So for all the endless efforts by the managers of the CPAC conference to head off a visible revolt of social conservatives, looks like they were preparing for the wrong threat to unity. When Dick Cheney showed up to give Donald Rumsfeld an award, it was an irresistable provocation to the large number of Ron Paul Revolutionaries in the audience, some of whom walked out while others stayed to noisily heckle the two old warriors.
As Dave Weigel quickly pointed out, the CPAC folks blundered badly by scheduling the neocon nostalgia-fest immediately after Rand Paul’s speech, which naturally attracted every Paulite in greater Washington. All whipped up by Paul the Younger’s remarks, they naturally cut lose when two of their most formidable enemies took the stage. The name of Rumsfeld’s award–“Defender of the Constitution”–probably didn’t help.
Now that they are properly aroused, it will be interesting to see how many Paulites participate in Saturday’s presidential straw poll, which their zany leader won last year.