Put it in the same category as those cat sweaters your grandmother would get you every Christmas.
Fox News pundit Glenn Beck gifted his infamous chalkboard to the Americans for Tax Reform at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference for use during its Wednesday meetings.
It’s the thought that counts, right?
“Every Wednesday in Washington, all the conservatives meet to decide what they should be doing in the weeks ahead,” David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said to close Beck’s speech. “This is going to be going to the site of the Wednesday meetings to remind us what we should be doing in the weeks ahead, and it will be put to use there.”
And just as Keene said, within days a courier delivered the large chalkboard to the downtown location of Americans for Tax Reform.
But was it actually put to use?
Well, it’s sitting in an audiovisual equipment closet attached to the conference room that hosts about 200 people every week.
There was a grand unveiling ceremony the Wednesday following Beck’s appearance at CPAC. But since its unveiling, the board has yet to be used. Apparently, it got in the way of speakers who use microphones and PowerPoint slides to make their point.
“We haven’t gotten to the technology where we can use the chalkboard yet,” ATR Communications Director John Kartch told Yeas & Nays. “We’re not advanced enough for that yet.”
So for now it’s stowed away in the closet and hasn’t been seen in the room since. Kartch did say the group would be willing to remove the cumbersome board from the closet if Beck made an appearance at the meeting. Beck is always welcome, he said.
However, the group’s president, Grover Norquist, isn’t exactly a fan of political talk shows. According to members of his staff, Norquist says he doesn’t learn anything from them and prefers murder mysteries and historical shows.
Norquist wasn’t available for comment –he is cruising with Newsmax Media. No word on whether he’ll be picking up chalk on the trip.
