CPAC’s (Conservative Political Action Conference) speakers and attendees have always trafficked in the commodity of fear. That’s pretty much a constant. It used to be fear of the debt ceiling (when there were actual conservatives at CPAC) or fear of your religious freedom to discriminate against others and has always been, until recently, “They’re coming for your guns!”
So, what do we need to be fearful of this cycle? Mostly Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the gateway drug of Democratic socialism. I can’t tell you how many times AOC’s name is mentioned. It’s a lot. Almost every single speaker mentions her multiple times. There is also a sprinkling of that ever present horde of drug-dealing rapists just pouring in through the border and the roll-out of the newly created talking point (via faux legislation) of baby-killing Democrats.
Clearly, there’s a lot to fear and the GOP faithful need to be ever aware of all of these terrors. They are coming for you. They’re coming.
Michelle Malkin, from the first word, is gleefully mean spirited in mocking liberalism in the ugly, snide fashion that makes her a fan favorite. She is infamous for mentioning the “ghost of John McCain,” but don’t get distracted. Fifteen of her twenty minute speech is dedicated to demonizing immigrants and those that would defend them. The meat of her venomous sermon is the standard fear mongering playbook. Her words are a continuously flowing sea of imminent danger: fear, threats, doom, civil war, punched, harassed, mobbed, molatov cocktails, menace, fight, fire-with-fire, kicked, unrelenting, anarchy, hostile, militant, fearful odds, outright violence…
“Diversity is not our strength, unity is.”
“We need to be fearful.”
“The beltway swamp, the deep state, the administrative state, and the fake news fourth estate…but, there is no sugar coating America’s long term forecast. We face fearful odds. The game is rigged. The playing field is manifestly unlevel.”
KellyAnne Conway and Sara Carter discussed the opioid crisis; most of it is sincere and useful. The other portions, yet again, are equating the crisis with the fucking border wall, despite the fact that, in the points of sincerity, KellyAnne discusses the problem as originating in legally prescribed opioids…which is correct.
Larry Kudlow: “Put Socialism on trial. I want to convict socialism. Socialism promises unity but it delivers hatred and it delivers division…it always returns to the darkest chapters of the past. It always happens. The Green New Deal will literally destroy the economy.”
Jerry Falwell, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Charle Kirk, and Donny Jr.: A half hour of utter nonsense. This farce Senate bill for criminalizing an abortion act that doesn’t exist (I’m convinced the GOP formulated this bill as a talking point for 2020 and it was timed for a test run at CPAC), nixed by Dems will obviously lead to: If your parents get old and become a burden you’ll have them euthanized. Falwell presents a couple extremely non-christian ideas- AOC shouldn’t have children if the US is going to be lead by people like AOC. He also offers veiled threats of violence to the nonexistent threat of socialists coming to take his fucking cows away.
Falwell: “My boys always had guns in their hands…”
Donny Jr. “hashtag me too.”
Falwell: “I’ve got a hundred cows, You just let AOC show up at my house and try to take my cows away.”
Charlie Kirk: …dude is still talking about Uranium One. All of Sean Hannity’s conspiracy theory talking points delivered with Trump style repetition.
Dipshit Gorka: “The biggest threat to America is socialism. They want to take your pickup truck, rebuild your home and take away your hamburgers. This is what Stalin dreamt about. You are on the frontline of the war against communism coming back to America under the guise of Democratic socialism.”
Laura Ingraham: “What is social justice? It’s basically a power grab by pickpockets who think they know better how to spend your money than you do. They think you’re too stupid to make your own decisions.”
Rep Paul Gosar: “Our institutions are being assaulted by the democratic Socialists. These Socialists and Marxists…are passing legislation…allowing execution of literally a baby on it’s birthday.”
Rep. David Rouzer: “Medicare for all would result in medicare for none. Everyone would be equally poor and destitute…The facts show that the two best anti-poverty and uplifting programs ever created were established in the holy scriptures. Those are: the institution of marriage and work. History records that they have cost the taxpayers nothing.”
Rep. Mike Johnson actually transmitted a positive message about what would be traditional conservative principles- the only person to have done so. He was positive about conservative principles winning back the House for the GOP. “Our best days are ahead of us, be encouraged.”
Good on you Rep. Johnson. Good on you man.
Glenn Beck starts with a dreadful analogy between Freddy Krueger movies and the impending threat of socialism. His speech is largely not tailored to the crowd. Oddly, he is making the very argument for the mixed economies that self-declared Democratic socialists champion, while yet attempting to herald the benefits of inequality. Very strange indeed. I seriously doubt the CPAC crowd understands what he is saying and they must be dissatisfied because it probably seems like he isn’t shitting on Democrats at all. To them, it must seem like he is making a wishy-washy argument for socialism.
***
This whole “equality of outcomes” catch-phrase debate is idiotic. it’s a distraction at best, simply because Democratic socialists aren’t fronting socialism, they are desiring of best possible scenarios that come from re-aligning our particular flavor of a mixed economy. So stop already. No one wants the US to be a socialist state and no one is asking for all things to actually be equal. So stop.
Overall I find CPAC even more depressing than usual. Their planned frontal assault of attacking Democratic socialist ideas as being a desire for a Socialist government, are easily parried. We do not seek socialism. Democratic Socialist ideas are simply that-ideas that may be implemented into a mixed system. Not only is no one seeking to completely remake our society into a Socialist one, neither is anyone demanding to have our system designated as a Social democracy. Our economy and governmental systems are mixed. They have always been and society largely benefits from this. We seek solutions to problems and expect our elected leaders to address problems with best possible solutions and honestly don’t give a fuck what you call them.
***
I have no desire to listen to all of Donny Trump’s meandering, word salad, cult pep rally speech, but let me leave you with this:
“We are on the frontline…of reclaiming our nation’s priceless heritage.”
100 Percent True 