The World of Sam Reynolds

On Saturday, the American Conservative Union’s annual conference, the Conservative Political Action conference wrapped up. CPAC is the venue where the GOP’s platform and policies are moulded and shaped. As 2010 is a midterm year, there weren’t any presidential hopefuls vying for votes before primaries. The focus was on winning back the house, and the line up of speakers certainly reflected that.

Here are the first part of some of my thoughts and impressions from aspects of the event:

I’m not sure what the bigger surprise of the conference was, Dick Cheney dropping in for an unannounced speech or the roaring applause and ovation he received upon conclusion. For a party that is attempting to don the libertarian garb (and whose future depends on it), the thunderous welcome Cheney got seemed rather strange.

It was Bush and Cheney who signed into law the Patriot Act, the statue that the Campaign for Liberty crowd cite as the most dangerous intrusion of the state into civil liberties.  Bush & Co. were also responsible for the outrageous and reckless spending that placed America into a deep deficit long before current president Barack Huessein Obama was elected. Granted, Bush was elected into a recession which required tax cuts to restart the economy; 43 merely exacerbated the financial problems. It would be difficult to cast him as a ‘fiscal conservative’ by any stretch of the imagination.

Considering the administration’s invasion of civil liberties and somewhat reckless spending, it is curious why Cheney received such a warm welcome. If the Republicans are going to contrast themselves to the Obama administration, who was elected largely because they contrasted himself to the Bush administration, why would they welcome the man who, to some, epitomizes the worst aspects of the previous administration?

It could be a symbolic middle finger the Democrat establishment, who portrayed conservatives as the ‘great Satan’ during the Bush years. Or it could be a salute to an ex-politician who has gone on the offensive, saying whatever is on his mind, showing his true colours, as one last hurrah. While this could certainly be considered entertaining (political pornography?), it is damaging to a party trying to brand itself as a cadre of fiscal conservatives. Quite simply, the imagery of the chorus of cheers to the appearance of Cheney was poor – damaging to say the least.

While history may view the Bush administration in a slightly more positive light, the Republicans should attempt to distance themselves from their previous leader and move closer to the Romney or Paul fiscal conservative camp.