The Vanderbilt Torch

CPAC 2009: What's the purpose?

I arrived at the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington a day late on February 27. This was mainly for reasons beyond my control, including a slew of papers and presentations that required me to remain in Nashville. As a result, I missed Thursday’s line-up of speakers, including Mike Huckabee, John Bolton, and Mike Pence.

No bother, I thought as my plane touched down in Baltimore late Thursday night. My first CPAC experience was not going to be ruined because I missed the inaugural reception for the Youth for Western Civilization. They save the better speakers and events for later in the conference.
At about 9:00 the next morning, I arrived at the Omni Shoreham and the chaos that was CPAC. As I made my way through the labyrinth of hallways looking for the check-in booth, I was accosted by a barrage of folks handing out flyers, pamphlets and leaflets inviting me to the “Forum on Liberty at 1:00” and a “panel on free markets tomorrow.” Because this was my first CPAC and I had only been in the building for a few minutes, I did with these flyers what I saw most other people doing: I threw them away.

TENNESSEE HOUSE: A Republican Speaker no more

The state's first Republican Speaker of the House in four decades could only claim that title for less than a month; Kent Williams, the second-term representative elected Speaker by Democrats and himself, is no longer a member of the GOP.

Outside Tennessee, there was little coverage or knowledge of Williams’ surprise election last January. At the time, the president’s transition and inauguration dominated national headlines, so the goings-on in Nashville received only a cursory overview in the national media.

ENGLISH ONLY: A lawmaker's complex story

In the run-up to Nashville’s January 22 special election, Councilman Eric Crafton was clearly tired. The 41-year-old Vanderbilt University graduate and Gulf War Navy veteran was the chief architect behind the English Only Charter Amendment, which Nashville voters defeated last week by a nine-point margin. After months of news stories, interviews, and debates, Crafton may have said all he could about the issue that has dominated Nashville politics for over two years.

English Only — or, as its supporters call it, English First — is, according to Crafton, an issue of city government “housekeeping.” He drafted a bill in 2006, with the Metropolitan Council voting in favor in 2007. Crafton described the bill, which was vetoed by then-Mayor Bill Purcell, as an honest attempt to close a logistical loophole in the way government did its business.

The election was two weeks away when I called Crafton, a real estate developer and homebuilder, at his Bellevue home. Uneager to explain but determined to set the record straight, he said that his interest in the issue began when he heard about other local governments operating under multiple languages.

NASHVILLE PROP 8 RALLY: Focus on Civil Rights for Gays

The group of gay rights supporters that gathered outside of the Davidson County Courthouse on Nov. 15 made their overall purpose clear from the get-go: they want equality, and they want it now.
Around 150 protesters gathered at the Public Square and along Union Street outside the Davidson County Courthouse on a cold mid-November Saturday. The protest was a response to the passing of California’s Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that has added a ban on any marriage not between a man and a woman to the state’s constitution. A Web site called Join the Impact helped organize the nationwide effort to protest the outcome in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Coming Obamapocalypse: How campaign tactics will translate into governance

With the nation nearing its election of the most radically left-wing major party candidate for president since George McGovern, there are several aspects of the otherwise unknown Barack Obama that indicate his election will usher in a new era in politics and governance. This prospect of change has been a hallmark of the Obama campaign, but both the senator’s thin record and his recent campaign tactics show a pattern of change that should disturb Americans.

Most worrisome of these tactics has been how Obama and his surrogates deal with those who criticize him. From his own stump speeches to official campaign business, Obama has made silencing or aggressively intimidating critics a cornerstone of his campaign. In April of this year, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer seized upon a recurring word — “distraction” — that dominate Obama’s responses to various charges about his character. When critics bring up any number of issues, from his ties to Bill Ayers to his twenty-year relationship with Jeremiah Wright to his involvement with voter-fraud front group ACORN, Obama simply labels these as distractions.

Saturday Night Reality: Herb and Marion Sandler, the Housing Crisis, and The Cap and Trade Crisis to Come

In a great step for a TV program that has seen better years, an obscure Saturday Night Live sketch may be the most spot-on analysis of the financial crisis yet. Unfortunately, NBC has now removed the video from its online video provider, Hulu.com.

The sketch, aired during SNL’s October 4 episode, depicts Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank (played by Kristin Wiig and Fred Armisen, respectively) placing all the blame for the financial markets meltdown on the economic policies of a confused President Bush (Jason Sudeikis). The Speaker then parades some “victims” in front of the cameras, including two deadbeats with criminal records, drug and alcohol problems, no jobs, and no credit—in other words, people who “fit all the requirements for a sub-prime mortgage.” Also among the victims are a yuppie couple who cannot pay their multiple mortgages on their timeshare condos without “selling the boat or putting off essential cosmetic surgery.”

The next “victims” of the meltdown, Herbert and Marion Sandler, are not, as the Pelosi character admits, actual victims. The sketch does not deviate much from the true story of the Sandlers, who began a savings and loan association called Golden West Financial, which they sold for a profit to Wachovia for $24 billion in 2006. Laughing as they described the failing Wachovia as the real victim, the Sandler characters thank Congressman Frank for working to block legislation for federal oversight.

Radar Offers Czechs a Window to the West

In 1988, the Communist regime still ran the show in Czechoslovakia, and “Star Wars” was both the ridiculed missile defense plan of Ronald Reagan and a respectable science fiction franchise.

Twenty years can sure make a difference.

While George Lucas’s directorial infallibility has diminished, the reality of missile defense has all but materialized, thanks in large part to the efforts of President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice traveled to Prague in July to sign a treaty establishing installation of a United States radar tracking system in the Czech Republic. The Czech parliament still needs to vote on the treaty, but President Vaclav Klaus and the government approved the second and final part of the treaty this summer.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Speaks Bravely and Freely about Islam

Last month’s IMPACT Symposium brought a relatively unknown but highly influential contemporary figure to campus. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somalian-born former Dutch MP, spoke on the first night of the annual series, which had the theme this year of “Middle East vs. West.” This theme could very well have been designed with Hirsi Ali specifically in mind; the former Muslim speaks and writes about the incompatibility that exists between Western liberal society and the restrictive culture of Islam, particularly in areas that implement or attempt to implement sharia law.

Documentary on Iraq "Truth" Reveals Bias

Patricia Foulkrod’s The Ground Truth tells the story of the Iraq War veteran’s recruitment, training, combat experience, and return home through the testament of several former soldiers, sailors, and Marines who have experienced many forms of physical or psychological injury while in Iraq. The film was shown on February 19 as the inaugural presentation of the Iraq War Series. The month and a half-long series is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students, Project Dialogue, and the University Lectures Committee, with support from the Film Studies program, the Philosophy department, Sarratt Art Studios, Vanderbilt Speakers Committee, and Vanderbilt Student Communications (this paper’s parent corporation).

Lobbying For Realism in Student Government

For about one year, the Vanderbilt undergraduate student body has been subject to the relatively limited governance of Vanderbilt Student Government. This organization was created by merging of the former Student Government Association and Interhall in an attempt to combine traditional student government with residence hall government. Now, after almost one year with Cara Bilotta at the helm of VSG, the outgoing president has some crowning achievements under her belt; nevertheless, a few of her campaign promises fell through. Now that the new VSG presidential candidates are echoing some of these same failed policy ideas, it calls into question whether VSG can really accomplish all it says it will.