So it's CPAC day one and an extremely eventful day it was indeed! Full of emotional highs and well some big lows. We here at the polireport had hoped to make some live blogging happen during some of the speeches...but technology does not always happen as one would plan. It is 4:30 now and people are getting ready to close up shop on the exhibit floor.
There was a definite sense of confusion at CPAC today as Romney gave his speech this morning and finally (after discussing all the issues that face the U.S. currently) stated that he would be stepping aside in the race. He did not endorse anyone, This left some people speculating that he might come back to the race if the most likely- nominee McCain fails to raise more interest and appease the base that he has angered. It was actually a heartbreaking time as the few Romney supporters who came with their Romney shirts and gear began to pack up and leave the conference after his speech. Many Romney supporters and conservatives found themselves comforting each other with comments like 'I don't hate McCain, I just don't like him that much either' or plain old expressions of dislike 'I hate him' some people felt that they could not even sit through the McCain speech this afternoon. One person said 'I just don't think he can win (meaning McCain)' to which another replied 'He never did have a chance'
The worst feeling expressed by various attendees was that McCain does not have what it takes to win against Hillary or Barak and when Romney stepped aside, he basically may have as well declared one of those two people President because McCain has such a strange effect on the base and voters. Even during the McCain speech there were expressions of the confused conservative base which is not necessarily Repubican but does have an effect on the base.
In Romney's speech he referenced the fact that Reagan did not do well in 1976 when he first tried to run, instead the Republicans put up someone else and Carter became President-allowing for Reagan's ultimate win and successful presidency.
In the meantime, the McCain supporters who were in attendance began to swell in numbers and take over the scene so to speak.
Dick Armey spoke in the time slot before Senator McCain and gave his own speech on why he was a conservative. He stated in his speech that Ross Perot provided the country with the most expensive ego trip that he had ever seen when he ran in the 1990s against both Clinton and Bush. One could suppose that he meant having a third party candidate run against whomever the Republicans and Democrats put forth is not the solution right now. He also referenced Anne Coulter’s recent statement that she would vote for Hillary before John McCain, and said “I hate to be mean but that was just dumb”.
Armey was then followed by McCain's time slot. Senator George Allen gave the opening introduction for Senator McCain. He compared McCain to what appears to be a choice between Hillary or Barak saying that both of those Democrats would surrender in Iraq and create all kinds of superfluous government programs.
Senator Allen then pulled a rather funny stunt by saying he was introducing McCain which brought forth a frenzy of reactions, The reactions seemed to be divided equally between boos and shouts of happiness…and then actually introduced Senator Coburn who then gave a speech on McCain’s attributes as a fighter against the war on terror and someone who would cut down the government. Unfortunately, McCain’s history of voting against tax cuts makes at least part of that statement seem false…
So it was actually Senator Coburn who introduced McCain today at CPAC. His introduction was obviously intended to soothe the burnt feelings from the Romney's speech earlier in the day, fears about the future, and anger over past choices made by Senator McCain.
How Senator Coburn a very conservative senator could promote Senator McCain is hard to understand…he said "We know John McCain has taken some stands that have made conservatives very angry" which was true. Coburn then referred to the amnesty bill by McCain that failed so miserably last Spring and very nearly killed McCain's chances “He doesn’t have a plan to make amnesty legal secretly as President, and if he did he knows I would kill him' He pointed out McCain's strongest quality among conservatives. “Tyrants and terrorists will be afraid to attack the U.S. with John McCain in office’.
Coburn ended his introduction with this statement. "Do we always agree with him? No" this was with so much excitement from the audience as they agreed with that statement maybe a little too much enthusiasm.
McCain entered the room with what was basically a nice reception, some booed, some cheered,but the positivity was more than the negativity.
McCain referenced Romney’s speech earlier that day in the beginning of his speech, he said that he called Romney and well..made nice which hasn’t happened before between them during the campaign…McCain also joked with the conservative audience by saying that ‘We should do this more often.’ It was a funny moment considering that he dodged the group the year before, he made an excuse saying that he had not been avoiding CPAC, he was just very busy running for office. One gets the feeling sometimes that McCain doesn't know when to pull back on the Maverick behavior and pay respect to the people he needs....he obviously felt that an apology along with his appearance would be enough, it was a start.
McCain's speech was peppered with confronting his issues with the conservatives that he was in front of at the moment “Some of you have not agreed with my choices over the years, I may not agree with it, but I understand it comes from commitment to values.’ He then said ‘I am a conservative because I agree with the most basic conservative principle that liberty is given to us by our creator.’ ‘He referenced Ronald Reagan’s statement from 1976 that a party cannot be all things to all people, and cannot compromise it’s principles to win races……..’ He called himself a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution and recalled that he had been invited to his first CPAC by Ronald Reagan.
He endured some boos, some real cheers, some mixed audience responses and shared some laughs with the audience over the past arguments. What was clear is that everyone wanted to make nice for the time period that he was on stage. Two men sitting next to me put aside their Mitt gear from this morning clapped for McCain and cheered when he made a solid conservative statement. As the younger men behind us jeered at McCain, one paused repeatedly to tell the young men to be quiet and reigning in their anger, saying at one point "I wanted Mitt too, but you should show respect to McCain" ,
And that was the way it ended up...most of the audience left afterwards not many people came back to see Ron Paul talk.