CPAC dissolves into even more of a dumpster fire than we were expecting
The Conservative Political Action Conference this week held its annual conclave, with the Trump criminal enterprise featuring prominently. The GOP and conservatives are in a tailspin, it is obvious, with Senator Mitch the “Con” McConnell stating that he will absolutely support Trump in 2024. Guilfoyle and Donnie, Jr. were prominent at CPAC on Friday.
But the best evidence of how far the Republican party has fallen might have been the snake oil salesman performance of Ted Cruz, who stomped around the stage yelling into the microphone, riling up the attendees, who booed when told they had to wear masks. Cruz in one particularly rich moment said: “There are a whole lot of voices in Washington that want to just erase the last four years, want to go back to the world before where we had government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists.”
According to records, Cruz raised more than $54 million in the five year period from 2015 to 2020, with oil and other big industries contributing. Someone should ask Cruz if any of that largesse came from lobbyists. In addition, we have seen endless conflicts of interest with Trump and Ivanka and Jared, so this false landscape that somehow the last four years were different is nonsense. Oh, and the words came on a stage where millions of dollars are raised each year by those cons with deep pockets.
Just as vile, Josh Hawley boasted and pandered to the crowd, receiving a large ovation when he stated, “You know, on January the 6th, I objected during the Electoral College certification, maybe you heard about it.” The dangerous world the Republicans want is one that is dangerous to the nation, and the party has become a large conference or confederation of cons.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.