There hasn’t been much noise in the MSM, apart from the FoxGoogle debate, but the Super-Conservative wing of the Conservative Republican Conservatives have actually spent the whole last three days networking & nitpicking in Orlando — presumably as a kind of warm-up / road-test for next year’s GOP Convention in Tampa, aka “the herpes sore on America’s wang”. I’m very grateful that Dave Weigel at Slate has been covering the three-ring tent show, because I’d rather read about such antics at one remove, and besides, Weigel has a sharp eye for the telling detail…
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ralph Reed has never lost his knack for PR. His Faith & Freedom Coalition (“Pro-Family, Pro-Freedom”) is holding its inaugural Florida conference right across the street from the Florida GOP’s three-day “Presidency 5” summit/debate/straw poll. Seven presidential candidates will speak on a stage framed on the right by the American flag, the state flag of Florida, and the flag of Israel…
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I noticed that William Temple, the costumed “Tea Party patriot” who materializes at every one of these events as if beamed down from the Enterprise, was seated not far from us…We chatted briefly about Temple’s favorite topic of the day: The Christian faith of the founders.
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“They said that we might lose our way if we didn’t elect Christians,” said Temple. “And I ask you, have we gotten there yet?”
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Who was “they”? It wasn’t from the Constitution, Temple explained. He pulled out a sheaf of paper, flipping past some maps of Orlando to find a quote from revolutionary era North Carolina Gov. Samuel Johnston.It is apprehended that Jews, Mahometans, pagans, etc., may be elected to high offices under the government of the United States Those who are Mahometans, or any others who are not professors of the Christian religion, can never be elected to the office of President, or other high office, but in one of two cases. First, if the people of America lay aside the Christian religion altogether, it may happen. Should this unfortunately take place, the people will choose such men as think as they do themselves….
Jews, Mahometans, Pagans! Speaking of scary juxtapositions, here’s my first introduction to a group that makes “GOProud” seem almost reasonable by comparison:
At noon [Friday], instead of racing back to the main hall of CPAC Florida to watch a few presidential candidate speeches, I dropped into the second Tea Party Debt Commission meeting, sponsored by FreedomWorks. Dick Armey’s Tea Party collossus took over the dining room of a Denny’s, put a powerpoint presentation on a flat screen TV, and began 90 minutes of debate about how to cut the budget.
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I grabbed a seat at a table with a group of Frederick Douglass Republicans, black conservatives who shared their stories of speaking at Tea Party events and making converts. They were having some success, they said, in converting fellow black men. “Frederick Douglass is a badge of honor,” explained K. Carl Smith, who was selling a book about his politics. “Barack Obama is a shield of shame.”
Luck, reporter’s instinct, prescience? Here’s the results of tonight’s culminating straw poll:
Herman Cain won the Presidency 5 Florida Straw poll with 996 votes, 37.1 percent of the total, blowing past Rick Perry and Ron Paul, both of whom had organized to win here. He more than doubled the Perry vote; more delegates chose Cain than chose Perry and Romney, combined.
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