I’m Going to CPAC, With Credentials Yet (But I’ve a Bone to Pick with PJM)
In late February every year, thousands of conservatives descend on Washington, DC for the yearly conservative bacchanalia that is CPAC.
It is Nirvana for any self-respecting conservative political geek plus a lot more. It’s also a huge social event that in just the past few days I’ve seen described as “The Right Wing Woodstock”, “MTV’s Spring Break, but with pearls and navy blue suits”, and “a right-wing Mardi Gras, with a little bit of infield-at-Talladega thrown in for good measure”.
And this year I’m going to experience it for myself. In just a couple days, I’ll be going to my first CPAC ever. Thanks to the folks at Pajamas Media, I’ll be going as a credentialed blogger, which means I get some cool new media bling to wear around my neck and a few chances to talk to come of the movers and shakers on the right side of politics.
Am I excited? Oh, you betcha!
I’ll be taking my camera and digital video camera and I’m planning on scavenging whatever WiFi signal I can find to do some blogging from there. I’ll also be going to some of the after-parties including the first-ever Smart Girl Politics meet and greet where I will be surrounded by some of the smartest and hottest conservative women I know.
Yes, you may envy me now.
I do have one misgiving, though.
Pajamas TV is hosting a Conservatism 2.0 conference for which they’ve invited a horde of young web-savvy folks. The folks they’re advertising as their big guns are Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, and Joe Wurzelbacher.
One of those things is not like the others, wouldn’t you say? I’m sure that Joe the Plumber is a nice enough guy but he doesn’t belong up on the stage telling the rest of us about “Bias in Media and Education”. He’s there because he’s a minor celebrity, not because he brings any particular expertise to the table. Indeed, if PJTV wanted to bring someone in who knows a thing or two about bias, they could have brought in Kathy Shaidle. Kathy has been in close combat with the government of Canada in a battle to preserve freedom of speech not just for her but for all Canadians. She knows a thing or two about bias in the media, since she’s been subjected to it. She’s a bona fide expert who incidentally could have used the extra cash that her appearance, and the sale of a few hundred copies of her new book, could have brought her. When Pajamas Media started, the founders made big noise about featuring original reporting from conservative bloggers. Well, that’s exactly what Kathy has been doing.
But she’ll be home during CPAC and Joe the Celebrity will be where she should be. PJTV could have done a fellow conservative a solid and affirmed their original mission but they didn’t. They opted to bring in a celebrity to increase their own visibility. That’s not cool.
Still, I’m grateful that they credentialed me and I hope you enjoy the posts I write about my experiences at my first-ever CPAC.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Happy Anniversary, Wendy!
- McCain Makes a Judicial Pitch for Conservatives
- How Helen Jones-Kelley Can Help Freedom and Conservatism
Category: Blogs and Blogging, Conservatism, Featured, The Shack
Bad doggie! No biting!
[...] View original post here: I’m Going to CPAC, With Credentials Yet (But I’ve a Bone to Pick with PJM) [...]
Congratulations! Enjoy!
I hope you find that Joe the Plumber isn't the dead wood you consider him to be – maybe just someone who is getting a late start on a journalistic career, and that Kathy was offered an invitation but just couldn't make it.
Call me Pollyanna, but I'll continue to be optimistic till you come back and tell us otherwise…ok?
I'm sure that Joe has something to say. Then again, so do I. My point is that there are people who are entertaining, engaging, and for-real experts on the subject that PJM should have invited.
Now, Jimmie: PJM having invested in the Joe the Plumber franchise, it behooves them to promote the product. You've got to learn to view it as a business. Try to get that Michael Corleone viewpoint — and I'm pretty sure Roger Simon is not Moe Green.
I get that it's a business. It was a bad business decision to make him a key part of the franchise in the first place. PJM has had stars in its eyes from almost the very beginning, which is odd since one of the things it originally set out to do was to build a wide field of "citizen journalists" and give them a platform for original reporting. Instead, we got big-name bloggers, journalists who are already published in several far more visible places, and now an inferior television product.
I lament that they seem to be whizzing away the cash when there are plenty of lesser-known and very relevant bloggers out there like Kathy who could reach a much larger audience and bring their investors some chance of a return.
Jealousy, thy name is Skirt. I will be there next year! Have a great time and let all us wannabes know what’s going on.
Perhaps they are just trying to generate a little more interest of people outside the group. I mean, that doesn't really undercut all of the serious, meaty bloggers….because those of us looking for information know where to find it. But there are plenty of people that identify with conservative values that are not really engaged in politics & what is being discussed daily; of which anything remotely conservative seems to be generated 100% from conservative bloggers these days. So maybe putting JTP there is just an attempt to bring more people in who otherwise don't pay attention to this stuff.
Perhaps, but what made JPT emblematic of conservative values? They guy asked a good question, sure, but so what? I think people would be just as interested in a woman who has been going toe to toe with someone who uses his country’s legal system to shut down speech he doesn’t like. People get free speech and that’s the cornerstone conservative principle.
And there are plenty of others out there with actual writing chops and some experience fighting for conservativism who would bring in readers as much as, if not more than, JTP. He’s there because he was on television.
Ok…so maybe you're right. And maybe you're wrong. I'll sure be looking forward to your report when it's done.
I gather Jindal – who has been much anticipated as "the next Reagan" didn't exactly wow them last night. That doesn't mean he isn't capable and qualified – maybe just that his speaking skills don't match his management skills. Sort of like Obama's management skills don't match his speaking skills – which we must acknowledge. We need _both_ – but it's hard to find.
I don't know that I blame Jindal for it. It wasn't a well-written speech and it was clear that he was uncomfortable with the "stand and read the teleprompter" style. I would much rather have had Jindal in a more familiar setting with a little room for him to move and talk to the camera instead of recite to it.