Dancing the Stimulus Shuffle

The GOP's response to the stimulus bill has been something to behold. It's gone roughly something like this:

1) Oppose the bill en masse.
2) Deny that government spending can ever, ever create a job. Only rugged capitalists can do such a thing.
3) Claim that the stimulus has made the economy worse.
4) Continue this stance in public even when it is obviously true, and even acknowledged among right of center economists, that the bill has staved off a depression and saved lots of jobs.
5) Do everything in your power to get ahold of as many stimulus funds as possible for your constituency because, you know, that stuff creates jobs.
6) Take credit for 5 at local level.
7) Continue to engage in steps 2-4 at national level.
8) Repeat as necessary

CPAC

I have conservative friends, and I have friends who have gone to CPAC and enjoyed themselves.

Though they are my friends, I do not understand them.

But, this year, CPAC looks to get even worse. Worse than Coulter's homophobia. Worse than Rush Limbaugh's general idiocy.

First, there was the call to boycott CPAC if GOProud (a conservative gay rights group) was allowed to continue as a cosponsor. The big tent was fracturing before the conference could get underway. (The end compromise is that GOProud will stay as a cosponsor, but they will not be allowed to talk at all.)

But, even more than that, now the John Birch Society (last heard from accusing JFK and Ike of being Communist stooges) will also be a cosponsor. Their current web site does not include their positions on issues, but it should be remembered that they were the group that supported such bizarre conspiracy theories as Cuban/African soldiers being trained in the American South by the UN to fight against segregation in the American South. These are people who still believe in the stupid New World Order.

So...GOProud, a group that split off from the Log Cabin Republicans because the LCR wasn't conservative enough, isn't good enough for CPAC to many of these people, but JBS is just fine. Oh, that's going to be fun.