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CPAC Day 2: Kilt Sighting

By Conventionette - Feb 10th, 2006 at 11:21 am EST

Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog | Undercover at CPAC 2006

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Oh Lord, they're talking about Wellstone. This must be a test to root out covert progressives like myself. It almost worked, too--as soon as I heard John Gizzi of Human Events utter the name, it took my ever fiber of concentration not to cheer or cry or at least clap.

For those of you who aren't from Minnesota (best state ever, by the way), Paul Wellstone was a senator who took the state by storm and got people excited about being progressive, about standing up for what you believe in and fighting for it--even when what you believe is unpopular or might harm your political career. We progressive Minnesotans loved Paul Wellstone pretty fiercely, and that's not faded.

Anyway, in the course of a panel on the 2006 elections, the panel was asked to predict the outcome of the senate elections. Gizzi tellingly refused to answer, instead elaborating on the potential for an unforeseen upset. You can look all over and find "Wellstones or near-Wellstones," Gizzi warned. THANK GOODNESS! This is good news for us, folks.

We were also privileged to listen to a frenzied pitch given by Jessie Jane Duff from Americans for Dr. Rice (makers of the "I like Condi" buttons I've so craftily been hoarding)--apparently, Rice will "not just beat but defeat the Democrat [sic] party!!!" Nevermind that Condi says she's not running…

also: on my way to the lobby to post this, I passed a guy in a KILT!! that's like a skirt, right? how is he allowed in here?! i bet he gets directed to the "ex-gay" booth in the exhibition hall.

off to swipe more swag... (well, it's not really swiping because they pretty much fall all over themselves to give it to you, but still.)

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kilts

By Andrew Feb 10th 2006 at 12:39 pm EST

Well now, when you see a man and a woman in jeans, which of them is cross-dressing, because one of the two certainly is! If you see a woman in a kilt she is most certainly cross-dressing. Kilts are exclusive to men. Have you not heard of "The Ladies From Hell!" ?

Kiltiness

By mr. mike Feb 10th 2006 at 12:49 pm EST

Kilts are the traditional garb in the Highlands, though all that talk of "clan tartans" (i.e. certain patterns are used only by certain extened families) was started up in the 1890s to boost sales of tartan cloth. Was he wearing matching tartan socks, or a Royal Army dress tunic? Might have been a Thatcherite veteran of the Falklands War.

Re: Kiltiness

By jr Feb 10th 2006 at 10:10 pm EST

Right. Lest we forget, almost nobody in Scotland wore "highland dress" until the English went and made it illegal, at which point it became a sign of defiance to wear it. Anyone ever get to read The Invention of Tradition? Great book. There's an essay by historian Hugh Trevor-Roper about the origins of the kilt:

Unknown in 1726, it suddenly appeared a few years later; and by 1746 is was sufficiently well established to be explicitly named in the act of parliament which then forbade Highland dress. Its inventor was an English Quaker from Lancashire, Thomas Rawlinson.

...During his stay at Glengarry, Rawlinson became interested in the Highland costume but he also became aware of its inconvenience. The belted plaid might be appropriate to the idle life of the Highlanders--for sleeping in the hills or lying hidden in the heather. It was also conveniently cheap, since all agreed on the fact that the lower class could not afford the expense of trousers or breeches. But for men who had to fell trees or tend furnaces it was a 'cumbrous, unwieldy habit'. Therefore, being 'a man of genius and quick parts', Rawlinson sent for the tailor of the regiment stationed at Inverness and, with him, set out 'to abridge the dress and make it handy and convenient for his workmen'. The result was the felie beg, philibeg, or 'small kilt', which was achieved by separating the skirt from the plaid and converting it into a distinct garment, with pleats already sewn. Rawlinson himself wore this new garment, and his example was followed by his associate, Ian MacDonell of GlenGarry. After that, the clansmen, as always, obediently followed their chief, and the innovation, we are told, 'was found to be som handy and convenient that in the shortest space the use of it became frequent in all the Highland countries and in many of the Northern Lowland countries also'.

From the 1768 account of Ivan Baillie of Aberachen.

"ex-gay" group?

By BHGlitter Feb 10th 2006 at 12:59 pm EST

An "ex-gay" booth? They didn't have one of them when I attended last year. Please shed a little bit more light on the booth, the group running it, and the group's connections to other groups at the conference.

Also, I recently noticed that one of the larger corporate sponors of the 2005 CPAC was Google. Curious if they are a sponsor again and if there are any other large corporations present and sponsoring that have a message that runs rather counter to sponsoring an event such as CPAC, which brings out some of the more extreme ends of the conservative movement.

Re: "ex-gay" group?

By Conventionette Feb 10th 2006 at 9:08 pm EST

The ex-gay group with a presence at CPAC this year is Exodus-- you can check out their ridiculously non-scientific schtick at Link.

And yes, I know that kilts are supposed to be worn by men-- but you can't expect a mob of conservatives to understand that!

Re: "ex-gay" group?

By Conventioneer Feb 11th 2006 at 10:39 am EST

Actually, exodus is there, but they're not the ones with a booth. I'm not gonna talk about them here because I don't want to give them any undue publicity, but if you're really interested you can find them at Link.

-Conventionette

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