This is my first shot at the American Conservative Union’s (ACU) Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). I intend to capture as many cogent remarks by the speakers as possible in order to convey the highlights. I previously posted my notes from the morning Thursday sessions here and here. This is what I captured during the next increment of Thursday’s sessions in the afternoon.

Rep. Louie Gohmert’s (R-TX) remarks:

• We help our good neighbor Mexico by cutting down on corruption and crime by building the wall. It is rampant corruption that prevents economic development in Mexico.
• We also need deterrence. We have to secure the border and stop the flow of people coming in, or we are going to lose the country.
• We need to stop dead people from voting Democrat.
• We squandered two years (2017-18). If we will stand up for what we said we’re going to do, we’ll have a better shot at keeping the Senate if we just pass a bill funding the border wall.
• We need to secure the border with no amnesty until the wall is built.
• We also need poll watchers in each precinct to prevent ballots changed from Republican to Democrat (and other voter fraud shenanigans perpetrated by Democrats).
• If people aren’t willing to fight for their inheritances, there are always other people willing to step in and steal them. The same goes for our constitutional Republic.

From The Verdict with Ted Cruz (his podcast) and Ronna McDaniel (chairwoman of the DNC), moderated by Michael Knowles (Daily Wire):

• Cruz: As revenge for the impeachment farce, we immediately confirmed five federal judges. The Verdict is the number one podcast in the world.
• Cruz: The most fundamental political sham that has happened is the Democrats claiming they are the party of the people – the working man. They are now the party of the rich. The Republican Party is now the party of the people.
• Cruz: Under the Obama presidency, they chose between California environmentalist billionaires and blue-collar workers and their jobs. They became the party of rich coastal elites. If you care about jobs – with calloused hands – you are aligned with the Republican Party.
• Cruz: The best speech President Trump ever gave was at the 68^th Annual National Prayer Breakfast. He went through history, especially the accomplishments over the last three years. The Democrats hissed, and a couple of congressional Democrats left.
• Cruz: If we are the party of jobs, the Republican Party is the party of working people.
• McDaniel: Michigan voters were the forgotten voters (Rust Belt). They helped deliver the presidency to President Trump in 2016.
• McDaniel: The Democrats will take away private healthcare, raise taxes, and use taxes to pay off someone else’s college debt.
• Cruz: The median income in Reyes, TX, has gone up $6,000 in a single year [thanks to the Trump economy]. And 500,000 manufacturing jobs have been brought back to the United States over the last three years.
• Cruz: The national popular vote is going to be litigated. The notion that a state’s electoral votes should be awarded only to the candidate who wins the national vote total is absurd. [It disenfranchises voters in small states]
• McDaniel: I hope Tom Perez stays the DNC chairman forever. They’re creating a civil war in their party over Bernie Sanders.

From a Conversation with Counselor Kellyanne Conway and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, moderated by Salena Zito (Washington Examiner):

• Conway: Charter schools, parental choice, etc., are a priority with the President. Educational choice is a big dividing line between the parties: you’re either for choice or you’re against children. A quality education is a right. The Trump Administration is working with state and local officials to make it happen (charter schools).
• DeVos: For far too many kids, they are being failed by schools that aren’t the right fit for them. The goal is for every child to access a great education. Federal requirements for Common Core for states were rescinded by President Trump. Too many people in DC think the federal government has the answers for everything.
• DeVos: AOC benefited from charter schools, but she would wipe them all out. The Left are hypocrites when it comes to charter schools and school choice. Despite massive federal spending in education, the education gaps between the US and other countries have widened.
• Conway: President Trump has called for a return of prayer into the public schools.
• DeVos: We support freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. Students should be able to pray without fear of persecution – first amendment freedoms!

Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) remarks:

• Bernie Sanders advocates a very different world – without cars, airplanes, and cheeseburgers. Mike Bloomberg wants to take away our Big Gulps.
• If they win, they will extend the dysfunction of the areas of America that they already control to the rest of the country, e.g., Detroit’s gun control laws and California’s sanctuary cities.
• Our fundamental obligation is to tell the truth. We will not be able to successfully defend crony or corrupt capitalism. We can only defend honest capitalism.
• Committee assignments are given out to members most indebted to special interests. Moving up in Congress is dependent on the ability to money launder and distribute campaign contributions. [How long will he last in Congress saying this?]
• Our Founding Fathers did not commit treason to watch our generation give it all away to multi-national corporations and special interests. Exchanging money for services rendered in Congress is prostitution.
• Many Democrats swear off corporate PACs and then gorge on labor and ideological and “leadership” PACs.
• America should not be for sale to any special interest whatsoever. Our independence from special interests is our independence from future servitude.

This is a good place to stop this part, there is a break while setting up for Dean Cain’s presentation of “The FBI Lovebirds” (Strzok and Page). More to follow.

The end.