CPAC and XPAC 2010 - Day 2

Today was a full day. I couldn't possibly comment on it all. Many of the speakers went into overtime, so there was a lot of shifting around from room to room and I attended as much as I could.

Here are the best thoughts of the day.

Evan Sayet:
- Did he (Obama) bow or did the TelePrompTer fall over?
- We didn't steal cable from the Sudanese. The Sudanese don't have cable because when you are chopping off a million heads, one of them might have been the cable guy.
- Liberals are so openminded that none of the facts can stick.

Jed Babbin:
- Way back in Obama's ancestry, I'll bet he was French.

Eric Cantor:
- These bills are questionable of a constitutional origin.

Tim Pawlenty:
- (regarding snow storms) Any day Reid and Pelosi can't get to work is a good day.
- If government spending were an Olympic support, Obama would be a gold medalist.
- If the federal government were a bank regulated by itself, they would shut themselves down.
- Look at national security. We are in an era when the president of France is lecturing Obama on the dangers of appeasement.

Steve King:
- President Obama lost his mojo.
- (per Obama) the new deal didn't go far enough because FDR lost his nerve from spending too much and pulled back.
- Obama is a keynesian economist on steroids.

Michael Williams:
- It is much easier to hold spending if I don't have my hand in the cookie jar.
- 75% of France's power is nuclear power. If France can figure it out, then so can we.
- Obama is for hope and change. I hope he changes.

Mike Pence:
- A year ago, according to MSNBC, the Obama approval rating was over 65% in all 57 states.
- The question of American renewal is no longer if, it's when.
- Pelosi called the tea partiers unamerican and astroturf. Those people looked like the Calvary to me.
- Keep one hand extended on commerce and trade and the other hand on the holster.

Michele Bachmann:
- The joy of being American is that we get to choose our destiny.
- Since September 2008, the government took over 30% of the private economy. Add healthcare at 18% and cap and trade at 8%, that is a total of 56% of the private economy.

John Fund:
- The President was supported by ACORN, supported by an ACORN lawyer, and is going to take care of his friends.
- You have a civil right to have your vote counted correctly and not have it cancelled out by someone who isn't alive, doesn't exist, or who voted more than once.

Anita MonCrief:
- (regarding acorn) America needs to be saved from these liberals.
- It isn't just acorn. Now that acorn is tainted, they are forming new organizations and funneling money in ways that you can't imagine.

David Norcross:
- The Prince of inconvenience, Al Gore

Star Parker:
- I know the theme is saving freedom, but we have to bring freedom to urban areas. They don't have a sense of freedom. We need to get them away from the sense of entitlement.
- The government is entrenched in their communities.

Howard Husock:
- Cities are not cesspools of sin. They are the birth of growth and prosperity, and where it bears fruit.

Ron Paul:
- Government is the enemy of liberty and should be restrained.
- Personal liberty is the purpose of government, not on your personal life.
- The administration claimed it has the right to assassinate American citizens that it deems as a threat.

In addition to the speeches, the tea party express also had a party. The space was full, so there was a line to get in as they waited for people to leave. Lloyd Marcus was there, as well as the Rivoli Revue. People at the hotel not attending CPAC were watching above in the atrium and wanted to attend. I'd say that makes it a success.

The XPAC lounge had quite a lineup today. Stephen Baldwin and Kevin McCullough were great hosts. Guests included Stephen Crowder, SE Cupp, Hannah Giles, Andrew Breitbart, Autotune The News, Ellen Karis, Robert George, and Evan Sayet. In addition to the mingling and photo ops, there was speeches, comedy, music, and the first annual XPAC awards ceremony. Awards were given for speech (Brit Hume), courage (Tebow family/Focus on the Family), and impact (James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles).