Matt Coker already did a nice job previewing the Western Conservative Political Action Conference taking place today and tomorrow at the Radisson in Newport Beach. But the Washington Independent's David Weigel–who loves Orly Taitz as much as we do–points out that this conference isn't just for the best and brightest stars of mainstream GOP like Chuck DeVore, Meg Whitman, Steve Poizner, Tim Pawlenty and Andrew Breitbart.
There'll also be birthers!
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Most notably there's Gary Kreep of the United States Justice
Foundation, who's a lawyer in the same lawsuit as Taitz filed in Santa
Ana federal court (though Taitz would probaby trade one of her extra
Obama Kenyan birth certificates to be rid of him). He'll be moderating
a talk tomorrow on “The Rule of Nebulous Law.” Chapman Law dean John Eastman will be participating.
Floyd Brown
will also be giving a talk at a private dinner. He's a GOP activist who
has helmed campaigns to get the mainstream media to cover the birth
certificate “issue.”
The story of the birther movement has
largely been one of mainstream Republican denouncing and ignoring a
perceived unhinged fringe. Elected officials at the conference this
weekend might plead ignorance that they're running in the same crowd as
“crazy money-hungry nutburgers” like Brown and Kreep (Michael Medved's
words, not mine). Kreep, though, is literally one of the most important
and evangelical “eligilbity activists” out there. He even starred in an
infomercial about the subject.
Jim Lacy, the longtime
South County Republican hitman, is helming up the conference. He also
was involved in the early years of Kreep's foundation and was
responsible for much of the “Obama-is-a-Muslim” rumormongering during
the 2008 campaign. So the birther presence in Newport this weekend
isn't all that surprising. More surprising is that presidential
contenders like Tim Pawlenty are letting themselves be booked on the
same bill with them. Then again, disgraced House majority leader and
now failed reality TV contender Tom DeLay was the keynote speaker last year.
It's part of the reason that we keep covering Taitz and her friends: They do appear to have some clout in the modern conservative movement.
