Vote of confidence in embattled New Jersey governor after last year’s snub
cpac
With Saturday Victories, Romney Retakes Control of the GOP Narrative
Mitt Romney, the perpetually questioned front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, had a rough week. Three embarrassing losses to Rick Santorum in Tuesday’s non-binding contests led to questions about Romney’s …
Fears, Faith and Freedom at CPAC
“Ultimately, I’m a lobbyist for freedom,” a man in a yarmulke tells a pretty girl in the basement of a cavernous Marriott in northwest Washington. The man could have been attempting to network or to flirt — a seminar on how to …
Haley Barbour Flew State Plane To Deliver Cost Cutting Message To CPAC, Fox News
On Feb. 11, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, his wife and three aides flew in a luxury jet to Washington for a weekend of politicking, including an appearance on Fox News Sunday and a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. “Our problem is not that we tax too little,” Barbour told the gathering. “It’s that we spend …
Meanwhile, Across Town
An interesting weekend in Washington. Two conventions claiming 11,000 attendees each. One, the CPAC convention was heavily reported in the press–including by me, below; the other was the annual Teach For America alumni conference, where I moderated a panel after I’d spent three days listening to the Republican presidential candidates at …
As Egypt Sidelines CPAC, Potential 2012 GOP Candidates Don’t Respond
The press areas of CPAC are filled with idle cable news producers and correspondents. In normal times, they would be busy filing updates on the coming 2012 campaign. But the nation, and the cable news bookers, are distracted these days by Egypt, where people are cheering in the streets, fireworks are exploding, and the 30-year rule of an …
Before His Arrival, Ron Paul Is Everywhere At CPAC
Just five years ago, the Conservative Political Action Conference still had a Doris Day feel, like a time warp to 1978, when everyone was still filled with nostalgia for 1961. Pat Boone was the musical act, and he played before a screen that showed flapping flags, rhyming the word “God” with the word “God.” It was an old stale …
At CPAC, It’s Evening In America
The heirs to Ronald Reagan’s conservative legacy gathered Thursday in a hotel ballroom to exchange variations on the dominant theme in today’s Republican politics: It is evening in America.
“The Germans are buying the New York Stock Exchange,” announced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “The U.S. is becoming the laughing …
On Day One Of CPAC, Donald Trump Steals The Show
Newt Gingrich talked policies, and the crowd seemed to like it. Rick Santorum announced that “America belongs to God,” and he was politely applauded. But it was Donald Trump, a real estate investor who became a reality show star, who finally got the crowd’s 2012 election juices going on the first day of the Conservative Political Action …
CPAC 2011: What to Expect at the GOP’s Annual Cattle Call
The Conservative Political Action Conference, a three-day carnival of Republican ladder-climbers and red meat throwers, convenes Thursday in Washington . The nearly 40-year-old tradition is expected to attract 10,000 activists and set the tone for a party navigating new highs and old divides on its way to a presidential nomination …
Will Mitt Romney Praise President Obama’s Handling Of Egypt At CPAC?
A week from today, Mitt Romney will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He won’t be the only potential 2012 candidate at the conference, but it is clear that he hopes to distinguish himself. If he does not announce his 2012 campaign in the speech–at CPAC in 2008 he officially left his quest for the presidency–I …
CPAC’s Youngsters
CPAC this year is younger than ever and, as Katy Steinmetz and I discovered, young = party!
Coming Out Conservative in Hollywood
There’s a kind of “coming out” that’s still scary and potentially career-threatening in the gay-friendly town of Hollywood: telling the world you’re a conservative.
So said radio host Larry O’Connor and producer Kevin McKeever, two Tinsel Town veterans who have exposed themselves as “stage right,” during a seminar on …