CPAC, explained
A conference for ideologues has become a celebrity experience.
The conference has already made headlines for the invitation and subsequent disinvitation of troll and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos when it was revealed that he’s added the occasional pro-pedophilia remark to his usual arsenal of misogyny, racism, and transphobia.
...
An annual conference at which conservatives could meet face to face was a natural complement to ACU’s core work of lobbying Congress and giving members voting records scores for how conservative they are. And so in 1973, ACU started the Conservative Political Action Conference.
CPAC was a small affair for its first 25 years or so of existence. And by the late 1990s, the parties were thoroughly sorted along ideological grounds. Moderates existed in both parties, but all the conservatives were Republicans, and there was no real doubt that the Republican Party was the political vehicle of the conservative movement and vice versa. New institutions that spoke more directly to the needs of the present day naturally came to overshadow older ones from a much earlier era.
And by the 21st century, the ACU was no longer a particularly vibrant or important operation, a fact that in many ways speaks to its fundamental success. George W. Bush is not and will never be a conservative icon in quite the way Ronald Reagan was, but his administration marked the Washington ascendancy of a thoroughly conservative Republican Party in a way Reagan’s never did. But while ACU itself fell somewhat into the shadows, CPAC saw a surge of attendance coincident with Bush’s inauguration that set the stage for its emergence as a major phenomenon.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/2/22/14684534/cpac-2017What Is CPAC? A Room That Didn't Always Love Trump, But Owes Him A Lot
Over the next few days, thousands of conservatives will converge on a conference center just outside of Washington, D.C., for the Conservative Political Action Conference. It's a gathering that, for the last several years at least, had a gravitational pull for any leader on the right who may have hoped to replace Barack Obama in the White House or play a role in opposing his presidency.
...
That's the backdrop for the 2017 edition of CPAC, which is the largest annual gathering of conservative activists from across the United States. It's an event that keeps growing, with attendance topping the 10,000 mark in recent years. It's four days of speeches, panel discussions, break out sessions, networking breakfasts, after-hours parties, all with plenty of patriotic music mixed in, where the rock stars are leading conservative voices – some of them elected officials, some best-selling authors or media stars, and other icons of the movement.
...
In past years there was columnist Ann Coulter using a homophobic slur during her 2007 speech to describe then-Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
And in 2011 a gay Republicans group called GOProud was one of many official co-sponsors of CPAC, prompting a boycott from some other sponsors who objected to GOProud's message. A year later, GOProud's request to again be a co-sponsor was declined by CPAC organizers.
https://www.npr.org/2017/02/22/516535373/what-is-cpac-a-room-that-didnt-always-love-trump-but-owes-him-a-lot2013:
Thousands are attending the three-day conservative convention to listen to a variety of rightwing favourites. This year, the convention has infamously become too conservative for many of the most famous conservative politicians, which means it should be tremendous fun.
Donald Trump: Friday, 8.45am
Who will Trump take aim at this time? Will his weapon be a lawsuit or borderline blackmail? Turn up to find out.
Rick Santorum: various times
Santorum appearances have been relatively scarce over the past few months, but the one-time frontrunner for the Republican nomination is back with a vengeance on Friday. His Super Pac, Patriot Voices, has dubbed the day "Patriot Voices Day" (CPAC has not) and lined up no less than six Rick Santorum hosted events.
Trump the Race Card: Are You Sick and Tired of Being Called a Racist and You Know You're Not One? Friday, 3pm
The issue of race and racism can be a tricky one to navigate. Good news then, that it is the ever-sensitive Tea Party Patriots, who are sponsoring this discussion of How You're Not a Racist Even If Everyone Else Thinks You're Racist And Says You're Racist But You're Not Racist You Just Believe In America And What About These Illegal Immigrants And Take Back This Country And Etc Etc.
Sarah Palin: Saturday, 12pm
Advertisement
The former governor of Alaska comes out of non-self-imposed exile to preach to the converted. Dropped by Fox earlier this year, Palin is bouncing back with a 16-minute address (actually one of the longer speeches) on the last day of the event.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/us-news-blog/2013/mar/14/cpac-five-things-not-to-miss
= new reply since forum marked as read
