Conservative Honcho Revels in Bush Departure
American Conservative Union Chair Says GOP Is 'Free at Last'
CPAC's keynote address will be delivered by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., whom Keene lauded as the "smartest" Republican in Congress when it comes to applying conservative principles to new problems.
As in past years, CPAC is expected to conduct an unscientific straw poll of conference attendees. The straw poll's language has not yet been released but it is expected to include a question that will take conference attendees' initial temperature on whom they expect to be the GOP's 2012 nominee.
Keene thinks Obama's quick climb from state legislature to White House in four years has rewritten the rules of presidential politics.
"Obama proved you're never a cycle away," Keene said.
Reflecting on Obama's 2008 win, Keene argued that it did not amount to a triumph for liberalism.
The ACU chair said Obama won by neutralizing conservatives on taxes, where he promised a break to 95 percent of Americans; education, where he sounded independent from teachers' unions; and health care, where he focused his general election ads not on an expanded government role but rather his opposition to Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., plan to tax employer-provided health care benefits.
"(Obama) ran a centrist campaign, because he recognized something that most liberals don't: On basic core beliefs, we remain a marginally right of center country," said Keene.
Keene praised House Republican leaders for unanimously voting against the spending contained in Obama's stimulus package.
"We are free at last," said Keene, referring to congressional Republicans taking a tougher line against government spending now that Bush is gone.
Although he complimented the political skill Obama showed during the campaign, Keene argued that Democrats would lose their grip on power by confusing the public's 2008 rejection of GOP performance with a rejection of conservative goals.
He also mocked the president's call this week to cut the deficit in half, noting that cutting an estimated trillion dollar deficit in half would still leave the United States with a $500 billion deficit.
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