Trannie Annie and the State of The Conservative Movement

I saw the story about Ann Coulter’s remarks at the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in which the Living Scarecrow from Hell dropped the "F bomb" on John Edwards. No, I am not talking about giving Edwards a Cheney-style "go F yourself." That would have been mild. No, Coulter called Edwards a "faggot."

So I decided to take a little trip down insanity lane to CPAC’s website to check out what kind of group would invite such a creature as Coulter to speak, and what other Neanderthals they would also invite. I figured that this must be a far right wing fringe group, and that no mainstream politicos, even Republicans, would grace them with their presence. Boy was I wrong.

Yes, this is a group of right wing nut jobs all right. But they are the nut jobs that we all know and love, ones who, by the way, are currently ruling this country. The CPAC is put on by the American Conservative Union, which, according to the website, is the oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization in the country. Since 1974 CPAC and has had among its guests Ronald Reagan, George H.W.Bush , Dan Quayle, and Bob Dole. And the guest speakers for this year’s conference includes such names as Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, and Sam Brownback. In other words, almost all of the GOP’s presidential candidates are in Washington on their knees in front of the members of the American Conservative Union. Ok, that’s fine. These are all just conservative Republicans speaking to a conservative group. Nothing wrong with that. But why would they have the likes of Ann Coulter grace their presence? Everyone knows what vile vomit spews forth from her ugly mouth. You would think that they would want to distance themselves from her. But no.

Take a gander at the some of the other speakers: Sean Hannity, Tom Delay, Michelle Malkin, David Horowitz, Phyllis Schlafly, and Wayne LaPierre. A veritable rouge’s gallery of wackos and charlatans.

So here we have a group of people who are vying for the post of leader of the richest, most powerful country in the world, sharing the podium with the likes of Coulter and Hannity. That itself shows that the conservative movement has lost any credibility that it ever had. But if you really want to find out what kind of group would invite Ann, Sean, Tom and company, and want to see the real state of the conservative movement in this country, watch a video clip of Coulter (isn’t the internets a great thing?). It is not just what you hear from the mouth of the Blond Scarecrow. You expect that. But what is really shocking is the reaction of the audience: laughter, and then applause. This is the oldest and largest, and presumably the most respected conservative group in the country. A group that all of the GOP hopefuls must bow down to have a chance to win the party’s nomination. And they are laughing and applauding at someone referring to another person as a faggot?

What kind of people are these? It is obvious. They are people who are both morally and intellectually bankrupt. They are totally and completely devoid of ideas. The men they supported, Bush, Cheney, et al., and the "conservative" ideas that they have promoted, have literally bankrupted the country, destroyed the military, ruined our foreign policy, made us a rouge state, and tarnished the ideals that once made this a great country. Now they see their power slipping away, so what to do? Call in Ann to make fun of the other side.

And what does it say about the GOP hopefuls who attended and spoke to CPAC along with Ms. Adam's Apple? It likewise shows that they have lost any credibility as leaders that they ever had. These people should not be elected to the position of dog catcher, much less president. Watching the CPAC is heartening in one respect, however, because hopefully we are seeing, to paraphrase Cheney, the conservative movement in its last throes.

- Jeff Bloomfield

Update: It seems that the candidates that spoke at the conference along with Trannie Annie have found religion and have denounced her remarks. But guess what, it is too little and too late. They all knew that she was an invited speakers. And they all know what she is like. Did they think that she had gone to rehab and had changed her ways? I don’t think so. If they had any integrity and are not the craven political hacks they are they would have refused to attend. But, of course, this is their base. They can’t diss the CPAC and Annie. Well, you lie with dogs and you get fleas. But no flea collar applied now, after-the-fact, can rid these folks of the fleas that they picked up this week.