March 05, 2007

3/5: So Stop Inviting Her!!

The Blogometer has previously posted about our hesitancy to write about Ann Coulter, but conservative blogger outrage following her hijacking of media coverage of CPAC deserves further examination. A common theme running through conservative blogger thoughts on the incident is that her words were just typical of her act and no one should really be surprised. But if that's true, then why invite her to speak in the first place? Let alone after one of the GOP's big WH '08 three. Post-fracas condemnation of Coulter is good and all, but until Coulter starts getting shut out of events like CPAC, GOPers deserve to have Ann hung around their necks.

CPAC: It's Almost As If She's Using Them To Sell Books Or Something

Conservative bloggers were uniformly unhappy that Ann Coulter was the "the real winner at the end of the day" after her off color questioning of John Edwards masculinity stole headlines from WH '08 GOPers attending CPAC. Reactions include:

• Robert Bluey: "When you have eight presidential candidates in your presence but the top story is [nn Coulter], there's something very wrong with the rightosphere."
• Michelle Malkin: "With a single word, [Coulter] sullied the hard work of hundreds of CPAC participants and exhibitors and tarred the collective reputation of thousands of CPAC attendees. ... Not all of us treat the communication of conservative ideals and ideas as 24/7 performance art. ... You can joke without becoming the joke."
• Hugh Hewitt: "I cannot imagine [Coulter] being invited to any panel or television appearance on which I would want to appear. Colleges and universities must also stop inviting her to appear as a representative of the conservative movement in America. She is not."
• Townhall's Dean Barnett: "I guess you could say that Ann loves to shock us, but at this point, who's shocked? She obviously can't behave well enough to attend a respectable political gathering. It's not a lack of intelligence. It's an indifference to self-control and a preening sort of narcissism that compels her to need the spotlight, even if it's unflattering."
• Bryan at Hot Air: "And, what's the big headline coming out of CPAC? ... The headline coming out of CPAC is that [Ann Coultter] said an awful thing. Which is what she wants, since it'll keep her profile up and help her sell books. ... It's all about [Ann]. And that's the problem."
• Ace of Spades: "They could be talking about their biographies, their values, their vision for the future. Instead they're talking about a cable-news clown. I'm just tired of it.
• RedState's Leon Wolf: "I'm not going to willingly feed the ego of a person who cares nothing for the movement she claims to associate herself with, all so that they will (apparently) reinforce that very same ego. Au revoir, [Ann]. This time, at least, I hope you start to reap the rewards you've been sowing for the last couple years."
• The Directors of RedState: "[Ann Coulter] doesn't speak for us. And we hope and expect that this is the last time a candidate for public office willingly accepts her endorsement or appears on the same stage with her.

CPAC II: In Non Coulter CPAC News ...

Posting the results of the CPAC straw poll (21 percent for Romney/ 17 for Rudy/ 13 for Brownback / 14 Gingrich/ 12 McCain) The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez shares: "When they broke the poll down and pointed out [which] folks said expanding individual freedom was a priority, Giuliani and Romney were tied, someone screamed "but they're both liberal" and more than a few applau[ded]."

Underlying K-Lo's screamer, blogger handicapping on who performed well at CPAC was decidedly mixed. RedState's Erick Erickson declared "Rudy vs. Romney" as "the End Result of CPAC." (also at RedState, Moe Lane adds Brownback ("but to a smaller extent") to his list of winners. Captain's Quarters, however, was less impressed with Romney's victory: "However, the straw poll probably reflects Romney's organizing abilities far more than his popular support among conservatives. The Romney campaign turned CPAC from a get-acquainted event to a mini-convention by recruiting scores of young activists to attend CPAC and haranguing attendees to vote for Mitt. The Brownback campaign did the same with a smaller coterie of foot soldiers. None of the other candidates bothered to do anything of the kind."

From IA, Krusty Konservative argues the most "valuable information from the CPAC Straw Poll is how these Candidates did with certain type of voters." Krusty notes Brownback finished first (29%) among self-identifed "Traditional Values Voters" while Giuliani won among "Secure and Guarantee Safety Voters" (25%).

C-SPAN has videos of all the WH '08er speeches here.

CPAC III: Everybody Play Nice Now

More atmospheric CPAC blogging includes:

• The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "People not in town keep asking me: "Are they as depressed as it sounds?" Nope. Not from what I saw and heard. These politically active people for the most part aren't totally whipped up by anyone. But they hear things they like and are considering - and appreciate the candidates who stopped by. Yeah, sure, they would like a reincarnated Reagan, but they also don't live in a fantasyworld. They want a leader and they wonder which of those before them might just be the one."
• Outside the Beltway's James Joyner: "Until arriving at CPAC, though, I had no ill feelings about either [Brownback or Romney]. After two days of barely being able to walk around the convention center without some idiot teenager in a t-shirt shouting at me or hitting me with a poster, invariably imploring me to vote for either Brownback or Romney, though, I would sooner vote for Ralph Nader than either of those men.
• The Right Angle's John Gizzi: "Although there will no doubt be a winner in their straw poll of Republican presidential favorites for '08, many participants at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington March 1-3 voiced to me dissatisfaction with the current field."

There were also some minor altercations between conservative bloggers and party-crashing progressives. Captain's Quarters was not amused when George Allen-stalker Mike Stark stopped by bloggers row: "Stark showed up yesterday to get an autograph from Michelle Malkin and then started haranguing her about CPAC attendees not enlisting in the military. ... He brought his weak-assed crap to me and started going into his schtick. I stopped him and told him to go back to Huffington Post. He looked taken aback to be greeted with nothing more than tired disgust, and said, "I thought we were peers." Uh, no, Mike, we're not peers. You're a provocateur and a self-involved assault artist. Jeralyn Merritt, John Aravosis, James Boyce, and other real thinkers on the Left are my peers."

Stark later posted at The Huffington Post, bemoaning the lack of military recruiters at the conference: "CPAC didn't want to be embarrassed when pictures were released that showed recruiters standing around looking lonely. Similarly, recruiters know it's a better investment of their time to troll 'the other malls' rather than to recruit these nice white college boys."

Also doing his best Borat imitation, Sidney Blumenthal's son Max has a video up at The Nation's Campaign Matters that is a hit across lefty blogs.

BROWNBACK: Yellow-Brick Road To Revisit McCain-Kennedy

Rob Bluey was impressed with Sam Brownback's CPAC showing, claiming he "continued to distance himself from the second-tier candidates with a strong third-place finish. Just a day after finishing fourth in the South Carolina straw poll, Brownback now has back-to-back finishes that no one expected. As I reported earlier, Brownback supporters outnumbered the other candidates." Bluey later reported that Brownback might be "reversing course on immigration" and was "Ready to Fight McCain-Kennedy Bill."

The Right Angle's Ivy Sellers was also impressed with Brownback's showing and RedState's Haystack appreciated his focus on Africa.

The only really negative Brownback comments were actually aimed at his supporters. Captain's Quarters explains: "the Brownback crowd shows a lot of enthusiasm for their candidate, and that's great. However, his followers tried drowning him out with Brownback cheers when he was talking to some of the bloggers. These campaigns need to dial down the confrontation and allow people to speak. We'll get enough mindless noise during the primaries." CQ also interviewed Brownback and liveblogged his speech.

GILMORE: Not Ronald Reagan

While Jim Gilmoremay have "red meat" that "went over well," RedState's Erick Erickson still described him as a "non-starter," blogging: "He failed to attract a lot of enthusiasm from the student activists and his largest applause lines were about Ronald Reagan -- not himself.

GINGRICH: Still Not Running!

The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez found Newt Gingrich's main exhibit hall reception "slightly ridiculous" reporting: "He opted for a dramatic walk in from back of the ballroom to the stage, as America the Beautiful played majestically, and the entire ballroom (from best I could see) was standing, some on chairs."

GIULIANI: Getting The Job Done

Rudy Giuliani's speech and overall CPAC performance received mostly positive blogger feedback. Those impressed with Rudy include:

• The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez: "Rudy Giuliani may have been the real winner of this thing though - that he did as well as he did with a self-identified conservative crowd. His speech had both an overarching theme and great moments - that frankly surpassed anyone else at one moment in particular. No one but Giuliani can give the defense of the Patriot Act and NSA surveillance that he did - comparing it to prosecuting the mafia."
• RedState's Erick Erickson: "Today I have seen the future and that future is President Rudy. It's not that I'm voting for Rudy, but the vacuum to be filled has been filled. ... More and more, the conservatives at CPAC are realigning. You have the Brownback folks, the Mitt folks, and the people who are headed quickly to Rudy. And you know what? They are more or less cheerful in doing it."
• RedState's Moe Lane: "Where Giuliani's speech was strong, it was strong. He hammered home the point of the need to make decisions - over and over again - and there was a certain rustle through the audience clustered around the television when he talked about the threat of Islamic terrorism."
• Outside the Beltway's James Joyner: "The speech, which I was able to watch via closed circuit television, was quite impressive. ... Interwoven throughout the speech, though, was what he said was Reagan's foremost lesson, that of optimistic leadership. Giuliani is not quite a Reagan as a communicator, but he got the job done, I think."
• Captain's Quarters: "Rudy Giuliani is speaking now at the CPAC conference, and he is drawing huge crowds -- not only in the Regency Ballroom where he is appearing, but also around every monitor in the exhibition hall. He's keeping the CPAC attendees riveted, and the place is otherwise as quiet as I've seen it since my early morning arrival."

Giuliani doubters included Rob Bluey who points out that Rudy's second place finish is not all that impressive since he finished first in the same straw poll in '05. The Right Angle's Amanda Carpenter says Giuliani flopped big time since he did not address social issues, and self confessed "Romney guy" Dean Barnett at Townhall hits Rudy for naming Chris Matthews as one of his favorite pundits.

MCCAIN: When A Win Is Not A Win

While at CPAC, RedState's Erick Erickson explained why John McCain's South Carolina straw poll victory actually spells doom for the Senator: "McCain has the entire South Carolina Republican structure: the Governor, one of two U.S. Senators, the vast majority of the state GOP legislative caucus. Rudy Giuliani has nothing. There's no significant structure for Rudy in South Carolina. He has no significant presence and no significant hires in the state. How did the straw poll break down:

164 McCain, 162 Giuliani

ROMNEY: If You Don't Want Ann Stepping On Your Story, Don't Appear At The Same Events She Does

The Corner's Kathryn Jean Lopez does not think criticism of Mitt Romney for associating with Ann Coulter is "fair" since "This wasn't Ann Coulter being at a Mitt Romney campaign event or fundraiser to bring more people to see him." Lopez adds: "I don't think he needs to issue a statement - though I suspect he will wind up addressing it before long in an interview or a Q&A on the trail, etc. I think he needs to make clear what kind of leader he would be on marriage and family issues and what kind of civil campaign he intends to lead by just doing it."

Aside from Coulter, Romney received mostly positive reaction, including:

• RedState's Erick Erickson: "Mitt Romney was pitch perfect and willing to talk social issues -- something totally missing from Giuliani's speech. And people noticed. ... He poked fun at John McCain subtly. He spoke negatively about McCain-Feingold and McCain-Kennedy. He pulled at the heart strings of social conservatives, something Giuliani did not even attempt."
• Captain's Quarters: "Mitt comes across very well in person -- warm, funny, informed, and engaging. ... I wanted to ask him if he would insist on a repeal of McCain-Feingold -- he came out in opposition to it in his speech -- but he had to move on before I could get the question out.
• Power Line's Paul Mirengoff: "Mitt didn't disappoint today at CPAC. Instead, building on the theme of a unified conservative movement articulated by Ronald Reagan at the same forum 30 years ago, Romney presented a fiery defense of all three major strands of conservatism -- economic, social, and security."

Defending against suggestions Romney's straw poll victory should be discounted due to the supporters he brought to the event Townhall's Matt Lewis writes: "Romney's ability to organize, inspire, and transport college students to the conference is precisely why he did deserve to win! A campaign that has the organizational ability to bus in college students has the organizational ability to do a lot of other things, too." Rob Bluey also defended Mitt's win: "The anti-Romney faction is already dismissing the victory because Romney bussed supporters to CPAC from Michigan and Massachusetts. But his critics shouldn't attack him for such tactics. Rather, it proves that Romney has a tremendous organization, which says something about his chances in the Iowa caucuses next year."

CLINTON: Not Going To Be The First Black Female President

Early blog reaction to Hillary Clinton's Selma address were not positive. Daily Kos' ResponsibleAccountable blogs: "Out of the gate her attempt at a religious rabble-rousing start just fell completely flat and sounded totally phony... and I am quite an HRC fan! I guess she really cannot do it. Really cannot speak to the religious side of things... no fault in my opinion, but probably an electoral liability."

An Andrew Sullivan emailer had a similar reaction: " Unbelievable. She lapsed occasionally into this phony southern accent. I'm from the midwest (with southern relatives) and the jarring transition from Chicago accent to southern mush mouth was unbelievably phony. She doesn't know who she is. In fact, she isn't anybody, just a robot. Empty phrases. Fake emotion. Fiction. She claimed to have gone to a MLK speech in Chicago in 1963 and been transformed (hey - what about being a Goldwater volunteer?)."

OBAMA: Killing Them Softly

Barack Obama only solidified his growing netroots support with his 3/4 Selma address. Daily Kos' diarist ResponsibleAccountable says Obama was not originally his choice but, " his announcement speech was a tearing-at-the-eyes moment for me... this speech today, for someone like me who abhors the religiosity in politics in the US, was another great speech... he really is starting to make me believe."

Another dKos diarist links to YouTube of Obama's speech and adds: "Barack Obama is as gifted an orator as FDR, Kennedy, Reagan or Clinton. ... Judging the reaction of the crowd, I cannot imagine in the end Hillary getting more than 20% of the black vote, if that. If that is the case, is the blogosphere plus the black vote enough to elect a nominee? ... Any doubts that Obama is not the most progressive of the big 5 Dems running (Hillary, Edwards, Clark and Richardson) will be erased by viewing this speech. ... He is masterful, however, at not appearing radical or progressive. ... If Obama is the nominee, its likely the black community will work and turn out like we have never seen before-- which has strong implications on election day downticket."

The Reality Based Community thought Obama's speech was the perfect illustration of how to marry religous rhetoric to progressive causes. Kleiman blogs: "watch Barack Obama invoke the idea that all human beings are created in the divine image as the fundamental justification for equality, and then use the imagery of Exodus to sanctify the civil rights movement and the story of Joshua to frame the task of moving forward from here. ... We don't need to carry the white evangelical vote. If we can shrink the Republican advantage among that group, that would be enough. And the Christian tradition, and especially the Gospels, has within it enormous resources for liberalism."

Obama also seems to have received passing grades for the netroots on his 3/2 AIPAC address. TPM Cafe's MJ Rosenberg writes: "This is a good speech. Not perfect. But this is not the kind of full-court pander I (and certainly AIPAC) have come to expect. No Palestinian-bashing. And remember this is what he says to AIPAC, not the Council of Foreign Relations. A good start."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: No Surprise Here

Townhall's Patrick Ruffini (who is also Rudy Giuliani's eCampaign Adviser looks at similar results from the CPAC straw poll (Romney, Giuliani, Gingrich), the Pajamas Media poll (Giuliani, Gingrich, Romney), and 2/07's GOP Bloggers poll (Giuliani, Gingrich, Romney) and writes:

I don't know if this will predict where the broader GOP primary electorate goes, but it's a good commentary on how thoroughly integrated the blogosphere has become in the conservative movement. Conservative blog readers aren't their own standalone constituency; they're a proxy for the movement. The lineup in the blogosphere probably isn't too far off from the organic votes cast at CPAC.

LEST WE FORGET: George Lucas' Next Project

The Corner's Jonah Goldberg points us to a Websurdity post on "Uncomfortable Questions about the Death Star Attack" including:

• 1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battleships?
• 2) Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station's large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?
• 3) Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?

Posted by Conn Carroll at March 5, 2007 12:47 PM