Not that I care, but I thought the Conservative movement was about substance over style...

[Bicoastal]

Liberals Democrats were supposed to be flashy slicksters with naive, outdated ideas, while the Conservative Revolution was all about listening to "the smartest guys in the room," guys like Norquist and Gingrich and of course, the revered William F. Buckley. Sure, these guys weren't geniuses or anything, but they were supposed to be above political theater and rock star politics, presenting themselves as a sober, pragmatic alternative to Progressive glitz and hype.

That was the idea, anyway.

So it's 2009, and who shows up at their annual summit? You have walking, talking caricatures (Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal), professional comedians (Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh), certifiable crazies (Michele Bachmamn, Michael Steele) and a few odd folks who can only be classified as mascots (the 13-year-old boy and, of course, Joe the Plumber.) In any other crowd, Straw Poll winner Mitt Romney would be a horrible candidate for President--but compared to the nutjobs (like Santorum) and phonies (like Huckabee) in his company at the Conference, he's Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Talk about a think tank. For people devoted to presenting President Obama with a unified front, you'd probably get more cohesive thought from the drunks and whackjobs at your local tavern. The one thing all of the above folks is that NONE of them are "idea people." Their big brainstorm is to vote "No" on all of the President's proposals and scream "Socialism" as many times as the Cable News stations will allow--but it's not like they really have any better solutions to the economic crisis, or indeed, any solutions at all.

Speaking of Cable News stations, someone at Fox Forum (don't go there unless you want to be depressed out of your mind) already wrote that, due to CPAC attendance numbers alone, the Conservative movement "is back, baby!" But to any thinking person who's been observing what's been going on over the last few years, the above guest list is a clear indication that this is the worst trouble the Right Wing has been in for decades.

And that's A-OK by me. :evilgrin:

[begin_within]

1. The conservative movement is about winning at any cost, and self-interest no matter who else is hurt

[Telly Savalas]

2. It's kind of hard to take seriously a political movement

that has appointed a second rate shock jock to be their spokesperson.