In which I get my bearings & fail at tech: CPAC day 1

National Harbor, MD

8:00 p.m.:  CPAC just tweeted that Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina will be introducing Mitt Romney tomorrow. I’m glad she’s coming, even briefly. She’s one of several Republican women in office I’d like to hear more about.

One of today’s Twitter hashtags about CPAC is #RINOcon. I roll my eyes at that. RINOs here? Sure. Does that sink the whole enterprise? NO. Remember, incidentally, that CPAC is put on by a private group. No speaker, RINO or hardliner, is here without an invitation. And what a blend there is.

There was much chatter among political commentators in recent weeks about who was and wasn’t invited to CPAC. GOProud, a group of gay conservatives, was either uninvited or disinvited, I’m not sure which; but the other day their executive director’s name turned up on the schedule for a third-tier panel on inclusion within the GOP. [Note: I have since learned that GOProud participated at the invitation of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, not the American Conservative Union. That’s a distinction without a difference, as far as I’m concerned. GOProud was able to reach CPAC’s attendees no matter who had extended the invitation.] That panel was held this evening, and I missed it, but I have heard two reports of standing-room-only. Chris Christie wasn’t invited, and he said that was fine with him. Donald Trump was squeezed into the schedule at the last minute. Dr. Ben Carson, after his dynamite speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, accepted an invitation. The exhibit hall is filled with groups of libertarians, pro-lifers, tax-cutters, legal defense groups, publishers, PR firms, and even a jeweler (lovely silver jewelry from Israel), united by nothing but a broad definition of “conservative.”

Everyone here would like to see Barack Obama retired. Aside from that, it’s wide open. That matters to me. This is not a pro-life convention, but a political one. I understand that there’s no platform at the door for us to sign. Even so, this is a congenial place for a pro-lifer.

But still … “RINOcon.” Kinda catchy, don’t you think?

2:30 p.m.:  I wasn’t surprised that Marco Rubio and Rand Paul drew a big crowd. They were booked back-to-back in the Potomac Ballroom, which is the prime real estate. In addition to a water joke, which has become an obligatory Rubio reference ever since he picked up a bottle of Poland Spring in his response to the State of the Union address, Rubio covered all the bases. He talked about economics, the right to life, the importance of the family, and what he called “the next big bubble”: student loans. He knew his audience. Most attendees look under age 30, and there are plenty who appear to be college-age.

Rubio’s speech ran pardonably long; what politician doesn’t want to keep talking to a supportive crowd? Paul was utterly unfazed when he finally got his turn. Huge ovation, of course; the post-filibuster glow is still on him. He carried two thick notebooks to the podium. “I was told I had ten lousy minutes. Just in case, I brought 13 hours’ worth of material.” Another ovation. Rubio has met his match as a crowd-pleaser.

Paul’s message is liberty and the Constitution. He stuck to that, never using the word “libertarian” while using “liberty” freely. He emphasized being Republican. No third-party talk from him.

Before Rubio and Rand, I came into the room in time to catch the end of a panel on the merits of a balanced budget amendment. One of the speakers was Grover Norquist, who spoke about tax policy with nearly alarming passion. I wonder if I’ll hear any speakers with comparable passion about the right to life. I’m all for controlling the amount of money I give to the government, but can we agree that life is more important?

Very serious stuff at my very first stop this morning: a screening of the 21-minute film 3801 Lancaster. That’s the address of Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s now-closed abortion facility in Philadelphia. Gosnell is awaiting trial on eight murder charges, for the deaths of one woman and seven babies. The babies were born alive after Gosnell’s attempt to abort them, and he killed them. None of this would have come to light if investigators hadn’t entered the facility to look into suspected diversion of prescription drugs. Gosnell’s facility operated legally, as far as the state of Pennsylvania was concerned, despite having been uninspected for years, despite filthy conditions, and despite reports (which the state refused to investigate) of women being harmed. This is something to ponder when an abortion facility operator anywhere gets indignant about close scrutiny. This is an important movie that I’m afraid won’t be seen by the people who need its information most: anti-abortion-regulation lawmakers. I strongly recommend this film, although it’s tough to watch. More on this later. It rates its own post, actually.

1:20 p.m.:  Quick description of this Conservative Political Action Conference: the site is an elegant resort, lovely and large and well-staffed. It’s also horrendously expensive, which is why my sleeping quarters are in a hotel 8 miles away. As with the March for Life, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the number of young people at the conference.