It started out a good day. The sun was bright and just peeking up over the horizon and the lingering notes of Beethoven's 7th symphony from last night's Philadelphia Orchestra concert were in my ear. Then it hit. NPR's story on the CPAC convention.
As you all know, Michelle Bachman opened the gig. If ever there was someone whose 15 minutes of fame are long overdue to end, it is her.
Rand Paul was first up. Will you "fight for and help me defend the Constitution?" he asked. But which Constitution? The one without direct election of Senators? Or the one without the 14th Amendment?
NPR went on to report that as many as half of the CPAC attendees are students -- this is somewhat disconcerting because it shows that the Tea Party has a broader appeal than to just old folks who want the government's hands off thier Medicare. One student who was interviewed railed about "bailout after bailout, bad spending policy after bad spending policy." Specifics were hard to come by, and , of course, it is only the last two years they seem concerned about. You know, since that uppity not-so-black man took office. The only silver lining was that, in the words of one young attendee, "I don't think my generation cares about [same-sex marriage] at all."
But here's the part that really turned my stomach. CPAC's "Defender of the Constitution Award" went to none other than Donald Rumsfeld. And he was introduced by Dearth Cheney himself. Now, it wasn't all smiles and roses. Even at CPAC, some with a conscience heckeled them and walked out. Still, they presented the award. Rumsfeld reminisced,"I remember a time when CPAC didn't exist, Ronald Reagan was still an actor, Barry Goldwater was our candidate for President, and we only worried about socialism outside the United States."
These are the "Defenders of the Constitution?" Rand Paul, who thinks that constitutionally-protected civil rights shouldn't exist? Don Rumsfeld, who approved and carried out orders for "inhanced interrogation" in violation of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution? Dick Cheney, who coined the "ticking time bomb" justification for torture? If these are the Defenders of the Constitution, then I want a new Constitution.
I turned off the radio before the end of the story and told my 12-year-old daughter, "Those people make me sick." Then I tried to go back to thinking about the sunshine and Beethoven's 7th. But it wasn't the same.