Good morning from DC. I made sure I was up early to hear Andrew Breitbart’s opening. He was great, and A.D.D. as usual! I’ll write more after a quick breakfast.

For those attending CPAC, I’ll be on the Blogger Free for All Panel at noon today.

-Bruce

While we don’t always agree with social conservatives, we recognize how they have helped build the conservative movement. That said, by and large, we share the same goals as many of them: reducing the size of the federal government and expanding the freedoms our founders fought for over two centuries ago, the freedom of association and the freedom to determine our own destiny.

Both Bruce and I have been involved in the conservative movement in various capacities since the Reagan era.   We have both seen the commitment of social conservatives to electing candidates we also support.

We know that while we are often at odds with a number of social conservatives of variety of issues, we recognize that we need work beside them to advance certain shared goals, including a commitment to constitutional principles, judicial restraint, a reduced role for state and federal governments and more freedom for individuals and the institutions we join of our own accord. Those institutions include churches and synagogues as well as gay community associations (not to mention civic and professional organizations, to name but a few).

Hopefully, people will learn from the various experiences of gay people at this year’s CPAC, showing that while most rank-and-file conservatives are willing to work alongside gay conservatives, some are not wiling to do so if such association means the exclusion of social conservatives.   Despite some misunderstandings expressed in the comment section to the blog and elsewhere, we do not seek their exclusion.  

We are willing to work alongside social conservatives even if we have different goals on certain issues, provided the conservative movement as a whole continues to focus on the broad, inclusive agenda, promoted by Ronald Reagan, built upon with the 104th Congress and articulated anew with the Tea Party activism of the past two years.

And that it does not recast those unifying principles. (more…)

Welcome Instapundit Readers!!

If our elected leaders were responsible guardians of the public treasury, those officials proposing budget cuts more drastic than some dubbed “draconian” would be seen not skinflints, but as skinflints.  These cuts barely scratch the surface of our fiscal problems.  With deficits like those we’ve been running, a $100 billion-dollar cut is little more than a rounding error.

That said, I’m pleased the Tea Party has scored a major victory in pushing House Republicans to cut at least that amount  ”in spending this fiscal year“, but that still leaves us with a deficit larger than any in the Bush years (when that good man’s detractors, including your humble bloggers, were faulting congressional Republicans for their big-spending ways).

(Hill article via Instapundit.)

Indeed, the deficit this year will be at least twice that of any comparable period when we had a Republican president and Congress.  To be sure, these cuts represent a step in the right direction, but given the size of the deficit, they amount to little more than a few drops in a very, big bucket.

*and then some.

Doug Powers sums it up:

If you’re going to sell somebody as capable of walking on water, don’t demand more respect from the people are simply wondering why that same person suddenly needs swimming lessons.

Below please find a post I wrote on the matter of GOProud Chairman Chris Barron’s recent remarks about Cleta Mitchell. When I ran it by Bruce as we had been discussing how to respond, he asked that I sign his name to it. So, consider it from both of us:

I have long believed it best to address your friends’ faults in private and your enemies’ in public. While Bruce and I have long been enthusiastic about GOProud and supportive of Chris Barron, its chairman of the Board and Jimmy LaSalvia, its executive director, as they try to create a national forum for gay conservatives, we have not always seen eye to eye with them. To be sure, we respect their work, enjoy their company and generally approve of the direction in which they are taking GOProud, but from time to time, we have been skeptical about some of their projects and have occasionally disagreed with their statements (or taken issue with their wording). We have expressed our concerns in private e-mails and polite conservations or merely in remarks to each other.

When we heard that Chris had called Cleta Mitchell a “nasty bigot” in a public forum, Bruce and I each contacted the other to express his concerns. We both believe he crossed a line and have been considering for the past 24 hours how to respond. This evening (Thursday, February 10), we thought it best to post this piece. While we disagree with Cleta Mitchell on a number of issues, we believe Chris was wrong to call her a “nasty bigot” to a reporter for the Metro Weekly. This is not appropriate public discourse. We are pleased that Chris apologized for using such intemperate language and encourage him to use greater discretion in future commentary.

UPDATE:  Just saw this commentary at Allahpundit which reflects our views: (more…)

UPDATE: SORRY GANG! The show had to be stopped because they were showing the preview of “Atlas Shrugged” and their folks pulled our plug. It’s all good though.

Listen to internet radio with Gaypatriot on Blog Talk Radio

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Here’s part of the interview with me by Larry O’Connor on The Stage Right Show last night.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

This is just too rich to pass up, Oops! Sarah Palin Didn’t Call Christina Aguilera an ‘Airhead’:

Whoops! One comedian’s attempt to spoof Sarah Palin has been blown way out of proportion after one media site decided to report the former vice presidential candidate’s fabricated comments as fact.

In Palin’s comments, which were crafted by an Onion-like satirical website, she supposedly blasts Christina Aguilera‘s disasterousperformance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XLV. In the satire, Palin calls Aguilera a “demanding beauty queen who’s clearly in over her head.” The Palin impersonator also talks about wanting to “deport” Aguilera, after having “to suffer through a performance by a foreigner with a poor grasp of the English language.”

But as Gossip Cop points out, the quotes were all fake — even though Us Weekly reported them as fact.

Emphasis added.

Several years ago, I defined a condition known as Huffingtonistis, in honor of that ubiquitous political celebrity Arianna Huffington:

Huffingtonitis, when one defines his political views and makes public statements in order to win social approval and/or acceptance.

Blogger Roger Simon, whom I cited in that post, offers a different spin on Ms. Huffington’s motivations to sell her eponymous Post to AOL:

Arianna Huffington is a brilliant businesswoman with an extraordinary sense of timing — first riding the feminist wave to write a best seller accusing Picasso of womanizing, then going conservative to marry a multi-millionaire Republican, and then switching to the liberal/progressive side and founding the most successful new media news and opinion site extant. . . .

Arianna has read the tea leaves. Progressivism, which was riding the crest of popularity on the election of Obama, is over. It is no longer good for business. And just as the stock market is said to be a leading indicator on business cycles, I submit Arianna’s track record has shown her to be a leading indicator on the zeitgeist. She knows when to get out. Obama, and by extension progressivism, is fini.

Read the whole thing.  Is Ms. Huffington then more interested in following the zeitgeist (as is the pop star Madonna in following the latest musical fads) than in currying favor with the liberal social and cultural élite who dominant her current hometown?

In such case, she defines her views not in order to win social acceptance, but to head whichever way the wind blows.

Reader Peter Hughes alerted me to Ann Coulter’s latest column, one of the simultaneously funniest and most insightful commentaries on current events I’ve read all year.  Currently finishing her next book and is thus

. . . only able to catch bits and pieces of the news this month, but, based on what I’ve heard from the mainstream media, I’m pretty sure the conservative movement is now being led either by Jared Loughner or GOProud’s president, Chris Barron.

Pretty  much sums up their coverage of the first six weeks of this year.   A deranged Tea Party member shot up a rally featuring a Democratic Congresswoman while CPAC is all about GOProud.  Then, she joins Sarah Palin, albeit in a much different tone, in welcoming gay conservatives into the movement:

No, we don’t generally care for identity politics of any sort, much less hearing about people’s sex lives, even Nino Scalia’s. (And judging by the number of children he has, it’s pretty active.) Conservatives believe in individual rights, low tax rates, fighting terrorism and punishing criminals — so do gays! They also happen to believe Judy Garland was the most underappreciated and misunderstood person in the history of show business. I don’t think most gays care about gay marriage; they like going to the gay marriage meeting because it’s a good way to meet other gays.

Read the whole thing.

Hey gang. My apologies… I had too much Ambien last night and woke up this afternoon. (Truth and very embarrassing!)

Sen. Rand Paul just finished speaking from main stage and I’m anxious to hear Donald Rumseld, then Rep. Paul Ryan.

DEVELOPING….

The reason Log Cabin had such a problem establishing its credibility within Republican circles was that too often it gained media exposure by attacking fellow Republicans and dwelling on gay issues.  For all too many years national office did not regularly take stands on the small-government agenda pushed by Reaganites or the ideas of judicial restraint long championed by Republicans.

They didn’t come around to endorsing the Contract with America until long after Congress voted on its provisions nor did Log Cabin leaders remind voters of the Republican focus on fiscal issues in 1994 and national security matters a decade later.  No wonder some on the right remain skeptical of a gay conservative group, even a new one like GOProud without the baggage of Log Cabin.

One of our readers, my occasional sparring partner and friendly correspondent Lloydletta alerted me to Erick Erickson’s piece on GOProud’s participation in C-PAC.  While that conservative blogger finds it “well and fine” that many on the right are willing to give this fledgling group “a seat at the table”, he remains skeptical of their goals, noting particularly their opposition to a federal amendment defining marriage, their support of DADT repeal and of legislation giving “health benefits to gay couples.”

Perhaps, Erickson has also expressed skepticism about former Vice President Cheney’s commitment to conservatism, given that he holds near identical positions to those of GOProud, particularly on same-sex marriage where he (like this new group) favors a state-by-state approach.

Finally, Erickson notes the group’s silence on a number of key conservative issues: (more…)

Glenn informs us that 73 House Democats are trying to get U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself in the ObamaCare case. You see, Thomas’s wife has worked “on behalf of efforts opposing that healthcare law.”

Well, well, now, back in the 1990s, Barney Frank’s partner Herb Moses worked at Fannie Mae while the Massachusetts Democrat served on the House Committee (which he would later chair) which oversaw that government-sponsored enterprise (GSE).

I will only take seriously those Democrats calling for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any case on the constitutionality of Obamacare if said Democrats asked that Mr. Frank refuse to participate in deliberations of the House Banking Committee (later renamed House Financial Services Committee) when it deliberated matters related to Fannie Mae.

Did any of those 73 Democrats raise the issue of Mr. Frank’s conflict of interest?

Tune in at 7PM for our live BlogTalkRadio show from the Marriott Wardman hotel lobby bar. I’m setting up and ready to go.

Click on the icon below to join the conversation!

Listen to internet radio with Gaypatriot on Blog Talk Radio-Bruce (GayPatriot)

In an overblown article in the Washington Times, the conservative leaders who favor skipping CPAC because of GOProud’s participation make an important acknowledgment, an acknowledgment which undermines the narrative we’ve been hearing repeated year in and year out (particularly among our gay peers) about American conservatism:

Deepening a rift ahead of the largest annual gathering of conservative activists in Washington this week, some of the movement’s top leaders have circulated a private memo urging that conservatism’s founding principles be recast to exclude gay rights groups from the Reagan coalition of economic, defense and social conservatives.

Emphasis added.  Let me repeat to make sure you get the point:  to exclude gays, they need to recast conservatism’s founding principles.   Without this recasting, you couldn’t excluded gays from the Reagan coalition.

That’s right, the Reagan coalition is inherently inclusive, not exclusive as some might style it.

Do wonder why these folks are so obsessed with gay participation.  Methinks also that the Washington Times is making them appear more of a force than they actually are.  Not sure why they’re going around casting some fringe figures as “top leaders.”

That said, GOProud’s participation in particular and the idea of inclusion of gay people in general (in the conservative movement), has been getting some support from unexpected quarters:

Countering the call for exclusion, Larry L. Eastland, a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an ACU board member, warned in a letter to fellow board members to “not be guilty of ‘casting the first stone’ on others’ sins.”

“Let us not lose sight of our goals by closing the door on individuals who will stand with us on public issues on which we agree, and keep to themselves their differences on issues where it could give ‘aid and comfort’ to our opponents,” he wrote.

He said rather than pre-emptive exclusion, CPAC should wait to see whether groups violate the gathering’s fundamental principles and, if they do, they should not be invited back.

As a reminder, those belonging to the Church of the Latter Day Saints are Mormons, so we have one Mormon leader favoring inclusion of those who share conservatism’s fundamental principles.  Seems Mr. Eastland has a better appreciation of Ronald Reagan’s vision than some who would style themselves his heirs.

His view seems to undermine another narrative popular on the left, particularly the gay left.

Budget director previews cuts in Obama’s 2012 plan:

President Obama’s budget director Jack Lew in a Sunday opinion piece outlined some off the “tough choices” Obama is willing to make to cut spending in his 2012 budget request due out on Feb. 14.

Obama to call for $53B for high-speed rail:

 President Barack Obama is calling for a six-year, $53 billion spending plan for high-speed rail, as he seeks to use infrastructure spending to jump-start job creation.

An initial $8 billion in spending will be part of the budget plan Obama is set to release Monday. If Congress approves the plan, the money would go toward developing or improving trains that travel up to 250 mph, and connecting existing rail lines to new projects. The White House wouldn’t say where the money for the rest of the program would come from, though it’s likely Obama would seek funding in future budgets or transportation bills.

Michelle Malkin has a little bit of fun with the guy who annouced the project and adds, “High-speed rail to nowhere.”

35 zoo animals freeze to death in northern Mexico:

Thirty-five animals at a zoo in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua have frozen to death during the region’s coldest weather in six decades.

Serengeti Zoo owner Alberto Hernandez says 14 parrots, 13 serpents, five iguanas, two crocodiles and a capuchin monkey died. He said Saturday that power failures cut off electrical heating at the zoo in the town of Aldama.

Emphasis added.  Coldest weather in six decades? Must be global warming. I mean, it has to be, right? Al Gore all but said as much. What else could it be?

While I’m in between wrapping up work-related things and packing my suitcase, I wanted to put out a quick pre-CPAC post.  I’m flying from Charlotte to DC tomorrow afternoon and will be “on the air” at 7pm tomorrow night (more on that below….)  Throughout the CPAC conference, I’ll mostly be stationed in the Bloggers Lounge and will do my best to capture the sights and sounds.  PatriotPartner (John) will also be reporting and taking photos from the conference.

I have a new camcorder, digital camera and the FlipVideo in my pocket (well, briefcase) and I’ll try to do more video interviews this year.  The camcorder has already survived an early murder attempt by our dog Marley this week.

I’m also honored to be on a panel again this year at CPAC.  The Blogger Free-For-All panel sponsored by Bank of Kev Productions is Saturday at noon for two whole hours.  Last year’s panel was a hoot so I’m looking forward to this year even more!

Finally, I’m going to attempt live radio shows from CPAC at 7PM Eastern Time Wednesday, Thursday & Friday.  Wed & Fri will be from the Marriott Wardman lobby’s bar; Thursday will be from the Bloggers’ Bash party at FreedomWorks HQ.  I’ve changed the name of the BlogTalkRadio program to “The GayPatriot Report” — somehow it sounds better to me.

So to preview the experience I’m about to have, I offer you this video which shows the history of the CPAC event.  Stay tuned to the blog and especially my Twitter feed for all of the latest as I hit the ground in DC tomorrow through Sunday.  (That last sentence wasn’t my best example of grammar….)

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

At least since 1992, the year the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) exercised real influence in its party’s presidential nomination process, we’ve heard reports on the extremist takeover of the GOP.  And to be sure, some fringe figures did enjoy an unwarranted degree of prominence at that year’s Republican National Convention, but, by and large, the rumors of the right-wing takeover of the GOP have been greatly exaggerated.

With, however, the apparent demise of the DLC, it appears that rumors of a left-wing takeover of the Democratic Party have been widely unreported.  Doesn’t fit the narrative, I guess.  This “centrist group,” Glenn Reynolds writes, is “left behind as the Democratic Party apparat moves left, and those in the middle — even if they’re black — are switching to the GOP.”

Ed Morrissey reports that even the “former national president of College Democrats of America has joined an exodus of moderates and conservatives from the Democratic Party in the South after the midterm elections”.

In the Odyssey, Melantho is one of the household servants who sleeps with the suitors who take advantage of the hospitality of Odyseeus’s household while that wily ruler struggles to find a way home.  When that great traveler returns in disguise, she mocks him. 

Andrea Mitchell should consider herself fortunate that she will not suffer the same fate as that disloyal servant, hanged by the son of the noble king when he regains his own.  Melantho strikes us as the embodiment of the type who supports whoever wields the power.  She stands for nothing, but the prevailing ethos.  (See e.g., Rod Steiger‘s Komarovsky in Doctor Zhivago.)  

As does the NBC News commentator.  Now that it’s chic to like the Gipper, Mitchell is faulting “Republicans in particular, obviously [for] trying to appropriate Ronald Reagan for their own political purposes now.”  Peggy Noonan, who actually worked in the Reagan White House, defended her former boss’s fellow partisans for claiming him as one of their own while espousing his ideas and adapting them to present circumstances: 

I got to–whoa, whoa, whoa. Republicans are not, I think, trying to appropriate Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was a Republican. Conservatives aren’t trying to appropriate him. He was a conservative. Willie, he became a public figure in America two years before he was governor in 1964, and he laid out a speech as stern, if not sterner, in its conservatism in which he explained his views on taxes, “Cut them”; his views on the size of government, “Too big, too bullying”; his views on the Soviet Union, “Hold it back, it is expansionist.” This was all very clear. As a president, as a governor, he was pragmatic in his operation.

Nice to see Mitchell show some reverence for Ronald Reagan, but would she be so giddy for the Gipper if the media narrative about this great man were what it was in the 1980s?