To a rising conservative, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) can be considered a highlight of the formative years of a young Republican's life. It is a conference filled with any and all stars of the Republican Party, and strewn with only the strongest rhetoric on what the future of the Republican Party will be when the next election cycle begins.
This view is only one of the idealistic Republican that believes our morning in America is just on the horizon. A hard fact to swallow is how divided the party is when looking at the lineup of the key speakers of this year's CPAC convention. The truth of the matter is that CPAC has unleashed its broadest of spectrums when it comes to speakers at the CPAC. From Wayne LaPierre, Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and many others, CPAC only has headlined the fact that the Republicans have turned in the political psychiatry ward of the twenty-first century.
A party that wishes to reshape its image has chosen to showcase those who are imploding the party. To feature those who steer the party further to the right, and further from the rational, is nothing short of insanity itself. The organizers of CPAC truly are repeating the same cycle of partisan rhetoric and expecting a different result. This can be best seen in the snub of Gov. Christie from the conference itself. While it would be smarter for Christie to reject the offer to speak, the fact that the conference discarded the current hero of the party is just proof that leaders of the party are not in touch with reality.
What true leaders in the party want to see from CPAC is the unveiling of those who can lead the party to the pathway that can win elections. The message of Republicans such as Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Jeb Bush will probably be silenced by screams of partisanship coming from Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Rand Paul. Speeches by the Trumps, the Palins and the Bachmans are only the siren songs that will lead the party closer to the rocks of failure when the midterms and presidential elections come around again.
What can be learned from CPAC is that this party has those who are capable of stopping this collision course. There are those who can lead conservatives to where they needs to be and bring their faithful home. The cause is not lost. While social issues do set the conservatives apart from those on the other side of the aisle, the path to change does not have to be difficult. As Marco Rubio remarked, the party needs to change, but the infighting is so tumultuous that no compromise on the issues can be found. A true test of this willingness to change is how the party faithful will respond to Ohio Senator Rob Portman's change in position on gay marriage. Such action by Senator Portman and others who have followed has shown the party has the chance to move to the right direction. There has not been a call by party leadership to have the senator removed from the party, or recant his belief. The party still existed and the sun still rose after Senator Portman made his announcement. Many Republicans can take pride that a leader took the opportunity to share his opinion, and was not met with a cold shoulder by his party.
The party does not have to throw out the rock, one that Rand Paul called stale and mossy, its church was built on in order to be the dominant party in this country. Jeb Bush has released solutions to immigration that are consistent with past conservative plans for success in this arena.
This year's CPAC was the party's time to come together and to lick their wounds. Mitt Romney's swan song was his time to say farewell to the party and let them relish in the fact that they could not build a coalition to elect a conservative president.
The swan song that should have actually been sung at CPAC is the party of partisanship and truly shaping a party that can be taken seriously in national elections.
For a person who is proud to call him or herself a member of the Republican Party, and wants to see the party go forward in thinking, showcases such as those found at CPAC make one want to shake their head. The RNC Chairman, Speaker Boehner, Gov. Christie and Senators Rubio and Portman show that leadership is still present within the party. The problem is that such leadership has lain dormant due to the contentious infighting of those only found at end of the spectrum.
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