CPAC 2015 Day One

CPAC, the four days out of the year that every PoliSci nerd impatiently waits 361 days for and what a great and exciting first day it was! I live on the west coast so I actually got up at 5:30am just to catch the livestream. Yeah I know, talk about a nerd! I hear people always say that CPAC is just a bunch of  like-minded people preaching to the choir and to some extent it is more than that. There is activist training on how to get out the vote, minority outreach, debating “taboo” issues to the GOP like gay marriage and Marijuana legalization and how to approach and hopefully win over undecideds which I think is one of the most important aspects of CPAC. It makes me really glad to see so man young people at CPAC and millennial oureach is a very important component to a 2016 victory. I think Raffi Williams,Mia Love,Ben Sasse and Charlie Kirk did an awesome job on the Millennial outreach panel.

Now probably the most exciting part of CPAC for many of us PoliSci junkies is seeing who the is an is not a contender for 2016. All throughout the day I have been taking a few notes on the speeches I saw this morning. Here are my thoughts…

Ben Carson– Probably the most intelligent person to speak so far. The guy is just witty and full of wisdom. Although I can’t say enough good things about him, I honestly don’t think he is presidential material. I don’t think he has the fire in the belly and the political experience to go up against the Clinton Machine. Like I said about Senator Lee, that doesn’t mean he cant affect change in a positive way for the country. I think he would be an outstanding HHS secretary or something along those lines. The best presidents always have a great cabinet and that can be vital in turning the country in the right direction.

Senator Mike Lee isn’t one of the best speakers in my opinion but actually gave a very good, inspiring speech. I liked the call for strong conservative candidates and not settling for anything less which seems to be all that the GOP has been doing for far too long. He gave a great quote that said “Don’t hate what’s in front of you, love what’s behind you.” I took that to mean while it sometimes can be fun and often times way to easy to bash on Obama and his goons, love what is behind you and the love that’s behind us is love of country, family values, a strong military and most importantly, American exceptionalism. Senator Lee said that he isn’t running for president in 2016 which is fine because I don’t think the only way to take back America is through the executive branch and I look forward t supporting him as he continues to fight for conservative principles.

Ted Cruz– Now this was probably my favorite speaker so far. The passion he gives in every speech is absolutely incredible. He like pretty much every speaker, spoke about fighting for our principles but by the end of it I was so motivated and ready to get off my ass and actually fight. The two points he made that i liked best were gay marriage and Marijuana legalization being left up to the states which is music to my ears and what my opinion on it has been for awhile and yes, I realize I am not the only one. I really hope Senator Cruz runs which I definitely think he will. I think he has the fire in his belly and can inspire the country to get back on it’s feet.

Scott Walker– Man this guy seems to beat everything liberals throw at him! I thought his speech was good overall. The substance was great and he has the leadership we all long for. What I didn’t like was kind of the presentation of the speech. I thought he seemed a little awkward and pointed way too much. He just seems like the guy who would easily be labeled as the “rich, out of touch white politician” like Romney and so many other GOP candidates have been. How he handled the heckler was great and hopefully a preview on how he will deal with liberals come 2016.

Sarah Palin– BEST SPEECH OF THE DAY! Wow where do i start? Dakota Meyer introducing her was a great surprise and got the whole speech of on the right foot. The emphasis on the military and foreign policy was the cherry on top for day 1. Nobody really touched on that a whole lot. Everybody had their own niche and that’s okay. I don’t think I would vote for her if she decides to run in 2016 but she is a great conservative voice and is good for the party. She has that everyday woman feel to her and that rough edge I like. No doubt we will be hearing from her more as 2016 approaches. Hey maybe a VP bid could be in her future, who knows!

Well it has been an eventful day watching and studying all the conservative minds speak and see who has promise to lead the party to victory and who doesn’t. Obviously I didn’t cover all the speaker because well, you wouldn’t want to read all that and I wouldn’t want to write it but I hope this gives people reading this who didn’t get to watch of the speakers an idea of what took place on this jam packed, eventful day at CPAC.

KEEP IT RIGHT, AMERICA!!!!