle of the rhetoric and match it with policies that ring true:     No the government can’t. Yes, you can