C-PAC Circus

This past week there was a gathering in Washington D.C. of C-PAC -- the Conservative Political Action Conference.  This is a group that claims to be made up of leaders of the Republican party.

Of particular note was that Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey -- a man often cited as a strong contender for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2016 -- was not invited.

Governor Christie is a very respected leader and has an approval rating that is over 70% from his constituents.  He was a tough U.S. Attorney before becoming Governor.

He is considered one of the most electable Republicans, by far, in this country.  So why would the self proclaimed leaders of the Republican party exclude him from their meeting?

Because of this photograph.

When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast this past fall, President Obama took time off from the campaign to go to New Jersey and other states that had been badly damaged.

Governor Christie met with the President and the two of them viewed storm damage and vowed to work together to bring relief to the victims of this tragedy.

The hard core conservative Republicans found this unforgivable.  To this day, Sarah Palin - one of the featured speakers at the C-Pac meeting - made fun of President Obama.



She said if the Democrats are so interested in background checks for people who want guns, then maybe they should have done a little background checking on Obama's background.  That drew lots of hoots and laughs and applause.  The birther movement never seems to go away.

She also made fun of Mayor Bloomberg's attempts to ban large soft drinks in New York.  That might have been a bit more tolerable but the slam against the President was a low blow.

Palin also went on to tell an off colour joke about how her husband got a big rifle for Christmas and all she has is a big rack.

But Sarah Palin was joined by someone who is just as radical as she is - a new Senator from Texas named Ted Cruz.  I watched him, a freshman Senator, go after Senator Dianne Feinstein this past week during a hearing on gun control.  To say he embarrassed himself would be understatement.

Then again, Cruz is close friends with Sarah Palin.  She helped him get elected.  I guess he is no stranger to being embarrassed.

Watching bits and pieces from the C-PAC meetings, it was scary to see such narrow mindedness and intolerance from people who proclaim to be leaders.

I did agree with the Republican Party Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, when he came out with a new study that shows most Americans find the Republicans to be out of touch, made up of stuffy old men and scary.

Speaking of narrow minded, stuffy old men who are out of touch and intolerant, this man was one of C-Pacs headline speakers.

Any organization that refuses to invite Governor Chris Christie and invites people like Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz, well ... maybe it is best that an intelligent, reasonable minded man like Christie was not part of that circus.

I respect people's right to have their own opinions and to support their particular values.  But when they don't respect the opinions or values of others, that reveals the true nature of their character.  Or lack thereof.