I’m Glad I Got Booed at CPAC And how can we

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (0) Message Board

Feb 25, 2018 at 3:55 PM 194

Quote:

I’m Glad I Got Booed at CPAC

Quote:

And how can we participate in any conversation about sexual ethics when the Republican president and the Republican Party backed a man credibly accused of child molestation for the United States Senate?

Trick question? Nah, hypocrisy and doubles standards will always find a way.

By MONA CHARENFEB. 25, 2018

President Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. Credit Evan Vucci/Associated Press

I’ve been a conservative my entire life. I fell hard for William F. Buckley as a teenager and my first job was as editorial assistant at Buckley’s National Review, followed by stints writing speeches for first lady Nancy Reagan and then working for the Gipper himself. Looking toward the 1988 race, Vice President George H.W. Bush wasn’t conservative enough for me. I went to work as a speechwriter for Representative Jack Kemp in 1986.

So you’d think that the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, would be a natural fit. It once was. But on Saturday, after speaking to this year’s gathering, I had to be escorted from the premises by several guards who seemed genuinely concerned for my safety.

What happened to me at CPAC is the perfect illustration of the collective experience of a whole swath of conservatives since Donald Trump became the Republican nominee. We built and organized this party — but now we’re made to feel like interlopers.

I was surprised that I was even asked to speak at CPAC. My views on Trump, Roy Moore and Steve Bannon are no secret. I knew the crowd would be hostile, and so I was tempted to pass.

But too many of us have given up the fight. We’ve let disgust and dismay lead us to withdraw while bad actors take control of the direction of our movement. I know how encouraged I feel whenever someone simply states the truth, and so I decided to accept CPAC’s invitation.

Like the Republican Party, CPAC has become heavily Trumpified. Last year, they invited alt-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos (and withdrew the invitation only after lewd tapes surfaced). This year, in addition to the president and vice president, CPAC invited Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen and niece of National Front leader Marine Le Pen.

Matt Schlapp, CPAC’s chairman, described her as a “classical liberal” on Twitter. This is utter nonsense. Ms. Maréchal-Le Pen is a member of the National Front party, and far from distancing herself from her Holocaust-denying, anti-Semitic and racist grandfather, she has offered him a more full-throated endorsement than her aunt has. “I am the political heir of Jean-Marie Le Pen,” Maréchal-Le Pen told the Washington Post last year. “He was a visionary. He was right about a lot of things.”

So it has come to this: a conservative group whose worst fault in years past may have been excessive flat tax enthusiasm now opens its doors to the blood and soil nationalists of Europe.

While there were reasonable, mainstream Republican speakers at CPAC, the lineup also featured demagogues like Sheriff David Clarke Jr. While he oversaw the Milwaukee County jail, one pregnant prisoner was repeatedly raped, and several prisoners died in the space of just six months. One was a mentally ill man who was denied water for seven days. No matter. The sheriff was cheered by the CPAC crowd.

My panel was about the #MeToo movement, which was a natural for me since my new book coming out in June, “Sex Matters,” grapples with the movement and other aspects of our fraught sexual ecosystem.

After every woman on the panel had a chance to speak and with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, the moderator threw a slow pitch right over the plate. She asked us about feminist hypocrisy. Ask me that at a cocktail party and I will talk your ear off about how the very people who had lectured us about the utter venality of workplace sexual harassment throughout the 1980s became suddenly quiescent when the malefactor was Bill Clinton.

But this time, and particularly in front of this crowd, it felt far more urgent to point out the hypocrisy of our side. How can conservative women hope to have any credibility on the subject of sexual harassment or relations between the sexes when they excuse the behavior of President Trump?

And how can we participate in any conversation about sexual ethics when the Republican president and the Republican Party backed a man credibly accused of child molestation for the United States Senate?

I watched my fellow panelists’ eyes widen. And then the booing began.

I’d been dreading it for days, but when it came, I almost welcomed it. There is nothing more freeing than telling the truth. And it must be done, again and again, by those of us who refuse to be absorbed into this brainless, sinister, clownish thing called Trumpism, by those of us who refuse to overlook the fools, frauds and fascists attempting to glide along in his slipstream into respectability.

I spoke to a hostile audience for the sake of every person who has watched this spectacle of mendacity in disbelief and misery for the past two years. Just hearing the words you know are true can serve as ballast, steadying your mind when so much seems unreal.

For traditional conservatives, the past two years have felt like a Twilight Zone episode. Politicians, activists and intellectuals have succumbed with numbing regularity, betraying every principle they once claimed to uphold. But there remains a vigorous remnant of dissenters. I hear from them. There were even some at CPAC.

A substantial number of people applauded. And as I was hustled out of the building by security, various supporters gave me the thumbs up sign.

Just before I reached the exit, a woman approached me and called my name. “That was so brave!” she told me.

She was one of my fellow panelists. I hope she’s encouraged. I am.

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

ASTS Faces Class Action; Investors Beware of Pitfalls

Securities Fraud Allegations Hit AST SpaceMobile Days like this remind me why we keep our eyes peeled in the stock game—AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) is tangled in a web of legal drama, and it's something you can't brush off with a shrug. Class action lawsuits for securities fraud? That's like finding out the foundation's shaky beneath a skyscraper. If you've got skin...

Moon Base Ambitions: Impulse Space Wins Key NASA Contracts

NASA's Vision and Impulse's New Role Ever think you'd see a company like Impulse Space set to play a starring role in humanity's return to the lunar surface? Well, strap in because this isn't just a pipe dream anymore. NASA's bold plan to establish a Moon Base has taken a tangible step forward with Impulse winning two hefty task orders. This ain't just peanuts—this duo...

D-Wave's Legal Trouble: Securities Fraud Suit Looms

A Looming Legal Storm for D-Wave Investors Call it another day, another legal tangle in the investing world. This time, it's D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ: QBTS) on the receiving end of a securities fraud class action lawsuit. Yeah, those fancy quantum computers they're pushing didn't predict this one coming. The legal arena is getting ready for a bout, and if you've got...

Fibocom LTE Modules Test Drive Satellite Connectivity

Boosting IoT with Satellite Connectivity Here's a good one for folks watching the edge of wireless innovation. Fibocom's LTE Cat.1 bis modules, the LE270-EU and LE271-GL, just stretched their legs in New Zealand, connecting seamlessly with SpaceX's Direct to Cell (DTC) satellite system. No fancy hardware swaps, just standard firmware strutting its stuff across satellite...

MWC26 Doha: Bridging Standards for MENA's Future

MWC26 Doha Launches with a Connectivity Mission Forget corporate boardrooms; the real action this week is unfolding in Doha's bustling exhibition halls. Kicked off with the fanfare you'd expect from such a key event, MWC26 Doha has drawn a crowd that's got both tech geeks and policy wonks nodding with interest. This ain’t your average trade show: it’s the melting pot...

JNJ's Dual-Antigen Therapy Shows Promise in Prostate Cancer

Exploring a New Front in Cancer Treatment Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) just dropped a bombshell at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2026 Annual Meeting, unveiling data that could reshape prostate cancer care. Their pioneering combo of pasritamig and JNJ-9401, a dual-antigen-targeted therapy, has the scientific community buzzing. Yeah, it's just Phase 1 baby...

Cleaner Air in Bedroom May Stabilize Blood Sugar Levels

Imagine a world where simply sleeping in cleaner air could affect your blood sugar. Seems far-fetched, I know. But that's where we're at with this new study out of NYU Langone Health. They're talking about using plain ol' portable air filters to help steady blood sugar levels for folks dealing with prediabetes. Turns out a cleaner bedroom might just hold the key to taming...

Allergan Aesthetics Study Shows Rising Patient Satisfaction

Enhanced Patient Satisfaction with Aesthetic Treatments Dive into the latest studies from Allergan Aesthetics—AbbVie's heavyweight in the beauty battleground. If you've got an ounce of optimism left in this market, their recent findings might just lift your spirits. Phase 4 studies, namely HARMONY IN DIVERSITY and HALO, are showing highly positive results among patients...

Intelligent Communication Forum Eyes Global Ecosystem Shift

China's Grand Vision for Intelligent Communication You know what they say about big ideas—they start in the most bustling of places. And here we are in Wuxi, a city's pulse pounding with ambition, hosting the 2026 China International Intelligent Communication Forum. Picture it: From November 8th to 10th, movers, shakers, and visionaries are scribbling new blueprints for...

Novo's Semaglutide Shows Promise in MASH Study

Semaglutide, a name on the lips of many investors looking for breakthroughs, is making waves again. This time, the stir comes from recent findings in the MASH field, and it's got folks in white coats quite excited. Revolutionary Results from Novo Novo Nordisk has announced promising results from their phase 3 ESSENCE trial that looks into semaglutide's effects on a...