Marco at CPAC

I wish I could be at CPAC today to hear Marco Rubio! Heck, I wish I could be at CPAC anyway, but Rubio would be a bonus. When I first put my donation button on my sidebar last year, its original caption was "Send me to CPAC!" but nobody took me up on the offer. Now that it says "Buy me a beer!" I do a little better.

Many of my blogging buddies are headed to CPAC and I look forward to their reports; I know Stacy McCain will be there with Da Tech Guy...what could go wrong? Keep an eye on their blogs for updates.

Politico has a report on Rubio today and his appearance at CPAC noting that this will be a sort of national introduction of Rubio to many conservatives outside of Florida. Rubio has come from behind to lead Crist in the polls now in their Florida Senate race and I don't think Rubio is satisfied with his lead. I think before the election arrives Rubio will leave Crist far behind, especially if the only bang in Crist's bag is this tactic:

Crist’s campaign, which has derided Rubio as a shallow former pol who ducks discussions about the less flattering aspects of his record, isn’t shying away from attacking Rubio during his moment in the national conservative spotlight.

On Wednesday, the Crist campaign released a mock draft of Rubio’s speech.

“Since my campaign began, I’ve had the privilege of becoming the latest cover boy,” reads the fake speech. “I’m thrilled many of you don’t know me or what I’ve done during my 8 years in Tallahassee. My record is irrelevant in this campaign. My previous statements and actions serve no purpose in this campaign.”

I think if all Crist's campaign staff has to do is write mock drafts of a speech for Rubio then they will find themselves even further in the dust as the weeks go by.

If you listen to Marco Rubio you can see he's the real deal. I'm excited about his future in the Republican party.

The Washington Times also has a report on Rubio today:

Marco Rubio, a rising star in conservative Republican circles, said he sees the exploding "tea party" movement as a political energy source to be tapped, not a political party to be led. Mr. Rubio's underdog race for the Senate against Gov. Charlie Crist in Florida's Republican primary has become a rallying point for conservatives nationwide.

He has been called the potential first "tea party senator," but he's quick to note that the anti-big-government movement is a symbol of mounting voter frustration with the records of both major parties in Washington.

I really wish I could be at CPAC to hear his speech! Is it streaming anywhere today? If you know, leave me a comment.

Rush Limbaugh Speaks

Rush Limbaugh's speech at CPAC was great yesterday. Love him or hate him, he gave a great speech. He was animated, humorous, on point, conveyed his message, and spontaneous. Everything a good speech should be.

As far as content, his basic message to conservatives was to stick to their core principles. The Hill stated that "Limbaugh said the country will succeed if individuals pursue their excellence, and he criticized Democrats for putting forth a message that people can only succeed with a hand from the government."

In answer to the recent criticism of his comment about hoping Obama fails, he said,

"I know what's going on. We are in the aspects here of a historic presidency, I know that. But let me be honest again, I got over the historical aspects of that in November. President Obama is our president. President Obama stands for some things. He could be a Martian. He could be from Michigan. I don't care. It doesn't matter to me what his race is. It doesn't matter. He is liberal. That's what matters to me.... I want the country to survive. I want the country to succeed."

I know he was 'preaching to the choir' as they say, but he was well received by his conservative audience who gave him multiple standing ovations.

I agree with his criticism of the huge budget and on the massive welfare reform that Obama is undertaking. I also agree with Rush when he said "what is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?" I agree with that because that's the way I see this presidency headed as well. I see capitalism being punished and penalized under this presidency and I see us being led into European socialism which I disagree with and don't believe is right for this country.

The full transcript of his speech is here if you want to read it. There is also video.