CPAC “too good for bloggers”

• Posted by Jack Kemp on January 25, 2011 at 11:00pm
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A week or so ago, one of my editors, Jeff Bruzzo of New York-based ProjectShiningCity.org, was organizing a trip to Washington to attend the CPAC conference of the American Conservative Union in mid February. He contacted three of his writers – myself, Paul  Szemanczky and Bill Miller – to travel with him to Washington. Since we have media passes, Jeff assumed we would be issued media credentials for the conference. Project Shining City writers have covered national events, interviewed Governor Christie of New Jersey and Brent Bozell of the Media Research Center and been the exclusive source of video for Glenn Beck at his rally last October at Six Flags in New Jersey, all  on HD Video. The website also features the writing of Elizabeth Letchworth and Lloyd Marcus, names familiar to conservative website readers.

A few days later, all four of us received a rejection email letter from a public relations person for CPAC, Dave Mohel. The central part stated:

January 21, 2011

Dear Jack,

Thank you for your interest in obtaining a media credential to cover CPAC 2011.   From year to year we have come to look forward to participating in the conversation to broaden the definition of “media” in a continually expanding way, where traditional broadcast media and print reporters, radio talk show hosts, established bloggers, documentary filmmakers, video journalists, and freelance journalists on assignment combine to create an exciting on-the-record environment.

However, because we cannot place your request for credentials in one of our either traditional or emerging media categories or criteria, we cannot accept your request and would encourage you to instead register as a general attendee.  You are still welcome to cover the event.
END OF QUOTE

I wrote back to Mr. Mohel, stating my credentials, including my writing at American Thinker over 200 times and my articles being featured at Tea Party Nation, my interview of Brent Bozell on internet video and asking him what was his definition of “emerging media.” I also contacted the Editor of American Thinker who said he that “they have never given AT the time of day. ” Contacting Judson Phillips, the founder of Tea Party Nation, he replied that “They trashed us last year when we did our convention.  I am not happy with them being in bed with GOProud or Islamists.”

By this time, I was forming the opinion that CPAC was looking for media people with deep mainstream media connections to even sit in attendance at one of their speeches. This was reinforced when Jeff Bruzzo, the Editor of Project Shining City, replied to Dave Mohel by emailing to state his and his other writers’ experiences and requesting once again media passes. He waited a number of days for a reply.

That wait for media passes ended early this Tuesday evening with no message of any kind from Mr. Mohel, making the only practical course for the four writers from Project Shining City to do was cancel our hotel reservations (at a different hotel than the CPAC conference). I also had to email Pamela Geller of AtlasShrugs.com to tell her we four (and Elizabeth Letchworth) wouldn’t be going to the premier of the film “The Ground Zero Mosque Movie” at the conference and to release our five tickets.

The fact is, CPAC has become a RINO conference with a non-RINO keynote speaker as a cover. You could say the keynote speaker is an attempt to “put lipstick on a pig,” to borrow a phrase.  Both Sen. DeMint of South Carolina and Gov. Christie of New Jersey have decided not to attend this year’s conference. The Heritage Foundation,  The Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America will also skip CPAC this year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/jim-demint-chris-christie-…
The Huffington Post speculates that the cancellations were caused by the inclusion of the gay group GOProud.

They could well be right.

It would have been great to meet some major conservative figures either again or for the first time, but perhaps it all worked out for the best. I’m sure there are other conferences and speeches the Project Shining City (and Tea Party Nation) members will attend in the future where we will meet Sen. DeMint, Gov. Christie, Ann Coulter and others.
On September 11th, 2009, I met both Lloyd Marcus and Ann Coulter in Bridgeport, Connecticut, as the Tea Party
Express arrived on its way to Washington, DC, the next day. Ann arrived on her own and spoke on stage as some losers across the street tried to either drown her out or distract her with big speakers blaring music in their second floor window. When the local police crossed the street behind the Fairfield County Courthouse to confront the mischief makers, they saw who was on the way and immediately turned off their music. I believe the voices of the Tea Party Network and Project Shining City will be just as difficult to silence – even for the “prestigious” CPAC gathering and their public relations man.

Am I comparing myself and other writers here to Ann Coulter? I will answer a question with a question. Does some organization have the right to silence us because we’re not Ann Coulter? The answer to both questions is NO.

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