"... perhaps unwittingly ..."????? ~ ~ Sooz

Sarah Palin: No current Republican candidates are qualified to be president — and neither am I
Arturo Garcia | 26 Feb 2015 at 20:04 ET

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) suggested — perhaps unwittingly — on Thursday that neither she nor any Republican weighing a 2016 presidential campaign is eligible for the position.

“It’s said that old men declare wars, and then they send the young ones to fight ‘em,” Palin said during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). “So it’s the duty of he who sends them to actually make sure that we can win those wars. And it’s our duty to elect an honorable commander-in-chief who is willing to make the same sacrifices he sends others away to make.”

One of Palin’s sons, Track, served in Iraq for a year for the Army. Going by her remark, however, her son is more qualified than any of the GOP’s most visible prospective candidates: Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, and Scott Walker of Wisconsin have not served, nor have Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida.

Palin also questioned the country’s military rules of engagement, saying troops should be given “the political will to win.”

“How many Americans are harmed today because politically correct rules of engagement are imposed by those who are just too uncomfortable to give troops the trust and the tools that they need to win,” she said.

She also claimed that undocumented immigrants are “cutting in line” ahead of veterans in order to receive federal benefits. The former vice-presidential candidate did not mention that immigrants are eligible for Medicare and Social Security under President Barack Obama’s immigration order late last year only if they meet a set of requirements that includes paying taxes, having a child who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and passing a criminal background check.

Watch Palin’s remarks, as posted online, below.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/sarah-palin-no-current-republican-candidates-are-qualified-to-be-president-and-neither-am-i/

Crazies intent on "besting" other crazies ~ ~ Sooz

Ted Cruz and Sean Hannity talk pot on the ‘Magical Mystery Hannity Hour’ at CPAC
Tony Ortega | 26 Feb 2015 at 16:47 ET

Probable presidential candidate Texas Senator Ted Cruz did his best to claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan at CPAC on Thursday with a fiery speech about how he was not all talk, but all action.

But things got really interesting at the end of his talk and then the q&a session afterwards. In the video segment we’ve embedded below, you’ll see Ted ask people to text the word “constitution” to a telephone number. Why? Who knows. He didn’t say. But it seemed patriotic as all get out.

He thanked the crowd, and then Fox News host Sean Hannity joined him on stage to ask him questions.

Earlier in the day, when Laura Ingraham had done the same with New Jersey governor Chris Christie, she did a pretty good job asking somewhat challenging questions, which Christie handled with some flair.

Hannity, however, lofted the friendliest softballs imaginable to Cruz in what quickly turned into a Lloyd and Harry routine.

Hannity started out by daring Cruz to reveal, how had he bravely survived criticism for helping to shut down the government in 2013?

Cruz’s response: Kill Obamacare.

Hannity: Tell us how much you hate the Republican leadership in Congress.

Cruz: I want to disrupt politics like I was Uber.

Hannity: Kill ISIS?

Cruz: Kill ISIS!

Hannity: Liberal birthers?

Cruz: “Look, I was born in Calgary, my mother was an American citizen by birth. Under federal law, that made me an American citizen by birth. The Constitution requires that you be a natural born citizen.”

Hannity: President Cruz?

Cruz: Kill Obamacare. Kill the IRS. Put IRS agents on the southern border. Kill the EPA. Constitution! Shining City on a Hill!

Yadda, yadda. But then, Hannity finally asked an interesting question: What did Cruz think about Colorado legalizing marijuana?

Cruz joked that Colorado had supplied CPAC brownies, and he and Hannity then indulged in a little stoner humor as Cruz kidded about being on the ‘Magical Mystery Hannity Hour.’ Mr. States Rights then had to admit that if Colorado wanted pot, it was OK with him, even though he doesn’t favor legalization himself.

And so it went. It was definitely the most entertaining segment of the first half of CPAC’s first day. Here’s the video…


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/ted-cruz-and-sean-hannity-talk-pot-on-the-magical-mystery-hannity-hour-at-cpac/

Christie needs to practice his own advice ~ ~ Sooz

Chris Christie at CPAC: ‘Sometimes people need to be told to sit down and shut up’
Tony Ortega | 26 Feb 2015 at 15:12 ET

A question-and-answer session at CPAC turned into a moment of truth for Chris Christie on Thursday.

The New Jersey governor sat down with Fox News guest host Laura Ingraham on stage at the conference, and she dug into Christie with much more challenging questions than the softballs Sean Hannity would loft to Ted Cruz a little later.

She asked Christie, for example, how he could compete with the social conservatives that seemed more at home at CPAC.

But Christie defended his pro-life record, saying, “People make certain assumptions because you’re a Republican from New Jersey.”

She then challenged him about the way the press often portrays him as “explosive” or “hot-tempered.” .

“The word they miss is passionate,” Christie answered, and then rattled off the usual blather you hear a lot at CPAC, that it’s how ardently people pursue their goals that matters, not what those goals might be. Whatever.

Even Ingraham had had enough of it. She then interrupted him with…

“But ‘Sit down and shut up?’”

Christie didn’t miss a beat:

“Well, sometimes people need to be told to sit down and shut up.”

If you say so, governor.

Here’s the video…


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/chris-christie-at-cpac-sometimes-people-need-to-be-told-to-sit-down-and-shut-up/

Don't forget, folks ~ these people are the best/brightest in the GOP/TPer field ~ ~ Sooz

TPM LIVEWIRE
Walker: If I Can Take On Union Protesters, I Can Take On ISIL (VIDEO)
By Caitlin MacNeal Published February 26, 2015, 6:43 PM EST

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) on Thursday said that his experience with protests over his law eliminating collective bargaining rights for public employees has prepared him to confront terrorists.

After his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an audience member asked Walker how he would deal with threats like the Islamic State if he were president.

"I want a commander-in-chief who will do everything in their power to ensure that the threat from radical Islamic terrorists do not wash up on American soil. We will have someone who leads and ultimately will send a message not only that we will protect American soil but do not take this upon freedom-loving people anywhere else in the world," he responded. "We need a leader with that kind of confidence. If I can take on a 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world."

National Review's Jim Geraghty lambasted Walker's "terrible" response on how he would address ISIL.

"The protesters in Wisconsin, so furiously angry over Walker’s reforms and disruptive to the procedures of passing laws, earned plenty of legitimate criticism. But they’re not ISIS," Geraghty wrote. "They’re not beheading innocent people. They’re Americans, and as much as we may find their ideas, worldview, and perspective spectacularly wrongheaded, they don’t deserve to be compared to murderous terrorists."

The Democratic National Committee also denounced Walker's comparison.

"If Scott Walker thinks that it's appropriate to compare working people speaking up for their rights to brutal terrorists, then he is even less qualified to be president than I thought," DNC Communications Director Mo Elleithee said in a Thursday statement.

Watch Walker's response:


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/walker-unions-isil-cpac

If you must speak when you have nothing to say, say it with fury and bombast ~ ~ Sooz

TPM LIVEWIRE
Perry At CPAC: We Survived Jimmy Carter, 'We Can Survive The Obama Years!'
By Brendan James Published February 27, 2015, 9:38 AM EST

Glasses on and fists flying, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Friday belted out an address at the Conservative Political Action Conference that wandered throughout but landed a few big applause lines.

Perry at once warned that less people believe in the American Dream "than any time in the past 50 years," but at the same time said "America's best days lie in front of us."

The Texan railed against the "corporate tax code," government regulations, and declared that "the unemployment rate is a sham."

Perry's solution to an America in decline: "The answer is not to grow the welfare state, it's to build the freedom state."

On this prospect, he was optimistic.

“We had a civil war, two World Wars, a depression. We even survived Jimmy Carter!" he shouted to applause. "We will survive the Obama years too!”

By the Q&A section, Perry was panting. He scored one more big cheer after he demanded that the government "open up the Keystone XL pipeline."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cpac-rick-perry-survive-obama-years

Rubio basically just admitted that what he really wants is the guaranteed life-time pension ~ ~ Sooz

TPM LIVEWIRE
Marco Rubio At CPAC: 'I Don't Wanna Be In Politics My Whole Life'
By Brendan James Published February 27, 2015, 9:20 AM EST

At the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) answered a question about the possibility that he might run for President by saying, "I don't want to be in politics my whole life."

Rubio initially said that if a politician believes he should pursue the nation's highest office, he should do it no matter what. But then he told his interviewer, Fox News host Sean Hannity, that he had plans beyond his career in Washington, D.C.

“The truth is, Sean, I don’t wanna be in politics my whole life," he said. "I wanna serve my country and do other things.”

Still, Rubio made it clear that while he's in the game, he wants to make a difference.

“I don’t want my kids to grow up one day and ask me, how come you got to grow up in the greatest country in the world, but we get to live in a a country that's diminished?"

Hannity threw a few names at Rubio in a game of word association.

Hillary Clinton? “Yesterday.” Bill Clinton? “What's the next one?”

And Barack Obama? “Failed.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/cpac-marco-rubio-politics-whole-life

While I have always believed it was only a matter of time before the TPers started gnawing on their own, this is quicker than I expected ~ I also am laughing at Perry's effort to appear as the "wise and seasoned" candidate ~ ~ there are a few "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

TPM LIVEWIRE
Perry: Walker's Answer About Unions And Islamic State Was 'Inappropriate'
By Catherine Thompson Published February 27, 2015, 11:58 AM EST

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Thursday criticized Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) comments connecting union protesters with Islamic State terrorists as a "mistake."

The former governor and potential 2016 GOP presidential contender went on the offensive in an interview with NBC's Kasie Hunt after Walker made the comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“These are Americans,” Perry told Hunt. “You are talking about, in the case of ISIS, people who are beheading individuals and committing heinous crimes, who are the face of evil. To try to make the relationship between them and the unions is inappropriate.”

But Perry also showed some sympathy for the Wisconsin governor. He told Hunt it was a "mistake" for Walker to make a connection between the Islamic State and unions, not unlike his own infamous missteps in the 2012 Republican presidential primary debates.

"Scott’s a good man, he’s got a good message out there and he’s an energetic guy and he’s a new face on the block – and if you’ll recall in 2011, I was a new face on the block for about 3 hours,” he said, as quoted by MSNBC. “Making mistakes – nobody’s perfect – and how you deal with that and how you get over that very quickly is going to be important for him."

On Thursday night, Walker told the audience during a Q&A session at CPAC: "If I can take on a 100,000 protesters, I can do the same" with terrorists. He later scrambled to explain that he wasn't making a direct comparison between public unions and the Islamic State terror group.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rick-perry-scott-walker-unions-isil

This is disturbing ~ ~ Sooz

CPAC Attendees: Rudy Was Right, Obama Doesn't Love America
By Daniel Strauss Published February 27, 2015, 12:12 PM EST

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND — The issue of President Obama's patriotism - or perceived lack thereof - came to the forefront at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, when radio host Sean Hannity asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) what he loved most about America.

"No nation on earth has let so many on earth come with nothing and achieve anything," Cruz said, sparking applause.

Hannity's question was a nod to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's (R) earlier comment that President Barack Obama doesn't love America. Since the controversial remark, several Republican politicians have fielded the question. Mostly notably, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), a likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, declined to speculate on the president's patriotism, saying instead, that anyone interested in the president's love of America should ask him directly.

However, a number of attendees at CPAC told TPM that Guiliani's comment was spot on.

"I thought he was just being honest. I don't think anybody who allows America to be abused internationally (loves America)," Sylvia Noster, a seller of luxury handbags lined with the text of the Constitution, told TPM. "He has just a disdain for the Constitution because he's constantly interpreting his powers as being kind of beyond the Constitution."

When conservatives discuss Obama's patriotism, there's a certain sense of "otherness" underlying their words. Giuliani said, "He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country." That sentiment resonates throughout CPAC.

"To be honest, I don't think he [Obama] loves America the way most Americans love America," Rick May, an attendee from Texas told TPM. "I think he's got a whole different conceptual situation."

Attendees said that the way Obama has handled foreign relations is proof that he doesn't love America. They said he has too often criticized America to foreign leaders instead of defending it. They cite the president's refusal to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visit to Congress, at House Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) invitation, as further proof.

"He's always on an apology tour about America. He goes around and kicks the living daylights out of anyone who's an ally. Like Israel, for example," Noster said. "He treats the man with total disdain. He's the only ally we have in the Middle East. I would say that's a perfect example."

May said that Obama's frequent apologizing sends the wrong message to the country. "He's just always apologizing that we're not the country that we are. We're better than what he thinks we are," May said. "I just can't get over how he basically apologized to everyone for us being a nation that stands out. We do stand out."

Another attendee, a veteran named Bill Rogers, said Obama has "got another agenda, and leading and defending America is not at the top of his list."

"He's not being vigorous controlling the problems with Iran. He's not vigorous at all in opposing radical Islam," Rogers said. "He seems intent on ignoring the will of the American people on wanting to build government, increase taxes and fuel Obamacare, which is not a popular thing. He's not listening to the Americans. He's got his own agenda."

"Right now guys like Ted Cruz, he believes he loves America more because he speaks out so much against the government," Chris Ross, a young CPAC attendee who's backing former Florida Jeb Bush (R) for president, told TPM. "And with the current administration, he has every reason to believe that they're incompetent, I at least think so. So his outspokenness against them has translated to his love of America, at least in his eyes and his supporters'."

Domestically, Noster said, Obama and outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder have polarized African Americans against "the rest of the country." She didn't provide examples.

Princeton University student Ryan Spaude said that the question of Obama's patriotism could be a recurring theme in the 2016 election cycle. He said that Walker's refusal to join the fray could bode well for the potential candidate.

"I think it could continue through the campaign, depending how the candidates decide to approach it," Spaude said.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/cpac-gop-obama-loves-america

Now there's a f**cking brilliant strategy... attack Obama who isn't running.

Soooo, who is the craziest of the lot?
I really can't make up my mind.

Santorum is among a select group of far-rightwingers who shouldn't even try to tell a "joke" ~ ~ Sooz

Rick Santorum Birther Joke At CPAC Falls Flat
Submitted by Brian Tashman on Friday, 2/27/2015 1:20 pm

Rick Santorum worked a few jokes into his CPAC speech today, deriding President Obama as the “weatherman-in-chief” for believing in climate science and even making a birther joke, which was met with tepid applause.

“The Obama-Clinton foreign policy team” has been “disastrous,” Santorum said. “In fact the president’s popularity is so bad around the world today that I heard this report from a source that the Kenyan government is actually developing proof that Barack Obama was actually born in America.”


http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-santorum-birther-joke-cpac-falls-flat

While I personally favor monogamy, somehow advice from Phil Robertson on anything makes me itch all over ~ ~ Sooz

‘Duck Dynasty’ star Phil Robertson lectures CPAC on hippies, herpes and the Bible
David Edwards | 27 Feb 2015 at 15:15 ET

Duck Dynasty television star Phil Robertson told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday that 110 million Americans were infected with sexually transmitted diseases and that it was “the revenge of the hippies.”

After accepting the Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award, Robertson stepped up to the CPAC podium and pulled out a Bible that appeared to be held together with duct tape.

“In case one of you gets to be president of the United States, make sure you carry your Bible and your woman,” the reality star advised. “I’m just saying, safety. Safety.”

According to Robertson, the United States was “almost” at a place where both religion and morality had been lost.

And to make his point, he asserted that the CDC said that 110 million people in the United States were suffering from sexually transmitted diseases or infections.

“I don’t want you to die early!” he exclaimed. “It you’re disease free and she’s disease free, you’re married, you keep your sex right there, you won’t get sick from a sexually transmitted disease! Come on!”

“There is a penalty to be paid from what the beatniks and it morphed into the hippies!” the Duck Commander continued. “What do you call the 110 million people who have sexually transmitted illnesses? It’s the revenge of the hippies! Sex, drugs and rock & roll have come back to haunt us! In a bad way!”

Robertson said that he had done additional research on the CDC website and found out that only one encounter was necessary to contract a sexually transmitted illness.

“How many seconds does it take to get genital herpes?” he asked the CPAC audience. “It said 30 seconds. I’m like, whoa, that’s pretty quick.”

“You want a godly, biblical, medically safe option? One man, one woman, married for life.”

Watch the video below from CPAC.


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/duck-dynasty-star-phil-robertson-advises-cpac-to-have-30-second-sex-to-prevent-genital-herpes/

I laughed when I first read Jabra's above post: "Soooo, who is the craziest of the lot? I really can't make up my mind." ~ but those 15 words are a perfect bull's-eye ~ ~ Sooz

Rick Perry goes apocalyptic at CPAC with best ISIS freakout of the day
Tony Ortega | 27 Feb 2015 at 13:05 ET

The speakers at CPAC have each warned the conservative audience in Maryland that America is ruined, the end days are upon us, and similar gloomy things about a country they claim to love.

But former Texas governor Rick Perry took the fearmongering to another level on Friday, as he tried to express just what a danger the Islamic State is to our freedom and liberty.

“The president declared in the State of the Union that the advance of ISIS has been stopped, and that is simply not true,” Perry said. “He says that ISIS is a religious movement. Again, he’s simply wrong.”

Oops. Of course, the governor meant to say that Obama has denied that ISIS is a religious movement. But that little error didn’t slow Perry down.

“To deny the fundamental religious nature of the threat and to downplay the seriousness of it is naive, it is dangerous, and it is misguided,” he continued. And then came the real payoff…

“ISIS represents the worst threat to freedom since communism.”

Yowza. That’s a bit over the top. But the man was on a roll, and he’s doing his best to pretend he has a shot in a crowded field.

Here, watch his performance for yourself…


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/rick-perry-goes-apocalyptic-at-cpac-with-best-isis-freakout-of-the-day/

"17 potential candidates"????? ~ ~ emphasis/bolding below is mine ~ Sooz

TPM LIVEWIRE
Rand Paul Wins CPAC Presidential Straw Poll Again
By Daniel Strauss Published February 28, 2015, 5:20 PM EST

NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND — Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll on Saturday.

Paul came in first followed by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-KY) in third place, Dr. Ben Carson in fourth place, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) in fifth place.

Paul got 25.7 percent of the vote followed closely by Walker with 21.4 percent. Cruz got 11.5 percent and Carson got 11.4. Bush got 8.3 percent. Seventeen potential 2016 presidential candidates were on the ballot for the 2015 straw poll.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) won the straw poll in 2014.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/rand-paul-wins-2015-cpac-straw-poll

In the lunatic asylums of old days they would have been contained and restraint, now they participate in straw polls.

We watch our rightwingnuts and shake our heads as the Supreme Court constantly knocks their legislation down.
But I must admit the USian rightwingnuts are far more entertaining.
It's like the KGB compared to the Keystone Kops.

Edit: I think ours are far more dangerous.