WASHINGTON – The party of Ronald Reagan is alive and well, and it features the voices of Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and even “Joe the Plumber.”
That was the message of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the annual conference of conservatives traditionally held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Gingrich, a retired House speaker and conservative guru, said this year’s CPAC, which ended Saturday, was the largest in three decades and was attended by nearly 9,000 people.
“Conservatives certainly have a lot more energy, creativity and ideas opposing the Obama agenda this year than they certainly had supporting the Bush administration,” said Charlie Gerow, a media strategist in Harrisburg. Gerow serves on the board of the American Conservative Union, which sponsors CPAC.
Conservatives, unconstrained by Bush’s political message or machine, have greater freedom to find better ways to lead and govern the country, Gerow said.
Meeting for the past three days in the shadow of the White House and a Democratic-controlled Congress, participants debated what it means to be a conservative in the era of President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
After losing the 2006 congressional elections and the 2008 presidential elections, there was no shortage of debates about how to make conservatism relevant again.
President Obama’s nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package and newly proposed $3.6 trillion budget have also generated much discussion.
The biggest buzz here was internet technology, as bloggers filled the hotel lobby and hallways reporting and tweeting details of the conference.
“The most important thing for Republicans to avoid is becoming the party of no,” said Mark Siegel, a Washington-based Democratic strategist.
Siegel, who served in the Carter administration and advised Democratic candidates during their lean years, offered some unsolicited advice to Republicans: Instead of always saying “no” to Obama, Pelosi and Reid, a better approach would be for them to say, “yes, but…”
CPAC’s conservative all-star lineup included Gingrich, former Republican governors Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas; conservative talk show giant Rush Limbaugh and Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber who became a last-minute rallying cry in the 2008 race. Romney won the poll for the best candidate of the Republican Party in 2012.
Everyone was packed into three days of speeches and groundbreaking strategy sessions aimed at galvanizing and renewing the conservative movement.
Missing were last year’s GOP presidential ticket, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as well as George W. Bush, the titular head of the conference for the last eight years of his presidency.
“With the exception of Sarah Palin, McCain and Bush are now part of our past,” said Maroof Ali, a conference attendee from Long Island, New York
Ali, a medical student at New York’s Stonybrook University, said Palin would be a “rock star” of the conference if she attended.
“Conservatives have a lot of energy and ideas for the future,” he insisted. “In the era of Obama, Pelosi and Reid, we must be more than the party of no, and we cannot be the party of opposition either – that would marginalize everything we wanted to achieve.”
On Friday, Gingrich walked into a packed room of nearly 1,000 College Republicans, shaking hands as he walked in while the music of “Eye of the Tiger” played in the background.
He challenged President Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, who described Americans as “basically a nation of cowards” on racial issues during a recent speech to Justice Department employees.
“We now have more than enough evidence of what this administration thinks about the American people,” Gingrich said. “Let me say to Attorney General Holder: I welcome the opportunity to engage in dialogue with you about cowardice, anywhere, anytime.”
Romney, who unexpectedly ended his presidential campaign at last year’s CPAC meeting, told the Tribune-Review that Republicans in Congress should unite around good ideas and be the first to implement them: “It shows that we are not the party of no, but the party of the “yes, and here’s how we do it” party.
Finding a way to get that message across is a challenge, Romney said.
Huckabee, currently the host of a political television show on Fox News Channel, spoke candidly to CPAC’s conservative audience.
“Of course we should talk about what we did well,” he declared, “but we need to be more honest about what we did poorly.”
“With the stimulus package, Republicans have this great moment to differentiate themselves from the Democratic Party,” he added.
Last night, Limbaugh closed CPAC, stating that there are too many misconceptions about who conservatives really are, and he wants to change that. “When we (conservatives) look at a group of people, we see Americans – we don’t see groups of people, we don’t see victims, we see potential.” he said.
“Conservatism is what it is and will remain forever. You can’t bend it and shape it,” he said.
CPAC honored Limbaugh, considered by many to be key to the future of the Republican Party,
This month, Obama warned GOP congressional leaders to stay away from Limbaugh’s message. But just as when Republicans were out of power under Clinton, Limbaugh’s popularity rose again; its viewership is the highest in history with 14 million listeners.
Limbaugh said conservatives believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“If you’re wondering why I have to highlight this, it’s because we believe all three of them are under attack,” he said.
