Conservative Political Action Conference

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; /ˈsiːpæk/ SEE-pak) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU).[1]

Conservative Political Action Conference
CPAC 2020 logo
DatesFebruary/March (dates vary)
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)National Harbor, Maryland, U.S.
Inaugurated1973 (1973)
Most recentFebruary 26–29, 2020
Organized byAmerican Conservative Union
Websitecpac.conservative.org

History
Number of CPAC attendees over time
President George W. Bush speaking at the 2008 CPAC
President Donald Trump speaking at the 2018 CPAC

The conference was founded in 1974 by the American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives.[2][3][4] Ronald Reagan gave the inaugural keynote speech at CPAC in 1974.[5] Like the conference's speakers today, the presidential hopeful used it to share his vision for the country—"A Shining City Upon A Hill," words borrowed from John Winthrop.[6]

Controversies

In 2014, CPAC extended an invitation to the American Atheists, which was immediately withdrawn on the same day due to controversial statements by AA's president David Silverman, who declared his group was going to "enlighten conservatives" and that "the Christian right should be threatened by us."[7]

Richard Spencer, a figurehead of the Alt-Right and a white supremacist, entered the lobby of the Gaylord National Hotel on February 23, 2017 in an attempt to access CPAC. Organizers of the conference ejected him from the hotel as soon as his presence was discovered, citing his "repugnant [views which] ... have absolutely nothing to do with conservatism or what we do here" as cause for rejecting his admission to CPAC.[8] ACU's Executive Director Dan Schneider castigated Spencer and the alt-right in a main-stage speech, calling them "garden-variety, left-wing fascists," and saying that the alt-right "despises everything [conservatives] believe in."[9][10] Media members across the political spectrum, led by progressive journalists and opinion columnists, salvoed the intrusion as yet another attempt by hateful groups, like the alt-right, to conceal their bigotry within a legitimate philosophy. Opinion columns in The New York Times, and articles in Mother Jones and Rolling Stone voiced concern about the 2017 interview of ex-Trump Adviser Steve Bannon and ex-Trump Chief of Staff Reince Priebus with ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp, advocating for the American Right to reject the tenets of the alt-right (e.g. homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, racism, etc.).[11][12][13]

Fringe groups at CPAC

The 2010 CPAC featured co-sponsorship for the first time from the John Birch Society and GOProud, a gay conservative group. GoProud is credited in the media for initiating talks with ACU to invite Donald Trump to speak at CPAC 2011.[14] The 2011 CPAC speech Trump gave is credited for helping kick-start his political career within the Republican Party.[15][16][17] Christopher R. Barron, co-founder of GOProud who would later not only endorse Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, but also launch LGBT for Trump, said he "would love to see Mr. Trump run for president."

The 2015 CPAC featured Jamila Bey who became the first atheist activist to address CPAC's annual meeting.[18] The 2016 CPAC featured co-sponsorship for the first time from the Log Cabin Republicans.[19]

Milo Yiannopoulos invitation
Main article: Milo Yiannopoulos § Alleged support for paedophilia

In December 2016, CPAC extended an invitation to conservative blogger Milo Yiannopoulos to speak at the event, despite his history of controversial views on feminism, racial minorities, and transgender issues. The invitation was canceled when the Reagan Battalion re-posted a video of 2016 and 2015 YouTube videos[20] in which Yiannopoulos is heard making comments defending sexual relationships between adult men and 13-year-old boys, citing his own sexual experiences at that age with a Catholic priest.[21]

Sacha Baron Cohen interruption

In 2020, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen attended CPAC dressed as President Trump while filming his latest movie Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. After interrupting the event, he was kicked out.[22][23]

COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, CPAC hosted its main event during the COVID-19 pandemic despite the public health risks. On Saturday, March 7, 2020, ACU confirmed that an attendee at the 2020 CPAC later tested positive for COVID-19. Senator Ted Cruz, Representatives Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Doug Collins, and Mark Meadows had direct contact with the unnamed carrier, and announced their self-quarantine.[24][25]

Annual straw poll
Straw poll results at the 2015 CPAC, showing Rand Paul as the apparent winner

The annual CPAC straw poll vote traditionally serves as a barometer for the feelings of the conservative movement. During the conference, attendees are encouraged to fill out a survey that asks questions on a variety of issues. The questions regarding the most popular possible presidential candidates are the most widely reported. One component of CPAC is evaluating conservative candidates for president, and the straw poll serves generally to quantify conservative opinion.

Year Straw poll winner % of votes Second place % of votes Eventual Republican nominee
1974–5 Polling irregular? Gerald Ford (1976)
1976Ronald Reagan[26]n/aGeorge Wallacen/a
1977–79 Polling irregular? Ronald Reagan (1980)
1980Ronald Reagan[27]n/an/an/a
1981–83 Not held (Ronald Reagan's nomination presumptive)[27] Ronald Reagan (1984)
1984Ronald Reagan[27]n/an/an/a
1985 Not held[27] George H. W. Bush (1988)
1986Jack Kemp[28][29]n/aGeorge H. W. Bushn/a
1987Jack Kemp[30]68Pat Buchanan9
1988 Not held[27]
1989–91 Not held (George H. W. Bush's nomination presumptive)[27] George H. W. Bush (1992)
1992 Pat Buchanan[31] ? ? ?
1993Jack Kemp[32]n/an/an/a Bob Dole (1996)
1994 Not held[27]
1995Phil Gramm[33]40Bob Dole12
1996 Bob Dole[34] 26 Pat Buchanan 24
1997 Not held[27] George W. Bush (2000)
1998Steve Forbes[35]23George W. Bush10
1999Gary Bauer[36][37]28George W. Bush24
2000George W. Bush[38]42Alan Keyes23
2001–04 Not held (George W. Bush's nomination presumptive)[39] George W. Bush (2004)
2005Rudy Giuliani[40]19Condoleezza Rice18 John McCain (2008)
2006George Allen[41]22John McCain20
2007Mitt Romney[41]21Rudy Giuliani17
2008Mitt Romney[41]35John McCain34
2009Mitt Romney[41][42]20Bobby Jindal14 Mitt Romney (2012)
2010Ron Paul[41][43]31Mitt Romney22
2011Ron Paul[44]30Mitt Romney23
2012Mitt Romney[45]38Rick Santorum31
2013Rand Paul[46]25Marco Rubio23 Donald Trump (2016)
2014Rand Paul[47]31Ted Cruz11
2015Rand Paul26Scott Walker21
2016Ted Cruz40Marco Rubio30
2017–18Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)[48] Donald Trump (2020)
2019Donald Trump[49][50]82Mitt Romney6
2020Not held (Donald Trump's nomination presumptive)[51]

Overall, Mitt Romney holds the record of winning more CPAC straw polls than any other individual, with four. Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Rand Paul follow with three consecutive wins each, followed by Ron Paul with two wins. Of these five, the Pauls are the only two to win more than one straw poll, yet never appear on a Republican presidential ticket in any election (although Ron Paul did receive one Electoral College vote in 2016).[52] Despite his former popularity, Romney was uninvited from CPAC in 2020 for his vote to hear additional witnesses in the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump.[53]

Foreign CPACs

Australia

Australia's first CPAC was held in August 2019, with guest speakers including former prime minister Tony Abbott, Brexit campaign leader Nigel Farage, former Breitbart editor-in-chief Raheem Kassam and NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham. Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker and Craig Kelly MP were at the event. There have been calls for Kassam to be banned from coming into the country before the event.[54][55]

The 2020 conference started on November 4.[56] Canadian alt-right YouTuber Lauren Southern was initially scheduled to appear, but her invitation was rescinded by the organizers.[57]

Brazil

The first CPAC in Brazil took place between 11–12 October 2019, in the city of São Paulo, attended by leading conservative names from U.S. like ACU chairman Matt Schlapp and his wife Mercedes Schlapp, Utah senator Mike Lee, Fox News especialist Walid Phares, and Brazilian names like Federal deputy and the President Jair Bolsonaro's son Eduardo Bolsonaro, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ernesto Araújo, and the Prince Imperial of Brazil Bertrand Maria José de Orléans e Bragança and others.[58][59]

The ACU Foundation has announced that the event will take place annually in Brazil from 2019.[60][61]

Japan

The first international CPAC was hosted in Tokyo on December 16–17, 2017 by the Japanese Conservative Union (JCU) in conjunction with the American Conservative Union (ACU).[62] JCU and ACU have continued to co-host J-CPACs every year since. Participants have included notable lawmakers and conservatives from the U.S., Japan, and around the world. They include ACU chairman Matt Schlapp and executive director Dan Schneider, White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, U.S. Representatives Bruce Westerman, and Paul Gosar, Fmr. METI Minister Akira Amari, Fmr. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, Fmr. Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, Fmr. Taiwanese Finance Minister and WTO ambassador Ching-Chang Wen, journalist Sara Carter, then-SEC commissioner Michael Piwowar, Asia expert and commentator Gordon Chang, to name just a few. Hong Kong freedom fighter Andy Chan Ho-tin attended Japanese CPAC 2019 by video after he was arrested in Hong Kong on his way to Tokyo to make a live appearance.[63]

See also
  •  Conservatism portal

References
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  2. Diamond, Sara (1995) [1995]. Roads to Dominion: Right-Wing Movements and Political Power in the United States (2 ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. pp. 128, 138, 146, 198, 210, 212, 285, 289, 327. ISBN 0-89862-862-8.
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