CPAC Ron Paul

In a strong reflection of just how strong his standing remains within the die-hard conservative community, Texas Republican and 2008 presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll on Saturday, earning nearly one-third (31 percent) of the entire vote. The crowd, however, booed heavily when the results were announced. Paul was far and away the most widely anticipated speaker at the three-day conference, with his base of "Paulites" streaming into the main auditorium to hear him rail against government overreach and neoconservativism on Friday afternoon. In many respects, his win in the CPAC poll seemed pre-ordained -- his band of followers having a well-earned reputation for flooding polls and forums like these. What it portends for a possible 2012 presidential run is anyone's guess. Paul had a similar cult-like following during the 2008 election, only to garner a relatively small chunk of the actual vote.

The other potential candidates who scored well and are more "mainstream" picks for the Republican nomination include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who earned 22 percent of the vote, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin who came in third with seven percent. Romney had won the last three CPAC polls. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, another talked about 2012 aspirant, tied "undecided" for fourth place at six percent.

Source: huffingtonpost

Patriot Act extension fails

While U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., said he supports the Patriot Act, he said on Wednesday there is a “very delicate balance between pursuing sufficiently national security and personal security and too much government.” The House on Tuesday voted down an extension of surveillance provisions to the Patriot Act, 277-148. The measure has been backed by most Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., but was seven votes short of passing by a two-thirds majority. Twenty-six Republicans voted against the bill.
The legislation would have extended provisions set to expire on Feb. 8, including roving wiretaps, access to FBI records and surveillance of “lone wolf” terror suspects. The Patriot Act is post-9/11 legislation passed by Congress because of concerns about terrorist attacks on the United States. Nelson said it is important to continue to have the safeguards provided by the Patriot Act, but the sticking point has always been how far the Patriot Act should intrude into people’s privacy.

“There are different flash points for different people on what is intrusive and what isn’t,” he said.

For example, Nelson said the government’s decision to have body-scan imaging machines at U.S. airports or in federal buildings may not trouble some people, but many people have expressed outrage about that procedure, especially when learning that some of those images have been illegally distributed.

Source : Theindependent.