Does the changing face of CPAC predict the future of the Republican Party or the conservative movement? Seems that the attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland were heavily weighted toward the Ron Paul Wing of the Republican Party and most of those are Libertarian Party activists.
The 2,459 attendees were comprised of about 65 percent male and 35 percent female. Half of the crowd were students and about half were opposed to the leadership direction of the GOP in Congress.
The large percentage of conference attendees that indicated to pollsters that they favored legalization of marijuana were not representative of the Republican Party or conservative Tea Party activists, in my view. If they are, the country is in worse shape than previously thought. If more than a third of young conservatives are already pot heads, the Obama regime and media have already won and there is no hope short of Divine intervention that is certain to come in the form of either relief or wrath.
Senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and former Senator Rick Santorum are clearly planning to run for president in 2016 and are being careful not to ruffle the feathers of party leadership or be overly hostile to the Obama Administration or illegal aliens.
Senator Ted Cruz and Dr. Ben Carson are mincing no words. Both Cruz and Carson challenged Republicans to “stand on principle.” Cruz described Washington as “corrupt.” Carson challenged his audience to “stand up and say what you believe.” He said it is time to “stop being afraid.”
None-candidates uttered some of the boldest statements that need to be repeated from shore to shore if Republicans are to win in 2014 and survive as a viable political party.
Pro-lific Conservative Author Ann Coulter was the only speaker at the CPAC conference who dared to address the subject that is probably the most important issue facing the republic currently. She believes those politicians and community leaders, including some Christian church leaders who believe illegal aliens given amnesty and befriended by Republicans will vote for Republicans, are foolish indeed.
Coulter spoke in words everyone should understand and heed. She delivered her message with a twist of her quick wit and sharp sarcasm.
“Republicans should not approve amnesty just so Democrats can get thirty million new voters. If we have amnesty for illegals the game is over! The only thing left is organizing death squads for those who destroyed America.”
It was a black sheriff from Wisconsin who had the courage to speak out on “gun free zones.” He said, “the only person safe in a gun free zone is the armed criminal.”
Sarah Palin is definitely not running for President, but she will have an impact, especially in the 2014 congressional elections. As an independent woman, she does not play the Saul Alinsky game with the leftist radicals. That drives them crazy.
Palin is a strong supporter of Ted Cruz who is being demonized by Congressional Republican leaders. She is willing to take on liberals in any party and “take no prisoners.” Is she willing to help spread a big tent in order to build and grow the Republican Party? Her response was:
“We are not here to rebuild a party, we are here to rebuild our country… Some GOP experts say don’t interrupt the opposition while they are destroying themselves. But you do interrupt when they are destroying the country,” she concluded.
The current administration is systematically destroying our republic and the ability to defend us from our known enemies.
The attendees at CPAC represent themselves but do not necessarily represent the views of Conservative Republicans, Tea Party activists or any other group. They are people who feel strongly about the dangers of big government and rising taxes and government involvement in the personal lives of private citizens.
The best part of CPAC was that it provided a great forum for expressing conservative issues and views that were seen and heard by possible millions on C-SPAN.