CPAC Day 2 – The Newt!
I had the opportunity to sit in on an informal talk given by Newt Gingrich, Saul Anuzis, and Rick Berman of American Solutions (Saul is a very useful guy who gets around quite a lot) on Newt’s “12 American Solutions”. They’re doing interesting stuff, working off of a premise that seems obvious but apparently isn’t.
He said “It’s better to pick the fights you’re already winning”. Obvious, right? But how often has the GOP gone charging into an issue when they were on the 25% side of the public approval numbers instead of the 75% side? Worse, how many times has the GOP actually been on the 75% side only to watch their public support erode because they didn’t defend their position?
Newt’s group had a lot of success with their “Drill Here, Drill Now” campaign not only because the idea was really good but also because a ridiculous number of Americans already supported it.
That’s where he’s headed with all 12 points and I think it’s a winning approach. He’s really gearing up to take on the Democratic “card-check” bill to strip the secret ballot from us. I’m looking forward to getting into that fight.
Stacy McCain has been hanging with the Young Republicans today. He’ll be updating his post as he goes along so hit it back often.
More to come!
Other Posts of Interest:
- I’m Going to CPAC, With Credentials Yet (But I’ve a Bone to Pick with PJM)
- CPAC Episode Ia: Is That Who I think It Is?
- CPAC Day 1b – Rule 5 Blogging
Category: Conservatism, Featured, The Shack
"Newt’s group had a lot of success with their “Drill Here, Drill Now” campaign not only because the idea was really good"
Good idea? Umm, have you noticed that there are now 40% fewer drill rigs operating in the US than there were just six months ago? It seems our oil companies adopted a "Drill Somewhere Else, Drill Later" philosophy while you weren't looking. It's no surprise, demand has tanked and the good leases are in other countries. But what the hell do the oil companies know about the oil market? Only wise conservatives like Joe the Plumber know what's good for the oil industry.
In the end, the craziest thing is Republican ideas about oil. Oil companies give a lot of money to Republicans. And Republicans usually go along with whatever the oil industry wants. You'd think the Republican Party would have a clue about the oil industry. The situation is obvious: demand is down and nobody wants to drill. And you propose more drilling? Are you saying the government should force oil companies to drill when it's not profitable? I'm still of the belief that oil companies should do what they think is right, and we should regulate them. But you want to force their hand. You want them to drill when drilling makes no sense. So who's the socialist here?