The American Resolve podcast is holding a CPAC Recap starting at 6PM. I’ll be on at 6:15-6:30. See you there!
And, if you missed it, I was Willie Lawson‘s guest yesterday, also talking about CPAC.
American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
By Fausta
The American Resolve podcast is holding a CPAC Recap starting at 6PM. I’ll be on at 6:15-6:30. See you there!
And, if you missed it, I was Willie Lawson‘s guest yesterday, also talking about CPAC.
By Fausta
Capital Commerce’s James Pethokoukis talked to Mitt Romney last week, not on the political horse race, but on the economy:
1) Romney on the the state of the economy:
This is a downward spiral where you have two elements encouraging the other down a steep slope. On one side you have the collapse of the stock market and housing market which means Americans have less net worth and as a result they feel poorer and as a result they buy fewer things and as they buy fewer things, business see greater losses and that in turn depresses the stock market even further and this a self-actuating downward spiral. … It was my belief that we should have put in place a stimulus plan earlier than the one that was put in place. And I don’t think the president’s plan is as focused and targeted as it needed to be. But nonetheless I think it has some portions that will help. But this certainly is not over yet and hopes of a quick rebound are quickly fading.
Romney is concerned about excessive spending,
More,
2) Romney on the White House economic forecasts:
I think it’s really hard to project when the bottom will be hit and how steep the upturn will be. I am confident that the economy will recover. It always has. The entrepreneurial spirit of the American people is able to pull us out of downward trends. I do believe that the invisible hand of the free market is far more effective than the heavy hand of government. … Sorry, the only economic system which has been proven to work in the history of mankind is the free market and capitalism and any efforts to move us toward socialism will not be successful in our society. … But I think it is unrealistic, however, to plan for spending based upon an upside case for the economy. I think it would be a massive error to choose as our objective a budget deficit four years from now of five hundred to six hundred billion dollars in the good times that the president is predicting, a budget deficit of that scale is unacceptable.
Go read the rest of the interview.
James has another great post, Market to Obama: I’m Just Not That Into You
In short, save the stock market, save the world. Indeed, while Americans should reduce their debt and save more, a good chunk of that savings needs to go into wealth-building assets. And by that I mean stocks and bonds. Obama needs to rekindle America’s love affair with investing. Indeed, this could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to let people start investing some of their payroll taxes into the stock market. Buy low, sell high. Indeed, even many of left-of-center analysts contend that unless Rising Asia becomes Disappearing Asia, excess global labor supply will continue to push down hard on wages. Families have to earn income from assets as well as a job. Free-marketeers prefer Social Security privatization, while liberal might be more comfortable with government financed “baby bonds” for kiddies.
The markets are tanking because investors are voting on the Obama administration’s proposals.
James has much more – go read it all.
By Fausta
Adam Bitely of Net Right Nation was at CPAC interviewing,
By Fausta
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links added, please email me, faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.
Don’t miss this afternoon’s podcast at 2PM. My guest will be Michael Moynihan.
Del “Informe Mattarollo” a la increible corrupcion en YPFB
Piracy of movies, songs thriving in Latin America
ARGENTINA
Argentine Creditors Said to Swap 3.5 Billion Pesos of Loans
BELIZE
New scholarship holders from Belize to study in Cuba
COLOMBIA
En fotos: estas son las cavernas donde se escondía el ‘mono Jojoy’
Via IBD blog, Colombian VP: Add ecological devastation to cocaine’s toll
Spies in trouble: The domestic-intelligence agency is caught misbehaving again
Video: Colombia discovers Farc hideouts
CUBA
Castro’s New Republican Friends
Arturo Magín Colomar Puig, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 3/1/09
Ill Castro ‘takes walk in Havana’
Sanctions, Keeping Things in Perspective
Raúl welcomes special French envoy
Ecuador Profits from Dirty Financial & Drug Crimes
MARTINIQUE
French PM says order to be maintained in Martinique
MEXICO
Mexico needs Obama’s eye
PUERTO RICO
In Puerto Rico, Less Is So Much More
UBS in Puerto Rico Pension Gets Fee Bonanza Seen as Conflicted
VENEZUELA
Journalists in Venezuela
Leftist Hero Hugo Chavez Takes Control of Rice Plants
Command economy fails in Venezuela
Arria versus Weisbrot: Debate at American University
What to Do about Hugo Chávez: Venezuela’s Challenge to Security in the Americas
Chavez Orders Takeover of Venezuelan Rice Mills
By Fausta
I didn’t do much posting while at CPAC, but did attend several of the sessions, particularly if they were for bloggers. Friday morning Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell had a question and answer session with bloggers. My friend Brian Faughnan posted about it later that day,
To me, the most notable answer from McConnell came in response to a question from Fausta – when she asked his thoughts on Michael Steele’s suggestion that the RNC might not support the re-election of Senators Snowe, Collins and Specter, given their votes for the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Debt Spending Plan. McConnell first threw cold water on the idea – saying that he would support the re-election of his Senate GOP colleagues. Then he predicted that Arlen Specter would be a more dependable vote in the future, saying:
On most issues going forward, I expect that among those three, we’ll have the support of the Senator seeking re-election in 2010. I think you’ll see that in particular on votes on the president’s budget.
There was no follow-up, so make of it what you will. It’s unclear to me whether this is an indication that Specter has given some private assurance(s), or just a statement that Senate Democrats are moving too far Left for even Arlen Specter. Time will tell.
I was puzzled by the answer, too, but my initial thought was on what kind of conversations had taken place between McConnell and Specter.
As Brian said, we’ll find out soon enough.
By Fausta
The Daily Dose version:
The John Ziegler version:
And what actually happened as Erik Svane walked in and pointed out that the guy who wrote The Path to 9/11 wrote a movie for Oliver Stone:
Stacy took the video.
By Fausta
The beautiful Skye brought to CPAC the gorgeous silver shoes. Flopping Aces posted the photo.
I settled for a more conservative style, from Sofft
which you can buy at Amazon:
Among the gentlemen, David All was wearing classic Ferragamos.
UPDATE
Obi’s Sister asks where did I get the walking shoes I wore.
I’m not sure if she means the flats or the heels, but both are Privos. I bought the flats a couple of years ago and I can’t find them on line anymore, but here are two suggestions for flats:
The heels are these:
By Fausta
4:45PM Limbaugh walks in to rousing applause after being introduced by Lisa Di Pasquale as, “My aphrodisiac, Rush Limbaugh.”
Fox is televising the speech on Fox News Channel, “which means ladies & gentlemen, that this is my first ever address to the nation.”
“Larry King goes to heaven …”
4:52 “Let me tell you who we conservatives are. We love people. We see human beings. What we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and we do not see that person with contempt. We see that person can become the best they can be without onerous taxes, too much regulation and too much government. We recognize that we are all individuals.”
“We are endowed with inalienable rights, among them life.”
“We see so much waste, fifty years of the war on poverty. We resist the effort to group up, we are all different. There are no two people with the same outcomes.”
“Someone has to say this. Take a look at all the constituency groups who for the last 50 yrs who have Democrat for their lives. Those lives are still poisoned by those who say, don’t worry, just vote for us.
“I want everyone to succeed. I want every organization that gets in the way to fail.
“I have not needed a teleprompter for anything I’ve said. Our believes are core. We don’t need notes.
“We’re not a minority. The American people may not all vote but more Americans live their lives as conservatives in one degree or another. We need conservative leadership. All we need is the right candidate.
“President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians I’ve ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents, it just breaks my heart that he does not use these talents and gifts to inspire the American people to be the best they can be.
“The freedom is the ambition, the desire, the passion people have. Why shouldn’t that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment, the focus of blame?
“The people who have achieved great things, most wealth in this country is entrepeneurial hard work. There is no reason to punish it. Barack Obama has taken 1 oath, and that’s to defend the US Constitutiion. They do not have the rights to take money from the back pockets of producers and give to people like ACORN.”
The audience in the ballroom where Limbaugh is speaking, and in the other large rooms where the speech is being livefed, are enthusiastically listening. The overflow room is standing room only, too.
“Welfare destroys ambition”. Large round of applause.
Von Hayek “for intellectuals, for all liberals, is all about control… We don’t have the money.”
Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Bill Clinton, “the architects of the crisis we’re in…get to sit around and dictate how we pay for it.”
Laughter at “after Obama’s state of the union show.”
Big applause at Joe Biden walking through the train station, commenting on the Indian 7-11. More laughs at “we have to be out of here by six. OK, if you behave.”
“The people who make the money are not the enemy. They’re the people who hire you, who give you a raise, who need you to work for them.”
“Obama forgets the recession of the eighties… because we got out of it with tax cuts.” BIG applause.
“In six weeks of this administration, Pres Obama has proposed more spending since the founding of the nation to his inauguration.” Wows from the audience.
“President Obama, your agenda is not new, it’s not change, and it’s not hope.”
“It is not their task to rebuild this nation”, audience stands up and applauds.
“Everybody seems to go orgasmic over bipartisanship. I checked with Fox, that word is OK. They covered the Lewinsky thing.”
“Where is the compomise of all of this punishment of the achievers? Where is the compromise between good and evil? Should Jesus have cut a different deal?
We’re going to have to talk about principle.”
Several people in the audience are pleased to see me liveblogging and give me their business cards.
5:32PM “Here is the big question, aside from the consitutional, where is the evidence that the people proposing this have succeeded at it before?”
“John Kerry.” Pause. Laughter from the audience.
Limbaugh rips the class envy/class stuggle, crowd is eating it up.
“That’s sick” crowd loves it.
“Conservatism doesn’t need to be redefined. It is forever.”
“When the hell do you ever hear a liberal say the era of FDR is over?” Big applause.
“Conservatism is a set of core principles. .. Beware of those who are making sure liberals like us, the media like us. They are our enemy. They want us to be defeated.”
“The media people” pant pant pant…”the invited Sen. McCain because he happened to be the loudest at criticizing our people… There’s nothing stale about freedom.” People get up & applaud, chanting.
“Obama’s purpose in having dinner with conservative pundits was to annoint those conservatives as his people.”
“You do not know that just the everyday life you live, live your life according to your principles, and you’ll be astounded on how many people you impress. Don’t be afraid to tell them they’re wrong. You owe them the truth about things.”
“We have to stand for what we believe and treat people as adults.” Applause.
“Joe Biden.” Chuckles from the crowd. After the anecdote, “I realize some of you watching on TV never heard liberals made fun of this way. Get used to it.” Whoots & cheers from the audience.
“We [Americans] are a competitive people.”
“We are not going to give up the American dream.” Applause.
“About my comment that I hope Pres. Obama fails.”… “I hope the Cardinals coach failed. I wanted to win.”
“They called General Petraeus a liar before he testified.” Boos. “Mrs Clinton” more boos.
“If his mission is to destroy capitalism. Why would I want that to succeed?” Big applause.
“I want the country to survive.” Standing applause, chanting. “I want the country to survive as we have known it, as we were raised. ”
“I don’t give people the power to offend me.”
“We’re talking about remaining the country we’ve known. It’s never been under assault as it is now. Optimism, confidence, stop thinking that we’re the minority. It is your beliefs, your core principles that liberate you.”