Thursday, June 05, 2014 8:07:44 AM
Sarah Palin wants Phil Robertson to run for president
by Christian Dem in NC
Tue Jun 03, 2014 at 03:24 PM PDT
Many of you know that at last week's Republican Leadership Conference, Phil Robertson declared that if the Republican Party is to turn itself around, it needs to "get Godly" and take a harder line on social issues. But a lot of us missed an even more cringeworthy moment beforehand. While she was introducing the Duck Commander, Palin suggested that he ought to run for president [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/follow_live_coverage_of_republ.html (next below)].
She described the Duck Dynasty patriarch as a "self-made entrepreneur" akin to those who formed America, an "educator and a church elder who inspires others to be bold and to embrace family."
"His life is a testament to those truths, to...get off your butt to make a buck," Palin said, seemingly channeling the Robertson family's evocative language.
But Palin went deeper than cheeky language, referencing what might unfold to be Robertson's political future. "Maybe he should be not just the Duck Commander. How about a Duck Commander in Chief?"
Applause.
While Robertson's homophobia is par for the course among the GOP base, I figure that even some of the most right-wing Republicans out there would balk at voting for a guy who thinks it's OK for grown men to actively pursue teenage girls. We already knew Palin's standards weren't that high to begin with. But even if she wasn't a mother of three girls, this would be frightening.
Last week, I had to leave a Facebook group of which I was a longtime member after I objected to Palin being called a whore--and several other members said she deserved it for all the bile she's spewed over the last six-plus years. As loathsome as Palin is, no woman deserves to be degraded. Period. Indeed, anyone who called Palin a whore here would get hiderated into oblivion. Now this comes out. This is yet more proof that no good deed goes unpunished. Also.
© Kos Media, LLC
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/03/1304153/-Sarah-Palin-wants-Phil-Robertson-to-run-for-president [with comments]
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Live coverage of GOP conference speakers Bobby Jindal, Phil Robertson at 6 p.m.
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, right, gets a hug from former presidential candidate Sarah Palin at the Republican Leadership Conference held in New Orleans on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
(Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson uses his fingers to make the shape of a cross at the Republican Leadership Conference held in New Orleans on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
(Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
By Adriane Quinlan, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on May 29, 2014 at 9:03 PM, updated May 29, 2014 at 9:34 PM
The annual Republican Leadership Conference [ http://rlc2014.com/rlc2014/ ] is starting off with a bang Thursday night. The slate of powerhouse conservative speakers includes Gov. Bobby Jindal [ http://topics.nola.com/tag/bobby-jindal/index.html ] and "Duck Dynasty" [ http://topics.nola.com/tag/duck%20dynasty/posts.html ] patriarch Phil Robertson. The event begins at 6 p.m., and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune will cover it live here. All interested readers are encouraged to jump in the comment stream and join the fray.
To learn more about the events at the Republican Leadership Conference or the influence that the gathering holds over upcoming mid-term elections, read more here [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/republican_leadership_conferen.html ].
5:58 p.m.
Let's get things started! The room has quite a lot of empty seats still, with a trickle of conference-goers moving in to fill them.
Demetra DeMonta, RNC committeewoman started things off, describing how she had experienced a political conversion -- practically born a democrat in Chicago, to swing to the other side due to the energy of the Reagan presidency. Her speech garnered big applause when she upped the ante. "We're going to take Mary Landrieu out," she said, to cheers.
6:01 p.m.
Roger Villere Jr. lead the room in prayer in a darkened room. "We just thank you for getting everyone here safe we ask you to give strength and courage to our speakers," Villere said, solemnly.
6:04 p.m.
Kathy Brugger, president of the National Federation of Republican Women, is being introduced by June Williams, president of the state chapter of the NFRW. I would wager that women make up about 35% of the audience here, and I wonder if Brugger is one of the reasons that they came out tonight.
6:07 p.m.
Counting down her points, Brugger called the GOP the party of "inclusion" and "diversity." She described how the party had been the first to elect a female congressman and the first African-American governor. "That's us. That's the Republican Party."
She repeated the democratic party line that Republicans are waging a "war on women." "Shame, shame, shame," she said.
6:14 p.m.
Brugger described how the federation is seeking to take down Sen. Mary Landrieu, in part due to what she described as the failure of the Affordable Care Act. "No matter how you spin it, that's a failure," she said.
She described the strengths of female Republican candidates outside of Louisiana, and how the organization plans to kickstart grass root efforts to help them get elected. Step one, as she described, was to use focus groups to look at how to express a message of "freedom and opportunity that will resonate among female voters in these races."
At the note of "freedom and opportunity," the audience erupted in wild applause.
6:19 p.m.
Senate candidate and Rep. Paul Hollis, of Jefferson Parish, welcomed delegates to the "state I'm so proud to call my home."He said the expansion of the federal government he has seen has been "breathtaking."
6:22 p.m.
Hollis described how he is a candidate who is the "polar opposite" of Landrieu. He described how she had been born in Virginia, while he had been born in the state to another political family. He described how he worked his way through LSU and started his own business. That has given him the ability to see a way to improve teh economy, he said: less government intervention and lower taxes. "They need to get out of the way."
Wild applause.
6:24 p.m.
Hollis described how he would be a reformer, seeking to carve out an amendment that would urge budget balance for the US government, as he believes leaving behind a legacy of debt for our children is "immoral." He said he would seek to term-limit congress and hold congress accountable to the same laws that govern Americans.
6:28 p.m.
The music between speakers is Phillip Phillips "Home [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPZ40bu6P0Y (next below)]."
6:30 p.m.
Now things are quieting down for a panel on free speech, especially regarding the recent Supreme Court decision on the McCutcheon case. Front and center now is Shaun McCutcheon, the Alabama citizen who waged that legal fight.
6:34 p.m.
McCutcheon's introduction of himself as a private citizen was enough to raise applause in this audience. "This has all been real exciting for an electrical engineer from Alabama," McCutcheon explained. "It's about your right to spend your money on as many candidates, committees, and parties that you choose in this free country. That's what it's about," he said, to further applause.
6:36 p.m.
David Bossie of Citizens United described how the case had overturned limits set by the McCain-Feingold Act. He described sitting next to John McCain in the Supreme Court, when the court announced his victory as a "lot of fun."
6:41 p.m.
Small technical difficulty here. Back to the discussion! The panel was speaking on how democrat-backed measures to limit campaign contributions are motivated on a desire to "silence all conservatives." Further discussion described how liberals have two strong voices at their advantage which republicans lack: unions and the media.
6:46 p.m.
I think the media representative next to me in the stands would be offended by the idea that the media is beholden to liberal viewpoints. He has no computer, and is carrying a single book: "The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers." The thing looks heavy, beloved. Its edges are gilded.
6:48 p.m.
Reince Priebus, RNC Committee chairman, started his speech off with a bang. "You ready to fire Mary Landrieu or what? Better than that - you ready to fire Harry Reed? You ready to take back the U.S. Senate?" Priebus said. The room erupted.
Update on what I described an hour ago as an empty room: the Grand Ballroom is now packed, with attendees who couldn't find seats standing in the back.
6:52 p.m.
Priebus leads a moving story about taking his son to the World War II monument in Washington D.C. into an argument that the United States has lost sight of the freedoms it fought for in that war. Priebus said the GOP is waging that fight still -- the fight for freedom, "Freedom that this president is squandering."
"Here we are in 2014 in a battle for freedom."
6:56 p.m.
Priebus says the party needs to become a four-year party, not a party that he described as towing to those candidates it endorses a "U-haul...of cash." He described how democrats seek to register voters years ahead of elections. "We have to be a national party," he said.
6:59 p.m.
Reibus described the primary system as a "total disaster" and the round of debates a potential president mus speak at a "traveling circus."
7:00 p.m.
In an anecdote about his background in Wisconsin, Reibus declared himself a Packers fan, to huge boos. Way to go, Louisiana spirit! Who dat.
7:03 p.m.
Reibus ended the speech with the major take-away. "We need to save this country and win in 2016."
7:04 p.m.
Jindal up, with special spotlight lighting and a standing ovation. He starts out promising to describe "the biggest most important challenge facing our country." A voice in the audience called out "Common Core!" His speech rolled on, regardless.
Jindal said the biggest challenge was how President Barack Obama has left a legacy that included "the redefinition of the American dream." He said that in America, "the circumstances of your birth don't determine your outcomes as an adult." That is the American Dream, as Jindal defined it.
But he said that Obama has altered it by supporting redistribution programs, a program he said is "not about equality of opportunity. It's about equality of outcomes."
"His answer to every problem is more government spending, more redistribution. That's not the American dream, that's the American nightmare."
7:09 p.m.
Jindal describes how his father grew up in poverty, but worked to give him and his brother a "better chance in life."
Quoting Mark Twain ("The older you get, the smarter your parents become"), Jindal described how his father's lessons about working hard to earn a better quality of life has made him successful.
"My dad was exactly right when he told us it was so important to get a great education," Jindal said.
Will Common Core come up after all?
7:13 p.m.
Jindal described how the state has made reforms to ensure education for all children, what he called a "moral imperative." He described the importance of placing good teachers in classrooms.
First step: "Why don't we start paying them, hiring them, and firing them, based on how well they're doing instead of how long they've been breathing in the classroom," Jindal said. "In Louisiana we've done that."
Second step: "We've said that dollars should follow the child instead of making the child follow the dollars." He described the choices available to students in Orleans Parish selecting between charter schools.
He said the program's received a 93% approval rating from parents and that he valued that rating. "I'm here to tell you that parents are the first and best educators. We need to trust the American people."
7:19 p.m.
And it's out: "I'm against the Common Core," he said.
Jindal said he felt there was something "fundamentally wrong" when the federal government does not accept a state program that received a 93% approval rating from parents. He said the program reflects a belief that "they know best they don't need to listen to parents."
He compared it to legislation proposed by New York Mayor Bloomberg that would have regulated soda sizes, as though "we're not smart enough to decide what size soda we should be drinking."
7:24 p.m.
Jindal described what he saw as another major priority, what he described as a government "assault on our religious liberty" Referencing the Hobby Lobby case in our "increasingly secular society," Jindal said he would prioritize religious liberty. "America did not create religious liberty. Religious liberty created America."
7:28 p.m.
Jindal referenced upcoming speaker, Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty and described how when Robertson came under fire for controversial remarks against homosexuals and African-Americans, Jindal rose to become one of Robertson's "loudest and earliest defenders." He said he did not defend Robertson because they shared the same home state, but because he was "tired of those who say they're for tolerance...unless you happen to disagree with them."
7:30 p.m.
Jindal wrapped-up speech to wild, wild applause and a standing ovation that is...yes...still going.
7:36 p.m.
Private press conference with Jindal. He compared bureacratic mishandling of veteran healthcare to bureaucratic incompetence he says the state saw after the BP oil well explosion in 2010.
7:40 p.m.
Jindal now speaking in conference about Common Core, which he has spoken strongly against, surviving in the state legislature [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/louisiana_senate_common_core_v.html ]. He says the legislature still has a chance before a Monday deadline to find a way to "at the very least...delay" the implementation. Past that point, he said, he is "looking at all possibilities we can take if the legislature does not act." Jindal said he has "staff and attorneys looking at those different actions."
And he described what he saw was important about halting what he called a "one-size fits all standards and test."
"The arrogance here -- here's what's amazing to me: you got folks who think they know best who aren't listening to parents."
7:48 p.m.
Jindal says he won't make a decision about running for president until after the mid-term elections. "It's something that we're certainly thinking about and were praying about," Jindal said. "My wife and I, we wont make any decisions until after the November elections."
8:02 p.m.
Sarah Palin pops up on stage to major applause. "I was just in the neighborhood. I heard a duck calling. And it was mixed up with a little tune of common sense. And some major going rogue."
It's clear now who she is set to introduce: Phil Robertson.
She described the Duck Dynasty patriarch as a "self-made entrepreneur" akin to those who formed America, an "educator and a church elder who inspires others to be bold and to embrace family."
"His life is a testament to those truths, to...get off your butt to make a buck," Palin said, seemingly channeling the Robertson family's evocative language.
But Palin went deeper than cheeky language, referencing what might unfold to be Robertson's political future. "Maybe he should be not just the Duck Commander. How about a Duck Commander in Chief?"
Applause.
8:12 p.m.
Aha - it's not Robertson! It's Zach Dasher, a nephew of Phil Robertson, speaking of "how we can reclaim America."
He warns his speech might not be politically correct...
8:19 p.m.
Robertson is up now. He started by setting himself apart from the other speakers. First, he was wearing camoflauge pants for hunting and what was perhaps a polar fleece. "I have on the very best clothes I own," he said. "I never got around to buying a suit. Louisiana Tech gave me one for traveling ball games i dont know whatever happened to it...I just never really found the need for one. I've never owned a ring or a watch or a cell phone. And I've never turned on a computer in my life."
"I'm a C + man," he said, then embarked on a joke. "Hey, I'm smarter than half of them!"
Laughter and applause.
"And some of you are saying are you some kind of idiot. Actually I'm a multi-millionaire and I'm famous so shut up and sit down."
And more laughter and applause. This man is popular in this crowd. And no wonder: he's sort of kind of popular in America. Number one show on cable.
"That means," Robertson said. "You can do without a whole lot of things and still make it."
Applause.
8:23 p.m.
On the show's matriarch, Kay, and why Robertson is not "running around" with long-legged Hollywood types. "It's biblical," he said. "One man one woman for life."
Robertson re-iterated his belief in a Christian society. He reads a 1983 Senate and US House resolution authorizing the president to designate 1983 as the national year of the Bible. Reading it, he sounds very much like the preacher he has publicly become for so many millions of Americans, slowing down to pronounce the word "God" as fully as it could be said.
He read from speeches and prayers written by George Washington, which cited religion, and a speech by John Adams. "It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles on which freedom can securely stand...You lose your religion, you lose your morality, and you lose your freedom," he said, quoting Adams.
8:29 p.m.
Robertson addressed the question of the day: why he, a reality TV star, had been invited to the political event. "I'm not a political person I guess the GOP may be more desperate than I thought to call somebody like me," Robertson said, to laughter.
He described how he had already laid down to sleep -- about a foot away from a firearm ("I'm always this close to firepower," he said, reaching out about half as far as his arm could go), when his house got the call. His brother asked if he would be willing to speak at the GOP. "I said, book it."
"Religion is the basis and foundation of your government," Robertson said, quoting Madison, and reiterating his central point: that the state should be more closely tied to the church, or not separated at all.
8:34 pm.
Though he has delivered controversial remarks on race previously, Robertson's point on the subject tonight was inclusive and difficult to argue with; he hammered home a point of racial unity. "There is one race on this planet it's called the human race. Therefore you have no right to color-code anyone. No one we're all of the same family....the color of your skin does not determine the character of your person."
8:35 p.m.
I don't know exactly what photographer Chris Granger will shoot of this conference, but I am visually enchanted by Robertson's flowing Santa beard -- even more so in person than I am when watching it on Duck Dynasty. It looks cleaner here than when he goes beaver hunting, however. Very white-ish gray.
8:37 p.m.
Calls White House "lies" "evil and wicked." Says the executive office is "downright embarrassing." He preached a return to the values established by the founding fathers. Since the nation was founded, he said, "We screwed it up."
8:38 p.m.
"Education is useless without the bible," Robertson said. He quoted Noah Webster saying that the bible was a useful textbook for all fields in life.
8:39 p.m.
Robertson said that in the wake of the GQ article that raised a storm of controversy, he had endured an oppression that made him feel closer to Jesus Christ. "I quoted him a bible verse," he said, referring to the reporter. He asked the audience what they thought had come since he had made those statements. Then answered his own question: "Hatred came my way. Exclusion came my way. Insolence came my way. Rejection came my way. You know what Jesus said when that comes your way? Rejoice and be glad."
Applause.
8:43 p.m.
By allowing the bible in classrooms, Robertson said crime could be prevented. He said he wondered that if children were taught to "love your neighbor," if they would ever engage in shootings.
8:44 p.m.
He summarized his points, saying he was against the separation of church and state. "Separation of church and state? I'm telling you right here what the founding fathers said. Does it sound to you like separating God almighty from the United States of America?"
8:47 p.m.
Robertson blasted the GOP for not being close enough to the church -- a point that caused a long, standing ovation. "You can't be right for America if you're wrong with God," he said.
8:49 p.m.
Speaking strongly against abortion, Robertson still made a point to reach out to the women in the audience who he said might have been "guilty" of the sin of committing an abortion. "The blood of Jesus is sufficient to remove that sin," he said.
8:50 p.m.
A point of lightness... On the point that his religious speech might make him "some kind of preacher": "Do I look like a preacher?...We're not passing the plate or the hat!"
His cure for the GOP? "You want to turn the Republican party around get godly."
He spoke against the possibility of evolution, which he said the discovery of DNA had proved was wrong. He called the idea we had "crawled out of the ocean" was "bunk."
8:55 p.m.
He transitioned into leading a kind of prayer, addressing God with bowed head. Many in the audience followed along. "I pray for my country father we have really screwed this thing out. We started out with you - full of faith...Help us turn our country around."
"Give us strength, give us courage, above all father give us love each day."
And now a simple ending.
"Amen. I'm done."
A standing ovation.
8:58 p.m.
Ben Sasse, the republican Senate nominee for Nebraska, has the tough job of following Robertson while the audience clears. "That is a tough act to follow as you might imagine," Sasse said.
9:02 p.m.
I would gauge half the audience here for Robertson has left. Empty rows.
9:05 p.m.
He says he's here to give a report on what he experienced in Nebraska on a campaign bus, where he says he heard Americans speak against a strong federal government that infringes on the values held outside of Washington D.C. But they also speak against politicians who only speak against federal measures without proposing alternatives. As an example, he described a privatized healthcare insurance alternative to Obama's Affordable Care Act. "They want us to propose actual solutions," he said. "We have to explain what we're for."
9:31 p.m.
Sasse admitted (ooh!) to speaking to Democrats, and defended that decision. "We want to win them to the right side for our future."
*
Related Story
'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson to GOP: 'Get Godly'
May 30, 2014
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/ducky_dynasty_star_phil_robert.html
*
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http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/follow_live_coverage_of_republ.html [with comments]
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by Christian Dem in NC
Tue Jun 03, 2014 at 03:24 PM PDT
Many of you know that at last week's Republican Leadership Conference, Phil Robertson declared that if the Republican Party is to turn itself around, it needs to "get Godly" and take a harder line on social issues. But a lot of us missed an even more cringeworthy moment beforehand. While she was introducing the Duck Commander, Palin suggested that he ought to run for president [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/follow_live_coverage_of_republ.html (next below)].
She described the Duck Dynasty patriarch as a "self-made entrepreneur" akin to those who formed America, an "educator and a church elder who inspires others to be bold and to embrace family."
"His life is a testament to those truths, to...get off your butt to make a buck," Palin said, seemingly channeling the Robertson family's evocative language.
But Palin went deeper than cheeky language, referencing what might unfold to be Robertson's political future. "Maybe he should be not just the Duck Commander. How about a Duck Commander in Chief?"
Applause.
While Robertson's homophobia is par for the course among the GOP base, I figure that even some of the most right-wing Republicans out there would balk at voting for a guy who thinks it's OK for grown men to actively pursue teenage girls. We already knew Palin's standards weren't that high to begin with. But even if she wasn't a mother of three girls, this would be frightening.
Last week, I had to leave a Facebook group of which I was a longtime member after I objected to Palin being called a whore--and several other members said she deserved it for all the bile she's spewed over the last six-plus years. As loathsome as Palin is, no woman deserves to be degraded. Period. Indeed, anyone who called Palin a whore here would get hiderated into oblivion. Now this comes out. This is yet more proof that no good deed goes unpunished. Also.
© Kos Media, LLC
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/06/03/1304153/-Sarah-Palin-wants-Phil-Robertson-to-run-for-president [with comments]
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Live coverage of GOP conference speakers Bobby Jindal, Phil Robertson at 6 p.m.
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, right, gets a hug from former presidential candidate Sarah Palin at the Republican Leadership Conference held in New Orleans on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
(Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson uses his fingers to make the shape of a cross at the Republican Leadership Conference held in New Orleans on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
(Photo by Chris Granger, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)
By Adriane Quinlan, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on May 29, 2014 at 9:03 PM, updated May 29, 2014 at 9:34 PM
The annual Republican Leadership Conference [ http://rlc2014.com/rlc2014/ ] is starting off with a bang Thursday night. The slate of powerhouse conservative speakers includes Gov. Bobby Jindal [ http://topics.nola.com/tag/bobby-jindal/index.html ] and "Duck Dynasty" [ http://topics.nola.com/tag/duck%20dynasty/posts.html ] patriarch Phil Robertson. The event begins at 6 p.m., and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune will cover it live here. All interested readers are encouraged to jump in the comment stream and join the fray.
To learn more about the events at the Republican Leadership Conference or the influence that the gathering holds over upcoming mid-term elections, read more here [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/republican_leadership_conferen.html ].
5:58 p.m.
Let's get things started! The room has quite a lot of empty seats still, with a trickle of conference-goers moving in to fill them.
Demetra DeMonta, RNC committeewoman started things off, describing how she had experienced a political conversion -- practically born a democrat in Chicago, to swing to the other side due to the energy of the Reagan presidency. Her speech garnered big applause when she upped the ante. "We're going to take Mary Landrieu out," she said, to cheers.
6:01 p.m.
Roger Villere Jr. lead the room in prayer in a darkened room. "We just thank you for getting everyone here safe we ask you to give strength and courage to our speakers," Villere said, solemnly.
6:04 p.m.
Kathy Brugger, president of the National Federation of Republican Women, is being introduced by June Williams, president of the state chapter of the NFRW. I would wager that women make up about 35% of the audience here, and I wonder if Brugger is one of the reasons that they came out tonight.
6:07 p.m.
Counting down her points, Brugger called the GOP the party of "inclusion" and "diversity." She described how the party had been the first to elect a female congressman and the first African-American governor. "That's us. That's the Republican Party."
She repeated the democratic party line that Republicans are waging a "war on women." "Shame, shame, shame," she said.
6:14 p.m.
Brugger described how the federation is seeking to take down Sen. Mary Landrieu, in part due to what she described as the failure of the Affordable Care Act. "No matter how you spin it, that's a failure," she said.
She described the strengths of female Republican candidates outside of Louisiana, and how the organization plans to kickstart grass root efforts to help them get elected. Step one, as she described, was to use focus groups to look at how to express a message of "freedom and opportunity that will resonate among female voters in these races."
At the note of "freedom and opportunity," the audience erupted in wild applause.
6:19 p.m.
Senate candidate and Rep. Paul Hollis, of Jefferson Parish, welcomed delegates to the "state I'm so proud to call my home."He said the expansion of the federal government he has seen has been "breathtaking."
6:22 p.m.
Hollis described how he is a candidate who is the "polar opposite" of Landrieu. He described how she had been born in Virginia, while he had been born in the state to another political family. He described how he worked his way through LSU and started his own business. That has given him the ability to see a way to improve teh economy, he said: less government intervention and lower taxes. "They need to get out of the way."
Wild applause.
6:24 p.m.
Hollis described how he would be a reformer, seeking to carve out an amendment that would urge budget balance for the US government, as he believes leaving behind a legacy of debt for our children is "immoral." He said he would seek to term-limit congress and hold congress accountable to the same laws that govern Americans.
6:28 p.m.
The music between speakers is Phillip Phillips "Home [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPZ40bu6P0Y (next below)]."
And for some reason, it is now playing very, very loudly. And while the next speaker is attempting to talk, tapping his microphone. No one is laughing at this mishap, somehow.
6:30 p.m.
Now things are quieting down for a panel on free speech, especially regarding the recent Supreme Court decision on the McCutcheon case. Front and center now is Shaun McCutcheon, the Alabama citizen who waged that legal fight.
6:34 p.m.
McCutcheon's introduction of himself as a private citizen was enough to raise applause in this audience. "This has all been real exciting for an electrical engineer from Alabama," McCutcheon explained. "It's about your right to spend your money on as many candidates, committees, and parties that you choose in this free country. That's what it's about," he said, to further applause.
6:36 p.m.
David Bossie of Citizens United described how the case had overturned limits set by the McCain-Feingold Act. He described sitting next to John McCain in the Supreme Court, when the court announced his victory as a "lot of fun."
6:41 p.m.
Small technical difficulty here. Back to the discussion! The panel was speaking on how democrat-backed measures to limit campaign contributions are motivated on a desire to "silence all conservatives." Further discussion described how liberals have two strong voices at their advantage which republicans lack: unions and the media.
6:46 p.m.
I think the media representative next to me in the stands would be offended by the idea that the media is beholden to liberal viewpoints. He has no computer, and is carrying a single book: "The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers." The thing looks heavy, beloved. Its edges are gilded.
6:48 p.m.
Reince Priebus, RNC Committee chairman, started his speech off with a bang. "You ready to fire Mary Landrieu or what? Better than that - you ready to fire Harry Reed? You ready to take back the U.S. Senate?" Priebus said. The room erupted.
Update on what I described an hour ago as an empty room: the Grand Ballroom is now packed, with attendees who couldn't find seats standing in the back.
6:52 p.m.
Priebus leads a moving story about taking his son to the World War II monument in Washington D.C. into an argument that the United States has lost sight of the freedoms it fought for in that war. Priebus said the GOP is waging that fight still -- the fight for freedom, "Freedom that this president is squandering."
"Here we are in 2014 in a battle for freedom."
6:56 p.m.
Priebus says the party needs to become a four-year party, not a party that he described as towing to those candidates it endorses a "U-haul...of cash." He described how democrats seek to register voters years ahead of elections. "We have to be a national party," he said.
6:59 p.m.
Reibus described the primary system as a "total disaster" and the round of debates a potential president mus speak at a "traveling circus."
7:00 p.m.
In an anecdote about his background in Wisconsin, Reibus declared himself a Packers fan, to huge boos. Way to go, Louisiana spirit! Who dat.
7:03 p.m.
Reibus ended the speech with the major take-away. "We need to save this country and win in 2016."
7:04 p.m.
Jindal up, with special spotlight lighting and a standing ovation. He starts out promising to describe "the biggest most important challenge facing our country." A voice in the audience called out "Common Core!" His speech rolled on, regardless.
Jindal said the biggest challenge was how President Barack Obama has left a legacy that included "the redefinition of the American dream." He said that in America, "the circumstances of your birth don't determine your outcomes as an adult." That is the American Dream, as Jindal defined it.
But he said that Obama has altered it by supporting redistribution programs, a program he said is "not about equality of opportunity. It's about equality of outcomes."
"His answer to every problem is more government spending, more redistribution. That's not the American dream, that's the American nightmare."
7:09 p.m.
Jindal describes how his father grew up in poverty, but worked to give him and his brother a "better chance in life."
Quoting Mark Twain ("The older you get, the smarter your parents become"), Jindal described how his father's lessons about working hard to earn a better quality of life has made him successful.
"My dad was exactly right when he told us it was so important to get a great education," Jindal said.
Will Common Core come up after all?
7:13 p.m.
Jindal described how the state has made reforms to ensure education for all children, what he called a "moral imperative." He described the importance of placing good teachers in classrooms.
First step: "Why don't we start paying them, hiring them, and firing them, based on how well they're doing instead of how long they've been breathing in the classroom," Jindal said. "In Louisiana we've done that."
Second step: "We've said that dollars should follow the child instead of making the child follow the dollars." He described the choices available to students in Orleans Parish selecting between charter schools.
He said the program's received a 93% approval rating from parents and that he valued that rating. "I'm here to tell you that parents are the first and best educators. We need to trust the American people."
7:19 p.m.
And it's out: "I'm against the Common Core," he said.
Jindal said he felt there was something "fundamentally wrong" when the federal government does not accept a state program that received a 93% approval rating from parents. He said the program reflects a belief that "they know best they don't need to listen to parents."
He compared it to legislation proposed by New York Mayor Bloomberg that would have regulated soda sizes, as though "we're not smart enough to decide what size soda we should be drinking."
7:24 p.m.
Jindal described what he saw as another major priority, what he described as a government "assault on our religious liberty" Referencing the Hobby Lobby case in our "increasingly secular society," Jindal said he would prioritize religious liberty. "America did not create religious liberty. Religious liberty created America."
7:28 p.m.
Jindal referenced upcoming speaker, Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty and described how when Robertson came under fire for controversial remarks against homosexuals and African-Americans, Jindal rose to become one of Robertson's "loudest and earliest defenders." He said he did not defend Robertson because they shared the same home state, but because he was "tired of those who say they're for tolerance...unless you happen to disagree with them."
7:30 p.m.
Jindal wrapped-up speech to wild, wild applause and a standing ovation that is...yes...still going.
7:36 p.m.
Private press conference with Jindal. He compared bureacratic mishandling of veteran healthcare to bureaucratic incompetence he says the state saw after the BP oil well explosion in 2010.
7:40 p.m.
Jindal now speaking in conference about Common Core, which he has spoken strongly against, surviving in the state legislature [ http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/louisiana_senate_common_core_v.html ]. He says the legislature still has a chance before a Monday deadline to find a way to "at the very least...delay" the implementation. Past that point, he said, he is "looking at all possibilities we can take if the legislature does not act." Jindal said he has "staff and attorneys looking at those different actions."
And he described what he saw was important about halting what he called a "one-size fits all standards and test."
"The arrogance here -- here's what's amazing to me: you got folks who think they know best who aren't listening to parents."
7:48 p.m.
Jindal says he won't make a decision about running for president until after the mid-term elections. "It's something that we're certainly thinking about and were praying about," Jindal said. "My wife and I, we wont make any decisions until after the November elections."
8:02 p.m.
Sarah Palin pops up on stage to major applause. "I was just in the neighborhood. I heard a duck calling. And it was mixed up with a little tune of common sense. And some major going rogue."
It's clear now who she is set to introduce: Phil Robertson.
She described the Duck Dynasty patriarch as a "self-made entrepreneur" akin to those who formed America, an "educator and a church elder who inspires others to be bold and to embrace family."
"His life is a testament to those truths, to...get off your butt to make a buck," Palin said, seemingly channeling the Robertson family's evocative language.
But Palin went deeper than cheeky language, referencing what might unfold to be Robertson's political future. "Maybe he should be not just the Duck Commander. How about a Duck Commander in Chief?"
Applause.
8:12 p.m.
Aha - it's not Robertson! It's Zach Dasher, a nephew of Phil Robertson, speaking of "how we can reclaim America."
He warns his speech might not be politically correct...
8:19 p.m.
Robertson is up now. He started by setting himself apart from the other speakers. First, he was wearing camoflauge pants for hunting and what was perhaps a polar fleece. "I have on the very best clothes I own," he said. "I never got around to buying a suit. Louisiana Tech gave me one for traveling ball games i dont know whatever happened to it...I just never really found the need for one. I've never owned a ring or a watch or a cell phone. And I've never turned on a computer in my life."
"I'm a C + man," he said, then embarked on a joke. "Hey, I'm smarter than half of them!"
Laughter and applause.
"And some of you are saying are you some kind of idiot. Actually I'm a multi-millionaire and I'm famous so shut up and sit down."
And more laughter and applause. This man is popular in this crowd. And no wonder: he's sort of kind of popular in America. Number one show on cable.
"That means," Robertson said. "You can do without a whole lot of things and still make it."
Applause.
8:23 p.m.
On the show's matriarch, Kay, and why Robertson is not "running around" with long-legged Hollywood types. "It's biblical," he said. "One man one woman for life."
Robertson re-iterated his belief in a Christian society. He reads a 1983 Senate and US House resolution authorizing the president to designate 1983 as the national year of the Bible. Reading it, he sounds very much like the preacher he has publicly become for so many millions of Americans, slowing down to pronounce the word "God" as fully as it could be said.
He read from speeches and prayers written by George Washington, which cited religion, and a speech by John Adams. "It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles on which freedom can securely stand...You lose your religion, you lose your morality, and you lose your freedom," he said, quoting Adams.
8:29 p.m.
Robertson addressed the question of the day: why he, a reality TV star, had been invited to the political event. "I'm not a political person I guess the GOP may be more desperate than I thought to call somebody like me," Robertson said, to laughter.
He described how he had already laid down to sleep -- about a foot away from a firearm ("I'm always this close to firepower," he said, reaching out about half as far as his arm could go), when his house got the call. His brother asked if he would be willing to speak at the GOP. "I said, book it."
"Religion is the basis and foundation of your government," Robertson said, quoting Madison, and reiterating his central point: that the state should be more closely tied to the church, or not separated at all.
8:34 pm.
Though he has delivered controversial remarks on race previously, Robertson's point on the subject tonight was inclusive and difficult to argue with; he hammered home a point of racial unity. "There is one race on this planet it's called the human race. Therefore you have no right to color-code anyone. No one we're all of the same family....the color of your skin does not determine the character of your person."
8:35 p.m.
I don't know exactly what photographer Chris Granger will shoot of this conference, but I am visually enchanted by Robertson's flowing Santa beard -- even more so in person than I am when watching it on Duck Dynasty. It looks cleaner here than when he goes beaver hunting, however. Very white-ish gray.
8:37 p.m.
Calls White House "lies" "evil and wicked." Says the executive office is "downright embarrassing." He preached a return to the values established by the founding fathers. Since the nation was founded, he said, "We screwed it up."
8:38 p.m.
"Education is useless without the bible," Robertson said. He quoted Noah Webster saying that the bible was a useful textbook for all fields in life.
8:39 p.m.
Robertson said that in the wake of the GQ article that raised a storm of controversy, he had endured an oppression that made him feel closer to Jesus Christ. "I quoted him a bible verse," he said, referring to the reporter. He asked the audience what they thought had come since he had made those statements. Then answered his own question: "Hatred came my way. Exclusion came my way. Insolence came my way. Rejection came my way. You know what Jesus said when that comes your way? Rejoice and be glad."
Applause.
8:43 p.m.
By allowing the bible in classrooms, Robertson said crime could be prevented. He said he wondered that if children were taught to "love your neighbor," if they would ever engage in shootings.
8:44 p.m.
He summarized his points, saying he was against the separation of church and state. "Separation of church and state? I'm telling you right here what the founding fathers said. Does it sound to you like separating God almighty from the United States of America?"
8:47 p.m.
Robertson blasted the GOP for not being close enough to the church -- a point that caused a long, standing ovation. "You can't be right for America if you're wrong with God," he said.
8:49 p.m.
Speaking strongly against abortion, Robertson still made a point to reach out to the women in the audience who he said might have been "guilty" of the sin of committing an abortion. "The blood of Jesus is sufficient to remove that sin," he said.
8:50 p.m.
A point of lightness... On the point that his religious speech might make him "some kind of preacher": "Do I look like a preacher?...We're not passing the plate or the hat!"
His cure for the GOP? "You want to turn the Republican party around get godly."
He spoke against the possibility of evolution, which he said the discovery of DNA had proved was wrong. He called the idea we had "crawled out of the ocean" was "bunk."
8:55 p.m.
He transitioned into leading a kind of prayer, addressing God with bowed head. Many in the audience followed along. "I pray for my country father we have really screwed this thing out. We started out with you - full of faith...Help us turn our country around."
"Give us strength, give us courage, above all father give us love each day."
And now a simple ending.
"Amen. I'm done."
A standing ovation.
8:58 p.m.
Ben Sasse, the republican Senate nominee for Nebraska, has the tough job of following Robertson while the audience clears. "That is a tough act to follow as you might imagine," Sasse said.
9:02 p.m.
I would gauge half the audience here for Robertson has left. Empty rows.
9:05 p.m.
He says he's here to give a report on what he experienced in Nebraska on a campaign bus, where he says he heard Americans speak against a strong federal government that infringes on the values held outside of Washington D.C. But they also speak against politicians who only speak against federal measures without proposing alternatives. As an example, he described a privatized healthcare insurance alternative to Obama's Affordable Care Act. "They want us to propose actual solutions," he said. "We have to explain what we're for."
9:31 p.m.
Sasse admitted (ooh!) to speaking to Democrats, and defended that decision. "We want to win them to the right side for our future."
*
Related Story
'Duck Dynasty' star Phil Robertson to GOP: 'Get Godly'
May 30, 2014
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/ducky_dynasty_star_phil_robert.html
*
© 2014 NOLA Media Group
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/05/follow_live_coverage_of_republ.html [with comments]
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
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