The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

CPAC: After-Action Report I

Posted on | February 21, 2010 | 18 Comments

The American Spectator expects vast depths of wisdom in a few hours, and thus there is no time now to report — much less explain — all the magic (and tragic) things that happened at CPAC.

Barbara Espinosa observed this morning at breakfast that I had blogged practically nothing since arriving at the fabulous Marriott Wardman Park Hotel and that most of the blogging had been done by Smitty. Absolutely true. The reason is that the Internet connection provided in Bloggers Lounge was inadequate to the load . (“Craptastic,” to quote one source who shall remain unnamed.) Once the entire blog corps was logged on — streaming video, etc. — the slow connection speed rendered it quite nearly impossible for me to post anything. Smitty could explain the technicalities, but all I could do is curse my miserable fate, for which I blame Erik Telford.

Smitty himself was compelled to used his own ad hoc method (employing his iPhone as a modem) in order to score a reliable Internet connection, but I was screwed, blued and tattooed. That was why, for example, this blog never even linked my Friday column for the American Spectator:

Late Wednesday night at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, the elevator doors opened and a well-dressed man entered. “Excuse me, but you look familiar,” I said.
“Marco… Marco Rubio,” said the Florida Republican whose Senate campaign has become a crusade for conservatives.
Bumping into a Republican candidate isn’t exactly difficult at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference. At times it seems that every other person you meet in the hallway is running for Congress, or on the campaign staff of someone who is.
In the corridor next to the hotel lobby Thursday, retired Army Lt. Col. Allen West was talking about the “fantastic momentum” of his congressional campaign in Florida’s 22nd District. In the Bloggers Lounge, I’m handed a card promoting Liz Carter, a Republican candidate in Georgia’s 4th District, which in 2008 voted 75 percent for Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson. On the sidewalk outside the hotel, David Ratowitz displays his new shoes — having worn out three pairs during his successful campaign to win the GOP nomination in Illinois’ 5th District, which voted by more than 2-to-1 for Democrat Rep. Michael Quigley in an April 2009 special election to replace Rahm Emanuel, now President Obama’s chief of staff. . . .

You can read the rest of that, and I apologize that you weren’t able to read it here earlier. By Friday afternoon, frustrated with the craptasticity of the Internet connection — I’m not complaining, just explaining — I pretty much stopped trying to blog anything.  If you can’t do what you want to do, however, it’s important to do what you can. So I decided that the best thing I could do was to record corral candidates, advocates and celebrities (like Andrew Breitbart), shepherding them to the Bloggers Lounge for interviews, etc. This service seemed to be appreciated by all involved.

Next year . . . ah, well, Smitty and I are working on our “Pinky & the Brain” scheme to own CPAC next year. First, however, there are those vast depths of wisdom to be explored. Meanwhile, since it is Rule 5 Sunday, please enjoy the loveliness of Dalhalla, occasional co-blogger with Dan Collins at Piece of Work in Progress and also an enthusiastic supporter of New Jersey 12th District congressional candidate Mike Halfacre.

Dahlhalla reports some (but by no means all) of her CPAC adventures, and we are glad Dan Collins has made a speedy recovery from his recent illness.

Category: Blame Erik Telford, CPAC

Comments

18 Responses to “CPAC: After-Action Report I”

  1. Jamie Holts
    February 21st, 2010 @ 10:04 pm

    Can you tell me who did your layout? I’ve been looking for one kind of like yours. Thank you.

  2. Jamie Holts
    February 21st, 2010 @ 5:04 pm

    Can you tell me who did your layout? I’ve been looking for one kind of like yours. Thank you.

  3. proof
    February 21st, 2010 @ 10:43 pm

    “Pinky & the Brain”
    Okay…so which one of you is Pinky?
    (And who channels Maurice Lamarche?)

  4. proof
    February 21st, 2010 @ 5:43 pm

    “Pinky & the Brain”
    Okay…so which one of you is Pinky?
    (And who channels Maurice Lamarche?)

  5. Jeff Weimer
    February 22nd, 2010 @ 12:23 am

    proof
    February 21st, 2010 @ 05 43

    If I know Smitty, and I’ve known Smitty for a while, long enough to remember our ignominious failure at the Seafair Milk Carton Derby. I believe he lost his glasses that day in the murk of Greenlake. That said, I know that he’s taken that embarrassment personally, and will let no one get the better of him again if he can help it, save Jean Staudt.

    With those caveats, he’s most certainly the Brain to Stacy’s Pinky.

  6. Jeff Weimer
    February 21st, 2010 @ 7:23 pm

    proof
    February 21st, 2010 @ 05 43

    If I know Smitty, and I’ve known Smitty for a while, long enough to remember our ignominious failure at the Seafair Milk Carton Derby. I believe he lost his glasses that day in the murk of Greenlake. That said, I know that he’s taken that embarrassment personally, and will let no one get the better of him again if he can help it, save Jean Staudt.

    With those caveats, he’s most certainly the Brain to Stacy’s Pinky.

  7. Richard
    February 22nd, 2010 @ 1:59 am

    Who’s the big girl with the drink? That’s not @dahlhalla is it?

  8. Richard
    February 21st, 2010 @ 8:59 pm

    Who’s the big girl with the drink? That’s not @dahlhalla is it?

  9. Bob Belvedere
    February 22nd, 2010 @ 2:14 am

    You might want to see what my husband Bob is saying about you to over at his site:

    The Yackety Yack On CPAC VI: Caught On Tape

    Yours…
    Mrs. Belvedere

  10. Bob Belvedere
    February 21st, 2010 @ 9:14 pm

    You might want to see what my husband Bob is saying about you to over at his site:

    The Yackety Yack On CPAC VI: Caught On Tape

    Yours…
    Mrs. Belvedere

  11. Thrasymachus
    February 22nd, 2010 @ 2:52 am

    It’s not so much that nothing *will* change, it’s that nothing *can* change. There is simply no will in the American political system for anything except minor adjustments at the margin.

  12. Thrasymachus
    February 21st, 2010 @ 9:52 pm

    It’s not so much that nothing *will* change, it’s that nothing *can* change. There is simply no will in the American political system for anything except minor adjustments at the margin.

  13. I Told You CPAC Was Like Mardi Gras
    February 22nd, 2010 @ 1:24 am

    […] the Bloggers’ Louge was bigger and better, and the crowd was livelier and far more jubilant.Let’s start with Stacy McCain’s wrapup. Stacy was, as you might expect, everywhere. He ran down candidates, bloggers, celebrities, and […]

  14. Val Prieto
    February 23rd, 2010 @ 12:55 pm

    What’s a guy got to do to get a fedora?

  15. Val Prieto
    February 23rd, 2010 @ 7:55 am

    What’s a guy got to do to get a fedora?

  16. Bob Belvedere
    February 24th, 2010 @ 3:50 am

    Linked to at:
    The Yackety Yack On CPAC VII: They Could Have Danced All Night

  17. Bob Belvedere
    February 23rd, 2010 @ 10:50 pm

    Linked to at:
    The Yackety Yack On CPAC VII: They Could Have Danced All Night

  18. Excellent CPAC roundup : The American MAXIM | Reality has Finally Made a Comeback
    February 24th, 2010 @ 2:26 pm

    […] important and unimportant. He he even managed to snag some interviews. It is a good place to get a review of the several day’s festivities and even some […]