Rand Paul is CPAC Straw Poll Winner

Senator Rand "Paul took 31 percent of the nearly 2,500 votes cast" in the Washington Times/CPAC straw poll taken during the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend (Senator Ted Cruz came in second with 11 percent). Paul won last year's poll as well, and Roger Simon @ pjmedia thinks he knows why:

He [Paul] seems future oriented, unlike the rest of the potential candidates who mouth platitudes, liberal and conservative, bashing each other in the most tedious manner imaginable. Yes, the liberal side is by far more repellent, and old fashioned in ideology to the point of ridiculousness, but this does not absolve the right of the need to come up with forward-thinking solutions to the obvious American decline.

That is why Paul appeals to the young who are oriented, as they should be, toward the future.  The whole Democratic Party is oriented toward the past and so are, alas, too many of the Republicans.  ...

Paul is doing the right thing in seeking to expand the Republican base — appealing directly to minorities and students to explain how conservative/libertarian policies are better for them, instead of running and hiding from these liberal constituencies as Republicans normally do.  That Paul is going into the very bowels of the beast in the next few days, UC Berkeley,  to give  a speech is commendable and dramatic.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some interesting results.  The time is certainly ripe.  And beyond that, I think we all know that if we show people some respect they often — though certainly not always — return the favor.

Dressing for Success ... or Not

"Women will be future leaders, too," writes Dr. Melissa Clouthier, "and I was dismayed to see how many of them either looked frumpish or like two-bit whores" at the recent CPAC conference in DC. In a blog post entitled CPAC: The Jersey Shore-ification of Our Young People, she continues:

Women, if you’re at a conference where you’re learning to be a future politician or wish to succeed in the business of politics, dress the part. No, you don’t have to be in a business suit with pearls. However, modesty is a minimum. So:
1. No cleavage. That’s right. Cover that up. I say “no” in absolutist terms because women will show a tiny bit and that’s okay, but really, in a business environment where ideas are the priority, a dude thinking about your ta-tas is counter-productive.
2. Skirts no more than three finger-widths above the knee. Why do I even have to write this? Well, because someone is allowing these girls out of the house with mini-skirts that reveal too much.
3. Save the stilettos for Saturday night on a date with your boyfriend.
4. Bend at the knee. No, I don’t want to see your butt.

It is disheartening that these ideas even need to be written about, but clearly they do. If, at the number one conservative conference of the year, young men and women are looking and acting like the cast of Jersey Shore, it’s time to reset the compass.

UPDATE: Laura Donovan defends female CPACers here.

Victory, Not Compromise

Speaking at the CPAC conference, Senator Jim DeMint gave a "rousing speech about the importance of victory over compromise" in Washington DC, "point out that the victorious New York Giants didn't take the field to 'work with' the other guys or 'cooperate' with the opposing quarterback."

"Conservatism is not a political 'theory'," said DeMint. "It is a proven set of principles to make life better, and people freer, and the country stronger." He added that liberal social planning and the central control of economics isn't a political theory either—"it's a proven failure."

Senator DeMint is "working hard to build a Congress that can pass top-quality legislation to restore American liberty," as he explained to a recent Conservative Women's Network gathering. His remarks, entitled "It's Now or Never," can be viewed on the Institute's YouTube channel.