Video of the Day: Showdown at CPAC

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Occupiers meet attendees at the conservative gathering, and chaos ensues.

Behold: the day's dumbest political confrontation. (If you're listening in an office, it's probably mildly NSFW without headphones due to an F-bomb.)

The Daily Caller's Matt Lewis uploaded this video. After dire warnings for days that members of the Occupy movement would try to disrupt the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington -- conservative activists reportedly infiltrated Occupy meetings to learn what was planned -- the showdown finally arrived today. Let's just say that as far as memorable and worthy battles in history go, it's not exactly the Shootout at the OK Corral. The form of the protest: Occupiers entered the overflow room for attendees watching Mitt Romney's address, then stood silently in front of the screen relaying the speech. Those who actually wanted to see Romney's speech were understandably annoyed, and a bit of a donnybrook broke out.

It's tough to make out exactly what's going on, but choice quotes include the nonsensical "You're not the 99 percent, I'm the 99 percent;" the straightforward "you're a left-wing bastard" (UPDATED: he might be saying fascist); and the playground-quality insult, "why don't you go hang out with Mussolini?" It's not really a good look for anyone involved, although the young woman concerned her father will come to blows with a protester is somewhat endearing.

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David A. Graham

David Graham is an associate editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Politics Channel. He previously reported for Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, and The National.

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