It was bad enough that John McCain decided he had better things to do than show up and speak to the 5,000 conservative activists at CPAC. Now he’s trying to circumvent the organizers and stage his own mini-convention, writes Ivy Sellers of Human Events. (Ivy will be on Bloggers’ Row at CPAC from start to finish.)
Not only is this a major faux paux on McCain’s part for trying such a stunt, but it also is the worst possible news to break on the day he makes his run official. With sagging poll numbers and attacks from his right, McCain finds himself in rough shape for a man I called the frontrunner just weeks ago.
UPDATE — 11:08 p.m.: I’ve talked to McCain consultant Patrick Hynes about this and it could simply be a mistake.
Just yesterday, former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore was at The Heritage Foundation setting a new standard for Republican presidential candidates: If elected, Gilmore promised to start a White House blog.
Seems that Gilmore has found a crowd he likes. Tomorrow after his 11:30 a.m. appearance on the G. Gordon Liddy radio show, he plans to drop by Bloggers’ Row at CPAC to make his case. Gilmore will also be speaking at CPAC on Saturday.
I’m hearing rumors that David All will be blogging from CPAC for techPresident and Patrick Ruffini plans to be there as well. I also spotted this post on The New Criterion by James Panero.
That could be the headline on Saturday morning if the happy hour that Patrick Hynes and 3eDC are throwing Friday night turns out to be as wild and crazy as the one Edelman hosted last year. For those of you who were there, you’ll recall the now infamous cigar incident involving Human Events publisher Stephen O’Connor.
In all seriousness, kudos to Hynes for picking up the ball that his ‘08 candidate dropped. Sen. John McCain may not make it to CPAC this year, but Hynes, who does consulting work for McCain, certainly knows how to win over bloggers.
Fausta’s blog re-posts the list of credentialed CPAC bloggers, and notes, “The only one I’ve met in person is Ace. I’m looking forward to being there!”
That’s the best part of CPAC. It’s a wonderful opportunity network and meet the people you may communicate with frequently but have actually never met. I look forward to seeing many friends and meeting new ones such as Fausta.
Later this afternoon I’ll be heading over to the Capitol Hill Club for the first event of CPAC 2007. Details follow.
CPAC 2007 Capitol Hill Briefing: Technology and the Free Market: Where Do They Meet?
A briefing for Hill staff on technology, intellectual property, and competitive markets.
www.CPAC.org
Wednesday, February 28th, 4 - 5 p.m.
Capitol Hill Club
Eisenhower Room
No cost for Hill staff
Some food and beverage served
Speakers Include:
Moderator: Glenn Lammi
Chief Counsel, Legal Studies Division – Washington Legal Foundation
David Williams
Vice President, Policy – Citizens Against Government Waste
Ray Keating
Chief Economist – Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council
Solveig Singleton
Senior Adjunct Fellow – Progress and Freedom Foundation
Captain Ed is packing his belongings and getting ready for CPAC. Writing on Captain’s Quarters, he takes issue with John McCain’s absence:
A pass on CPAC would be a bad mistake for McCain, especially since all of his competitors have already committed to being there. I’m guessing that the Senator will see that by tomorrow and make the necessary efforts to join the conference and engage with those he claims he best represents. Otherwise, it will be hard to see how conservatives will take his refusal as anything but a badly-timed snub — and whatever one thinks of John McCain, he’s smarter than that.
I’ve been arguing for McCain to make an appearance (here and here) but I just don’t see it happening. I certainly hope Captain Ed’s lobbying works, but I think Team McCain is pretty much writing off CPAC.
Last year at CPAC I became incredibly frustrated with Bloggers’ Row. Not only was it badly organized, but there was also no way for bloggers to effectively communicate with each other or to find out what everyone was writing about. It was a challenge just getting a list of who was there!
Things are off to a much better start this year, thanks to the work of Lisa De Pasquale at CPAC and Kristina Grabosky at CRC Public Relations, which is sponsoring Bloggers’ Row this year. In addition to having a place to sit and a T1 line, we’re also being treated to lunch and have happy hours to attend on Thursday and Friday night.
My goal in creating this blog is to provide links to the work of credentialed bloggers who are covering CPAC. I know I won’t be able to cover everyone or everything, but I do hope it serves as a resource for the 25 bloggers whom I’ll be spending time with on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My goal is to also provide CPAC attendees and those who can’t make it a place to go to get the information they want and need.
If you have suggestions or if I’ve missed a great post, please contact me at rbluey@gmail.com. I’m happy to hear from you.