NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND — The issue of President Obama’s patriotism – or perceived lack thereof – came to the forefront at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, when radio host Sean Hannity asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) what he loved most about America.
“No nation on earth has let so many on earth come with nothing and achieve anything,” Cruz said, sparking applause.
Hannity’s question was a nod to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s (R)
earlier comment that President Barack Obama doesn’t love America. Since
the controversial remark, several Republican politicians have fielded
the question. Mostly notably, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), a likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, declined to speculate on the president’s patriotism, saying instead, that anyone interested in the president’s love of America should ask him directly.
However, a number of attendees at CPAC told TPM that Guiliani’s comment was spot on.
“I thought he was just being honest. I don’t think anybody who allows America to be abused internationally (loves America),” Sylvia Noster, a seller of luxury handbags lined with the text of the Constitution, told TPM. “He has just a disdain for the Constitution because he’s constantly interpreting his powers as being kind of beyond the Constitution.”
When conservatives discuss Obama’s patriotism, there’s a certain sense of “otherness” underlying their words. Giuliani said, “He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.” That sentiment resonates throughout CPAC.
“To be honest, I don’t think he [Obama] loves America the way most Americans love America,” Rick May, an attendee from Texas told TPM. “I think he’s got a whole different conceptual situation.”
Attendees said that the way Obama has handled foreign relations is proof that he doesn’t love America. They said he has too often criticized America to foreign leaders instead of defending it. They cite the president’s refusal to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visit to Congress, at House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) invitation, as further proof.
“He’s always on an apology tour about America. He goes around and kicks the living daylights out of anyone who’s an ally. Like Israel, for example,” Noster said. “He treats the man with total disdain. He’s the only ally we have in the Middle East. I would say that’s a perfect example.”
May said that Obama’s frequent apologizing sends the wrong message to the country. “He’s just always apologizing that we’re not the country that we are. We’re better than what he thinks we are,” May said. “I just can’t get over how he basically apologized to everyone for us being a nation that stands out. We do stand out.”
Another attendee, a veteran named Bill Rogers, said Obama has “got another agenda, and leading and defending America is not at the top of his list.”
“He’s not being vigorous controlling the problems with Iran. He’s not vigorous at all in opposing radical Islam,” Rogers said. “He seems intent on ignoring the will of the American people on wanting to build government, increase taxes and fuel Obamacare, which is not a popular thing. He’s not listening to the Americans. He’s got his own agenda.”
“Right now guys like Ted Cruz, he believes he loves America more because he speaks out so much against the government,” Chris Ross, a young CPAC attendee who’s backing former Florida Jeb Bush (R) for president, told TPM. “And with the current administration, he has every reason to believe that they’re incompetent, I at least think so. So his outspokenness against them has translated to his love of America, at least in his eyes and his supporters’.”
Domestically, Noster said, Obama and outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder have polarized African Americans against “the rest of the country.” She didn’t provide examples.
Princeton University student Ryan Spaude said that the question of Obama’s patriotism could be a recurring theme in the 2016 election cycle. He said that Walker’s refusal to join the fray could bode well for the potential candidate.
“I think it could continue through the campaign, depending how the candidates decide to approach it,” Spaude said.
