The Redhunter

Schlafly is a fantastic speaker, and it is easy to see why she was such a pioneer of modern conservatism. Much of her talk today was about that hot button among conservatives; illegal immigration. Viguerie talked about how the GOP congress had betrayed us and how if they wanted our votes they needed to act like conservatives.

Viguerie is best known for his pioneering work in direct mail, which he used to great effect to mobilize conservatives in the 70s and 80s around certain causes. It has been described as "the Internet of the day". He said that this was the first time he could remember that the chairman of the GOP had not been invited to CPAC. The reason is obvious; conservatives are very upset with their party. He described the Republicans in congress as being anti-conservative in the way they governed. You can view his talk on YouTube.

Afterwards, I went down for her book signing, but because I waited too long I got their right as she was leaving. Fortunately they had some pre-signed books, so I picked up The Supremacists: The Tyranny of Judges and How to Stop It.

Another interesting panel was Social Issues and the Conservative Movement. Wendy Wright of the Concerned Women for America (the anti-NOW) compared the situation today with that of William Wilberforce two hundred years ago. We on the right are accused of "imposing our values" on others, but so was he when he started his anti-slavery crusade. There may be "two Americas", she said, but the divide is not economic but moral. I would certainly agree with that.

Ben Shapiro talked about the concept of "defining deviancy down" that Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan talked about many years ago. The liberal call for "toleration" simply leads to one thing after another. it used to be that we instinctively knew that porn was bad for you, for example. Now we need some social scientist with a fancy degree to spelll it out in a paper before people will believe it. John Stuart Mill said that if it doesn't harm you it's ok. No; we're not moral relativists. Liberals invent new "rights" all the time. We on the right understand that rights come from the creator. All sentiments I can agree with.

Senator Mitch McConnell gave a great speech on conservative values. He stressed party unity but also that we needed a clear and coherent message. He led the fight against McCain's campaign finance reform and promised not to give up until it was overturned.

McConnell slammed the Democrats for opposing the new strategy in Iraq. He said that they were trying a "goldilocks approach"; find something that is hot enough for the anti-war base, but cold enough for the moderates. Pretty accurate, I thought.

He also pointed out that if we on the right are going to make a difference, we need clarity and unity of purpose. We must offer a real alternative, and not just criticize.

In addition to the panels there was a large exhibit area with dozens of conservative groups. NRARadio was there along with "blogger row" (where I said hi to Mary Katharine Ham). At right Ginny Simone and Cam Edwards broadcast the news NRA style

Lastly for tonight, here is a (bad) photo of Michelle Malkin accepting an award from Reed Irvine's Accuracy in Media (my little camera just doesn't do well inside at range. I touched it up a bit but it still doesn't do her justice)

I attended more panels and saw more people but it's late and tomorrow will be even longer. At some point next week I'll expand this post with more about what everyone said.