Below The Beltway

Today, the House of Representatives was debating a resolution brought under the War Powers Act to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Now, there was absolutely no chance that the resolution would pass, but that doesn’t mean the debate isn’t worth while.
Here’s Ron Paul’s speech from the floor this afternoon:

From this morning on CNBC:

Former Governor Mike Huckabee explains why he did not attend this years CPAC gathering:
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.
Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate who had spoken at the conference for years, said the reason [...]

That’s the word from Politico:
Ron Paul won the CPAC straw poll today, ending Mitt Romney’s streak and serving notice that about a third of the attendees at the gathering — and a good chunk of those driving the conservative revival — stand pretty well outside the Republican Party mainstream.
Still, Romney scored second at 22%, the [...]

Apparently, even the most libertarian Member of Congress isn’t immune from attack by the populist Tea Party movement:
WASHINGTON – Even anti-government icon Ron Paul can’t escape the conservative “Tea Party” fervor stretching across the county.
Paul, the Gulf Coast congressman whose 2008 presidential run excited libertarians nationwide, even though he didn’t get much traction overall, is [...]