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ACU puts conservatism up for sale?
posted at 11:36 am on July 17, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Excerpt:
When we said that conservatives needed to do a better job selling the philosophy of limited government and fiscal responsibility, this isn’t exactly what we meant.
According to Politico, the American Conservative Union attempted to get Federal Express to pay millions of dollars to engage the ACU on their behalf over a political fight with UPS on legislation under consideration on Capitol Hill.
The ACU’s executive vice-president Dennis Whitfield told FedEx that the ACU stood foursquare against the bill, which would have made it easier for unions to organize at individual FedEx facilities. When FedEx took a pass on the offer, the ACU reversed itself and aligned with UPS instead:
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The American Conservative Union asked FedEx for a check for $2 million to $3 million in return for the group’s endorsement in a bitter legislative dispute, then flipped and sided with UPS after FedEx refused to pay.
For the $2 million+, ACU offered a range of services that included: “Producing op-eds and articles written by ACU’s Chairman David Keene and / or other members of the ACU’s board of directors. (Note that Mr. Keene writes a weekly column that appears in The Hill.)”
The conservative group’s remarkable demand — black-and-white proof of the longtime Washington practice known as “pay for play” — was contained in a private letter to FedEx that was provided to POLITICO. …
In the three-page letter asking for money on June 30, the conservative group backed FedEx. Rebuffed, the group signed onto a two-page July 15 letter backing UPS.
FedEx and UPS, fierce competitors in the package delivery business, are at war over a provision under consideration in Congress that would expand union power at FedEx.
FedEx currently has one U.S. union contract for its entire express business. Under a change passed by the House and awaiting action in the Senate, FedEx — like UPS — would have to negotiate union contracts for individual locations, which FedEx claims would make it much more difficult to promise worldwide regularity for deliveries.
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The ACU sponsors the largest annual gathering of conservative activists in the nation, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). I’ve attended three times, and it serves as both a social support and a strategic-planning forum for activists on the Right. That’s the kind of salesmanship we need for conservative values.
If Politico has this right, and they have the letter on their website, this is exactly what we don’t need. Their offer in writing contains nothing but their support for the fight against this bill. The ACU’s eventual public position — that FedEx has been “misleading the public and legislators” — only came after FedEx refused to pay the ACU over $2 million for their services.
That looks a lot less like a principled position, and a lot more like sour grapes, or the business end of an extortion attempt. Someone has misled the public in this instance, and it doesn’t appear to be either FedEx or UPS.
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Rest of piece here:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/17/acu-puts-conservatism-up-for-sale/
Why David Keene Threatened To Punch Me At WCPAC
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Excerpt:
I have a really hard time with people who claim to be crusaders for the conservative cause but who are really only in it for either personal and/or economic aggrandizement. In my media career I have found that vast majorities of the elite among conservative politicians and media stars fit into this pathetic category.
One of the most aggravating aspects of the heat I have taken over the past year for my efforts to shine light on the injustice of the media coverage of the 2008 election is that I often get accused of being one of those who only craves personal attention and has less than pure motives (which considering I was a long time radio talk show host, a career infested with such scoundrels, I can actually begrudgingly understand).
*snip*
That began to change earlier this year when, because I was promoting my just released documentary “Media Malpractice,” I was a co-sponsor of CPAC. As part of that designation I flew from Los Angles to Washington twice to attend planning meetings (including once the day after my grandfather’s funeral).
At both of these affairs I raised the issue of “sellouts” to the movement being given prime speaking roles and there seemed to be general agreement that this was a bad idea.
At one meeting David Keene clearly indicated to the group that this would be taken care of. However, when the schedule came out, the names I had specifically mentioned had indeed been given plum roles and, while I can’t prove it, all signs point to economic reasons motivating these decisions to reward people who are clearly bad for the cause.
I will fully acknowledge that I felt badly mistreated by the selection process, but that did not influence my perception of that procedure, but rather only made it easier for to see and voice what I have witnessed about its obvious flaws.
But the ultimate tipping point for me came a few months ago when David Keene made some statements about Sarah Palin after her resignation that sounded like they could have easily come from Keith Olbermann and not an extremely influential conservative leader.
Keene claimed she was “whining” about media coverage, “bitter,” “resentful,” had “bailed out” on her governorship, and was not ready for the “major leagues.” He also mocked her inability to appear at this year’s CPAC (not that I am implying this had anything to do with his motivation!).
As someone who has dedicated their lives over the past year to trying to correct the historical record about Sarah Palin, almost nothing infuriates me more than having a “conservative’ buy into the media lies about her, especially when they don’t seem to know all the basic facts.
But when that person is the head of the ACU and CPAC it is particularly maddening because Palin bashing from someone like that essentially provides cover for anyone else who wants to take an unfair shot at her. For all intents and purposes Keene was acting as an accomplice, after the fact, for a public lynching.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/why-david-keene-threatened-to-punch-me-at-wcpac/
Bump