CPAC Cont'd

This year's CPAC event has offered one great speaker after another. There was barely time to use the rest room or grab a bite for fear of missing something good.

Marco Rubio, U.S. Senate candidate for Florida was the opening speaker and what a dynamic one he was. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll win and is a true up and comer.

Jim DeMint, Senator out of South Carolina was next. He was witty, charming and full of interesting facts. Did you know that in the original constitution there was no allowance for federal taxes? Geez, I wonder what happened...

Next big name was Lynn Cheney with a surprise appearance by her father, Dick Cheney. What a powerful pair they make. Dick Cheney predicted that Obama would be a one term president and of course the crowd roared.

Several other, less well known republicans got up to speak such as Joshua Mandel who had an incredibly inspiring story to tell. He is an Ohio State Rep who also served 2 terms in Iraq with the Marine Corp. His story and message was one of never giving up, endurance and passion in the face of strong opposition. I found myself standing up clapping and cheering him on.

Jason Mattera, head of the Young Americans Foundation also spoke and was young, scrappy and funny.

One of the highlights and surprises of the day's speakers, was Scott Brown, newly elected U.S. MA Senator. He introduced Mitt Romney. The both of them lit the crowd on fire! Romney was particularly on his game and gave a fiery speech like I've never heard before. Add to that some great jokes about an Olympian and Obama and once again, I stood up and cheered! My favorite line from him was his crack about when it comes time to pin the blame about the economy, we should pin the tail on the donkey.

Dick Armey, former House Majority Leader from Texas ragged on Obama's income redistribution mantra and drew lots of applause.

The last of the big names to speak was Representative John Boehner and Minority Leader from Ohio. I've watched him battle the Dems over the last year and he's tough. He and Mitch McConnel, Senate Republican Leader from Kentucky, have had to fight Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for the last year and have done a pretty good job. Its so easy for us arm chair politicians sitting at home to advise, criticize and complain about what has or hasn't happened in DC and place blame on our leaders. But we're not there, in the belly of the beast having to do battle. Kudos to Boehner and McConnell for putting their best forward and not backing down in the face of overwhelming pressure.

There were several minor speakers, reps of the Tea Party and various other groups, but to name them all here would take up too much space. Overall, it was an exciting day for those of us who have conservative beliefs. I look forward to listening to the next round of speakers such as Glenn Beck, Michelle Bachman, Santorum and Newt.