“I think that CPAC has become increasingly more libertarian and less Republican over the last years, one of the reasons I didn’t go this year”

I don’t know if it’s fair to say it has become more Libertarian. Certainly, Dick Cheney (now hospitalized with chest pains), and Jim DeMint are not Libertarians. Although I agree it’s become less GOP centric. That’s a reflection on the GOP, not CPAC. For one, I applaud the CPAC for the energy it gives conservatives, and feel they owe the GOP nothing.

Bill Bennett went a step further:

“To say the GOP and the Democrats are no different, to say the GOP needs to hit a recovery-program-type bottom and hang its head in remorse, is to delay our own country’s recovery from the problems the Democratic left is inflicting.”

Having watched the speech end to end, I can tell you Beck didn’t say there is no difference between the GOP and the Democrats. He did definitely reiterate (more than I thought was necessary), that both the GOP and Democrats have spent too much. Beck’s a Libertarian, though, how surprising is criticism of Republicans, really?

Bennett’s criticism seems to focus on how Beck didn’t help the GOP. To that I say, so what!? Beck is there to speak to the CPAC, not provide more partisan blathering for so-called “moderate” GOP members. To follow Bennett’s advice we ought to simply elect another big spending, socially conservative, nation building President. Frankly, we’ve tried that. While it’s better than what we have now, it’s far from ideal.

There is a need for unity, however. Due to our two-party system, splintering is always a big risk, and we shouldn’t cannibalize our own cause by nitpicking differences. On that, Beck makes another good point:

“It’s not enough to not suck as much as the other side”

Indeed it isn’t. Look at what failure to elect really conservative Republicans has bought us so far. An unfunded, multi-trillion dollar liability called Medicare Part D, an expensive and unnecessary TARP bill, and GM bailouts even Congress decided against.

Did it occur to these criticizers that Beck just wants stronger conservative candidates? We can nitpick the manner in which Beck said that, but I’d rather just work toward the goal.

Like we have come to expect, he wears his heart on his sleeve. The crowd was as enthusiastic as you could imagine, and ate up the truly conservative message.

You can view the live feed we presented on our Twitter page @keene_politics where we documented that tastiest morsels he served up.

CPAC voters are serious about “change we can believe in”, and Ron Paul fits the bill. He is the most conservative independent thinking man I can think of in politics.

Congrats, Ron!

This year we’ll be treated to Glenn Beck at 6pm ET. I expect this to run long too. Glenn’s trajectory has been nothing but upward since his move to Fox News and the 5pm ET slot. The crowd should be very fired up.

We’ll be tweeting during the event for those of you who won’t be in front of your TV, for those who will be home Fox will carry the keynote in its entirety. Viva Beck.