Just returned from the Value Voters Summit in DC and want to share some quick thoughts. Seeing as it's a Saturday and 75 degrees, I'll be doing it in bullet point. Here goes:
THE SCENE
*upscale, well polished hotel near the National Zoo
*palms trees in the lobby, brass elevators, $9 magnets of the Washington Monument in the gift shop
*most people dressed like they are going to church. Some young Ron Paul fans dressed as if they're going to church for the first time. One guy wearing a Redskins jersey and walking a poodle who I think was simply staying at the hotel.
THE EVENT
*well organized, efficient, short on minorities. Statistically speaking, it looked like the United States in 1910. Or Iowa in 2011.
*most of the exhibitors had the same message "stop the gays from being gay and stop abortion." Usually one associates the conservative message with less government, but the various organizations seemed to favor stopping these things through increased action by the federal government.
*interestingly, a young, busty girl handing out pro-life material in front of the main conference room. She would not have looked out of place in front of a Hooters. Maybe that's where they found her.
*inside the main conference room was the opposite of a Hooters. No wings, plenty of Bible thumpers, one or two security and tech guys on the periphery.
*I saw volunteers or staff for Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney. I think I saw Tim Pawlenty busking for bus fare out front.
THE SPEECHES
*I missed Ron Paul's because I was waiting in line to register. Would have got there earlier but was mulling around the neighborhood doing an informal survey of bumper stickers. Paul clearly had the most support. I saw zero evidence of busing.
*Romney gave a strong speech. His willingness to criticize extremism in religion was laudable; his bizarre and sudden assertion that we need to increase the military by 100,000 troops was disappointing.
*Glen Beck continues to trend from occasionally correct to apparently being paid by a foreign lobbying group.
*I wanted to hear Bill Bennet speak because I'm a big gambler myself, but got caught up observing the voting process.
THE VOTING
*I voted via QR code on my iPhone. On a side-tech note, there were live Twitter feeds set up around the conference, but they were being edited. I saw several anti-Ron Paul tweets get through, but none in favor of him.
*You could choose a candidate for President and VP, and then rank three issues (out of ten or so) by importance. I picked Paul for both (since nothing said I couldn't) and listed my three most important issues as: government spending, taxes, and immigration. Ending the wars was not an option.
*I saw zero coercion or even indirect effort to influence someone to vote one way or another, from any candidate.
THE PARTICIPANTS
*Ron Paul supporters were out in force. Most appeared to be college kids or just out of college, well dressed, polite. Paul had the only appreciable showing of minorities. I saw a pair of young men in yarmulkes and a few people who were not white.
*Santorum had a troop of teen girls who were right out of the church choir handing out literature.
*Cain had a handful of supporters toting his 9-9-9 plan.
*Romney had a following that mirrored his campaign: old, experienced, dignified.
THE CONCLUSION
*the media has failed to pick up that the Republican Party is more fractious now than it has been in thirty years. Paul's ability to get people out is partly a reflection of his charisma and sincerity, but there are also a significant number of core Republicans who are not buying into the neocon ideal. It might not be 51% of the party, but it's likely right around 10%- and possibly higher once people hear an alternative to the military-industrial complex option. And that's just in the primaries. In a general election where Republicans are more flexible, one can imagine 25% of the party not agreeing with the present, implied platform of the other candidates. This can and likely will change the party.
*Santorum showed well enough to stick around as a viable social conservative candidate. He's likely playing for VP or a cabinet post (or a gig with Fox News) so he'll stay in as long as he can. With no present office, there's very little to lose. I actually admire him in the sense that he legitimately believes in everything he says, although I disagree with much of it. Generally selects nice ties too. If I won the GOP nomination I'd have him pick my inaugural tie.
*Bachmann should drop out yesterday. Even if she's well positioned in Iowa she's near broke and simply has no angle. She does though have a tremendous amount of political capital to save for future races.
*Perry should do the right thing and condemn the anti-LDS comments made against Romney.
*the underlying message of about 25% of the "Occupy DC" protest, which I went to yesterday, and the Value Voters Summit is surprisingly the same: leave us alone, America's strength is freedom, Obama needs to go. So if Romney can adopt a legalize hemp position, and the Occupy DC crowd can come around to a severe curtailment of the entitlement system approach, there might just be some common ground.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.