By Laurie Baron
SAN DIEGO-The Conservative Political Action Conference is meeting in Washington D.C. though it is unclear whether it is 2014 or the 1980s since the speakers appear to believe Ronald Reagan is still president. There is so much red meat being served up the conservative base that Omaha Steaks is catering the conference so the cuisine and rhetoric match. Each speech dramatizes political talking talks as if they were movies. Here’s a look at the highlights:
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Over-the-Top Gun: Senator Mitch McConnell toted a rifle on stage before taking the podium. Holding it on a 45 degree angle from his hip, there were rumors it really was a handgun loaded with Viagra rather than bullets. He was followed by Wayne Lapierre who threatened that the “The NRA will not go quietly into the night” if tougher gun control laws are enacted. Looks like Top Over-the-Top Gun might escalate into the Gunfight at the Not O.K. Corral.
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The Right-Wing Stuff: Senator Ted Cruze asserted the GOP has lost national elections because it does not stick up for defending the Constitution, abolishing the IRS, expanding school choice, establishing term limits and combating “lawlessness” and corruption in the government. What better way of being fiscally responsible than abolishing the government’s source of income, of protecting the constitution by requiring 60 votes to pass anything in the Senate, and of combating lawlessness by refusing to implement the Affordable Care Act approved by Congress and the Supreme Court? Harry Reid later agreed that Cruze should be limited to one term.
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Rural Cowboy: Governor Rick Perry electrified the crowd by yelling for the Federal government to return to its limited powers like running the Post Office and delivering mail on Saturday. The Postal Clause of the constitution empowered Congress to establish postal service but did not specify delivery days. From 1810 until 1912 the Post Office delivered seven days a week except where local laws prohibited Sunday deliveries. In 1957 it temporarily suspended Saturday deliveries for fiscal reasons. Apparently not familiar with this history, Perry also called for the Federal government “to get out of the education business.” “Oops!”
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Bridges of Bergen County: Governor Chris Christie evaded the George Washington Bridge scandal by blaming the media for distracting the public from the Republican agenda. He called the Democrats the “party of Intolerance” to embellish his reputation for bi-partisanship.
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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via awrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com