Tag Archives: Matt Schlapp

A Path We Must Not Travel

Posted on by under education, Election 2022, Election 2024, Free Press Issues, History, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary, voting rights

I don’t think it is overreacting or hyperbole to tell you, my friends, that this nation is in grave danger of losing most, if not all of the democratic principles on which the nation was founded.  No, I’m not just talking about the former guy and his rambling ego, or the fledgling fools like Boebert, Gaetz and Greene who follow him faithfully with their wagging tongues just waiting to lick his boots on command.  They are a circus act.  But behind the curtain, I truly believe, there are people working to turn this nation away from democracy, away from freedom of such things as religion, press, and speech.

Remember back in May when the CPAC conference was held in Hungary and Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán was the keynote speaker?  That threw up red flags for me, especially in light of Orbán’s words …

Viktor Orbán

“We have to take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We must find allies in one another and coordinate the movements of our troops. 

Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left. The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles. 

Of course, the GOP has its media allies but they can’t compete with the mainstream liberal media. My friend, Tucker Carlson is the only one who puts himself out there. His show is the most popular. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

Now fast forward … the next CPAC will take place in Dallas, Texas, on August 4-7.  I don’t know how the hell many of these conventions the ‘Conservatives’ need, but this will be the third one this year.  And guess who’s coming to dinner?  None other than Viktor Orbán.  According to Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a nasty piece of work …

“CPAC is proud to host Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The fight against socialism is a global one.”

Matt Schlapp

Mr. Schlapp wouldn’t know socialism from communism from neopolitan ice cream if it schlapped him upside the head!!!  It was he who, during the protests against the murder of George Floyd, claimed that Black Lives Matter was “…hostile to families, capitalism, cops, unborn life and gender.”  I have no idea where he came up with such mumbo-jumbo, but suffice it to show that he is not a nice person, nor is his wife Meredith, both of whom are close allies to the former guy.

But back to Orbán and his invitation to August’s CPAC.  Since coming to power in 2010, Orbán has effectively silenced Hungarian independent media and now controls virtually all of the country’s television, newspaper, and online media outlets.  Within months of becoming prime minister, Orbán had taken control of the judiciary and attacked the few financial institutions not under the control of his far-right Fidesz Party.

So-called conservatives in the U.S. have increasingly fawned over Orbán’s achievements, which in recent years have included an attack on LGBTQ and gender equality—with some measures related to the teaching of gender and sexuality in schools that closely echo the “Don’t Say Gay” bill recently passed in Florida.

In my view, having the May CPAC in Hungary with Orbán as the main speaker, and now having him cross the pond to speak yet again at the August CPAC is chilling.  It tells me that the Republican Party is seeking to install an autocratic government here in the U.S.  It tells me that they will stop at nothing to end the democratic principles that have been the foundation in this nation since 1787.  Stopping them is going to require the Democratic Party to find their backbone, to stop whining, get off their asses, and DO SOMETHING to help ensure voting rights and to make people aware of just what is at stake in November.

Today I see very little unity within the Democratic Party … too much critique and back-stabbing, a lack of unity, is demoralizing for voters at this, the most crucial time in our lifetime.  Yesterday morning I read that the majority of Democrats are not happy with President Biden.  Frankly, their critiques are largely unfair, for he is receiving blame even within his own party for things that are and always have been outside of his control.  But frankly, I don’t give a damn if you like him or not … we need to support him at all costs!  Now, let me put it this way … would you like to have someone just like Viktor Orbán in the Oval Office on January 20th, 2025?  Because if the Democrats don’t get their shit together, that is exactly what we’re going to have.

Orbán Is Teaching, Republicans Are All Ears

Posted on by under Election 2022, Election 2024, Free Press Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, religion, voting rights

On Thursday, the Republicans began their annual CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) meeting … in the nation of Hungary, not here in the U.S.  Not even in a democratic nation, but in one ruled by an authoritarian, Viktor Orbán.  One might ask why they would go to the extra trouble, extra expense, and spend the extra time holding their meetings more than 4,000 miles away.  And I might answer that it is their goal to model the United States on Orbán’s example, to establish the same sort of country that Hungary is today.  Need proof?

The unconscionable Matt Schlapp, the head of the American Conservative Union and organizer of CPAC, told NPR this week that he was bringing his event to Hungary because it “represents Christian conservative values” and American conservatives want to replicate this in the U.S. by learning from the country’s ultra-right-wing authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán.

The conference’s program shows exactly what topics are important to the Trump wing of the Republican Party, with sessions entitled: “Western civilization under attack,” “In God we trust,” “The father is a man, the mother is a woman,” and “Culture wars in the media.”  Joining Schlapp and the rest of the KKK Republicans will be the truly nasty Candace Owens and her current hubby, Parler CEO George Farmer.  Oh, and guess who else will be making an appearance via video message?  The ignoble Tucker Carlson of Fox ‘News’ and Mark Meadows, former chief of staff for the twice-impeached former guy.  What a lineup, eh?  So much filth all in one place!  They may have to burn the building just to get rid of the stench.

But the ‘star’ of the show is Orbán himself, the main reason the convention is being held in Hungary to begin with.  In his opening remarks on Thursday, he said …

  • “We need to take back the institutions in Washington and Brussels. We need to find friends, and we need to find allies. We need to coordinate the movement of our troops, because we have a big challenge ahead of us.”
  • “Have your own media. It’s the only way to point out the insanity of the progressive left. The problem is that the western media is adjusted to the leftist viewpoint. Those who taught reporters in universities already had progressive leftist principles. Of course, the GOP has its media allies, but they can’t compete with the mainstream liberal media. My friend, Tucker Carlson is the only one who puts himself out there. His show is the most popular. What does it mean? It means programs like his should be broadcasted day and night. Or as you say 24/7.”

The press at CPAC is mostly home-grown, from state-run Hungarian media. Independent European and U.S. outlets were largely denied access, and CBS News was one of a small number allowed access to the conference.  Journalists from international media outlets, including the New Yorker, Vox Media, Vice News, Rolling Stone, and the Associated Press, were denied access to the event despite months of requests.

Are you starting to feel the chills going up your spine yet?  I do.

Let me tell you just a bit about Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.  He is a white supremacist authoritarian. He’s restricted Muslim immigration and LGBTQ rights while building a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The former guy was a big fan of Orbán, saying …

“Viktor Orbán has done a tremendous job in so many different ways — highly respected, respected all over Europe — probably, like me, a little bit controversial, but that’s OK.”

I rarely repeat the words of the former guy, for in my book he is completely irrelevant, but I do so this time to give you an idea of the sort of person Orbán is … and believe me, he is not a good person and he is definitely NOT highly respected throughout Europe.

All of the international democracy rating agencies agree that Hungary is no longer a democracy.  During his 12 years in power, Orbán has chipped away at the foundations of Hungarian democracy. It has been replaced with an authoritarian regime that wields a cynical interpretation of the law as a weapon; the country is governed by rules like the border journalism permits, regulations that can seem reasonable on their face but actually serve to undermine essential democratic freedoms.

Elections there are free, in the sense that the vote counts aren’t nakedly rigged. But they are unfair: The government controls the airwaves and media companies to such a degree that the opposition can’t get their message out.

Viktor Orbán is an autocrat, he does not govern but he rules … and yes there is a difference, a BIG difference.  Orbán is, by any reasonable definition, a fascist, although some would argue he is merely a ‘soft fascist’.  Fascism … it’s a scary word, isn’t it?  The former guy made no attempt to hide the fact that he wanted to rule rather than govern, and he chipped away at the restraints that kept him, to an extent at least, from doing so.  He plotted not one, but three attempts to overthrow the will of the people in the 2020 election, to install himself as an unelected autocrat for … how long?  4 years?  6 years?  A lifetime?

The fact that CPAC chose to hold their annual convention in Hungary and more to the point to have Orbán as their main speaker should tell you all you need to know about the course being plotted by Republicans aka conservatives for the United States.  It’s an ugly picture my friends.  I’m not a scaremonger or a conspiracy theorist, but the Republican Party has been overtaken by a wanna-be dictator and they are falling all over themselves trying to lick his boots, to please him.  What does that say for the future of this nation?

CPAC – Circus of Passé Alternative Clowns

Posted on by under Political commentary

CPAC – Conservative Political Action Conference.  It is an annual event attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. Its purpose?  It depends on who you ask, but for the most part, it has none.  It is a networking tool, much the same as business conferences, most of which are events where people go to make connections, to see and be seen.  This is not a policy-making event, nor is it an official GOP event.  It is more a social event, and in 2013, Republican Newt Gingrich said, “I don’t know what the purpose of CPAC is anymore.” The official purpose, stated by the American Conservative Union (ACU) is “combines ideas with action to leverage the strength of grassroots activists to break the resistance of Washington’s elites.”  See … little or no purpose … I told you.

Typically, a non-event such as this would not make it onto my blog, as I have no interest in social meet-and-greets for conservatives.  This year, however, is a bit different.  First, it began with controversy, and second, it may provide an opportunity for some conservatives to voice frustration or opposition to Trump & Co.  So, I have loosely followed the events.

The starting controversy came early this week when one of the scheduled speakers, extreme right-wing idiot Milo Yiannopoulos, was caught on tape “advocating for sexual relationships between ‘younger boys and older men.’”  The poop hit the fan, CPAC quickly backed away from Milo, as did Breitbart, where Milo was a writer/editor … note the use of the word ‘was’, as he was forced to resign his position on Tuesday. Publishing house Simon & Schuster rescinded a book deal with Milo.  But Milo apologized … not for his comments, but he said he was sorry for the way his comments were perceived.  Earlier this month, University of California at Berkeley canceled a speaking engagement of his because of intense protests, prompting Donald Trump to tweet, “If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS?”  If you feel so inclined, you can read more about Milo’s troubles here, but for now, let’s move on to CPAC.

CPAC is scheduled to last from 22 February thru 25 February, though for the life of me, I cannot imagine what the entire gaggle of right-wingers could possibly discuss for four days!

The big news of the day seems to have been a joint interview with presidential advisor Steve Bannon and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus – two men who have reportedly not exactly gotten along splendidly in the first weeks of the administration. The press has taken to referring to these two as “the odd couple,” while I prefer to think of them as the dysfunctional duo.  At any rate … the interview was conducted with American Conservative Union President Matt Schlapp. Here are a few ‘clippets’, along with Filosofa’s trademark snark:

SCHLAPP: And that’s what Donald Trump has done to so many of us around the country politically. And you guys have put together an amazing operation. You know, I know you all know this, but the last time a president came to CPAC in his first year, it was Ronald Reagan.

(APPLAUSE) St. Ronald in 1981. And you’ve put together this — the president has put together the most conservative Cabinet we’ve ever seen according to our CPAC ratings and I think a few of us are pretty happy about what looks like is going to happen on the Supreme Court too, so it’s a… (shoot me now!)

PRIEBUS: And it’s — it’s actually something that you all have helped build which is, when you bring together — and what this election showed and what President Trump showed, and let’s not kid ourselves, I mean I can talk about data and ground game and Steve can talk about big ideas, but the truth of the matter is Donald Trump — President Trump brought together the party and the conservative movement. (This from the man who did everything in his power as DNC chairman to stop Trump???)

And I’ve got to tell you, if the party and the conservative movement are together, similar to Steve and I, it can’t be stopped. And President Trump was the one guy — he was the one person and I can say it after overseeing 16 people kill each other (huh???), it was Donald Trump that was able to bring this — this party and this movement together. And Steve and I know that and we live it every day. Our job is to get the agenda of President Trump through the door and on pen and paper. (God save the queen!)

r, attacked me, you can’t spend the money on Trump, go give it to the Senate. (Now wait one cotton-pickin’ minute, Reince!  YOU were, as I recall, dead set against Trump and YOU wanted to more appropriately spend money on the down-ballots!!!  Don’t be a worm!)

SCHLAPP: He’s even — he’s even leaving bathrooms alone, that’s kind of a nice, refreshing thing for a lot of people as well. (No. Comment. From. Fiilosofa.)

Okay, I cannot deal with more, and there are a couple of other issues to cover, but if you wish to read the entire, bullshit transcript, you can do so here.

devos-clownThen there was Betsy DeVos … newly-minted Secretary of Education in the Trumpian regime, who was forced, earlier this week, to support anti-LGBT legislation or else resign.  She toed the line, albeit reluctantly.  At the CPAC, she shifted blame to President Obama, saying, “This issue was a very huge example of Obama administration overreach, one-size-fits-all approach to issues best solved at personal and local level.”  She does a nice job at parroting the party line, don’t you think? And “one size fits all”, Betsy?  Yeah, actually, when it comes to civil rights, one size DOES fit all … the size of full equality for all!

But the really big news concerns white supremacist, Bannon-pal, Richard Spencer, who was kicked out of the convention!!!  Read that last line again … kicked out!  Richard Spencer, a founder of the alt-right movement that seeks a whites-only state and that strongly backed Donald Trump for president, was expelled from the Conservative Political Action Conference after being criticized from its main stage, then giving interviews to a growing crowd of reporters.

“People want to talk to me,” Spencer told NBC News from outside the Gaylord National Harbor complex. “They don’t want to talk to these boring conservatives. They want to learn about ideas whose time has come, not whose time has passed.”  (And those would be ideas akin to … lynching?  slavery?  cotton plantations, white women fanning themselves and sipping lemonaide?  fat white men making the rules under which we should all live?)

Spencer was stopped by JP Sheehan, a CPAC attendee wearing a black-and-gold Make America Great Again baseball cap. “Praise kek!” said Sheehan, posing for a selfie with Spencer and repeating a meme that had been adopted by the alt-right. “He’s the coolest guy.” The growing crowd attracted more nervous attention from security, and after a few more minutes, they arrived to expel Spencer.

“I’m not welcome on the property?” Spencer asked. “I’m not going to debate this,” said the guard. “This is private property. They want you off the property.” After Spencer asked if he could stay if he would simply “stay out of trouble,” he said a hashtag — “Free Spencer” — into the cameras, and posed for another photo as he was taken outside. If ever there was a figure reminiscent of a Hitler-esque rally, it is Spencer.  Even the far right apparently realize he is toxic.

One important part of the CPAC is the annual straw poll vote which traditionally serves as a barometer for the feelings of the conservative movement. During the conference, attendees are encouraged to fill out a survey that asks questions on a variety of issues. I am eager to see the results of this one!

Last, but not least … would you like to attend the conference?  Sorry, you are too late this year, but there’s always next year.  Here is a price list, so you can start saving now:

“We offer several packages, ranging from our Platinum Package to the Day Pass.

Premium – Platinum – Call for Price

Premium – Gold – $5,000

Premium – Silver – $1,600

General Admission – $300

Senior – $150

Veteran – $150

Student – $85

One Day tickets – $150

CPAC is not much more than a convention of conservatives, a social gathering, but I thought it worth at least a single post this year, as this is … well, shall we just say ‘not your average year in politics’?  And now, I move on to topics that actually have relevance …