As CPAC ends, rival Republican factions remain adamant in opposition. "The annual Conservative Political Action Conference came to a raucous and buoyant end Saturday as thousands of tea party activists cheered on former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who closed the gathering with a full-throated denunciation of President Obama and urged conservatives to embrace their views more fiercely than ever. But over the course of its three days, the event put on display how factions within the Republican Party are still struggling to find a path out of the wilderness, illuminating the gap between the GOP's resolutely conservative grass-roots and a party leadership eager for a more moderate approach." Robert Costa in The Washington Post.
Social conservatives still had their say. But even they started sounding a bit like libertarians. "Friday's Conservative Political Action Conference agenda looked like it was going to be dominated by social conservatives after the confab steered clear of the hot-button issues the day before. But, it turns out even social conservatives are sounding a bit like libertarians these days within the GOP." Cameron Joseph in The Hill.
Video: Highlights from CPAC. The Washington Post.
Video: Both sides of same-sex marriage come out to CPAC.The Washington Post.
Immigration hardliners: No room for us at CPAC. "Conservative foes to immigration reform say leaders of the Conservative Political Action Committee have found a way to solve internal friction over the issue: ignore them. While immigration remains one of the most divisive issues among conservatives, there was little sign of the divide inside the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor. But below the surface it was another story." Jackie Kucinich in The Washington Post.
Many CPAC attendees say decriminalize marijuana. "Although there were a few naysayers, most responses were consistent with the growing national support for decriminalizing marijuana. Some people said that legalization would mean locking up fewer people for a non-violent crime. Others cited the revenue boost that would likely come from taxing the drug." Sabrina Siddiqui in The Huffington Post.
Context: The GOP's marijuana quandary. "In recent years, American public opinion has shifted rapidly in favor of legalizing marijuana....The shift has powered a wave of political victories for marijuana advocates, from the 20 states where medical marijuana is now legal to the unprecedented ballot measures legalizing the drug in Colorado and Washington in 2012. Three more states expect to put pot to a popular vote this year....What opposition remains is concentrated among Republicans. According to Gallup, only about a third of Democrats and independents now oppose legalization, compared to nearly two-thirds of Republicans. Opponents of legalization are also disproportionately elderly. The situation closely parallels the party's predicament on gay marriage, which most Republicans still oppose even as widening majorities of the broader public support it. It adds up to a quandary for the GOP: Should it embrace the unpopular position still disproportionately favored by its members and risk marginalization as a result? Or will the burgeoning conservative voices in favor of legalization win out? Simply put, do Republicans want to be on the losing side of yet another culture war?" Molly Ball in The Atlantic.
Another reason this matters: The GOP also has a young people problem. "A new study by the Pew Research Center on millennials -- defined as those between the ages of 18 and 33 -- suggests that Republicans will have another major demographic issue on their hands in future elections: Young people are more liberal and are more inclined to support Democrats than the generations that have come before them. The findings suggest that millennials' attraction to Democratic and liberal policies extends beyond the candidacy (and presidency) of Barack Obama....Those numbers are daunting for Republicans but not determinative. After all, the party is on the verge of a major fight for its future direction -- the 2016 presidential race, anyone? -- and already there are voices within the GOP crafting a message that, given the Pew findings, could be more appealing to millennials than what Republicans have put forward in recent years. Take Sen. Rand Paul's speech at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference. It was heavy on libertarian themes and suffused with a distrust of government....That's a message millennials will respond to -- whether it's delivered by a Democrat or a Republican." Chris Cillizza in The Washington Post.
The most important moment at CPAC that no one noticed. "The most important moment as it relates to the future of the Republican party didn't come in a speech from a big name Republican thinking about running for president in 2016. It came on a panel about criminal justice reform. While it was sandwiched between several other, better attended sessions, the discussion of Republican progress on reforming the broken criminal justice system -- a discussion that included Perry as well as anti-tax activist Grover Norquist -- laid out a future-looking policy pathway for a party that desperately needs them." Wesley Lowery in The Washington Post.
Republicans audition for 2016 at CPAC. "Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Texas Governor Rick Perry, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and Paul were among the 'potentials' who came to test the waters. Though CPAC draws right-wingers of all stripes, from Oliver North to Santorum to a guy on stilts in a Ronald Reagan costume, it is increasingly dominated by libertarians, a combined result of their passionate engagement in movement politics and the discount rates the conference offers to college students. That makes it, for Paul, something of a hometown crowd." Molly Ball in The Atlantic.
Rand Paul wins second consecutive CPAC straw poll. "One day after riveting a packed convention ballroom, tea party darling Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) topped the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll, his second consecutive victory in the conservative confab's contest. Paul won 31 percent of the vote (compared with the 25 percent he won last year), beating a crowded field of more than two dozen names, including a number of potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders. He crushed second-place finisher Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who came in with 11 percent. Rounding out of the top finishers in the poll, which was voted on by 2,459 CPAC attendees, were former neurosurgen Ben Carson (9 percent) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (8 percent)." Wesley Lowery in The Washington Post.
But does it matter? @aseitzwald: "There hasn't been a CPAC straw poll this important since 2013."
Where CPAC attendees Ted Cruz and Rand Paul disagree -- and what it means for 2016. "Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) are two of the tea party's biggest heroes. They're often lumped together as leaders of a stridently conservative movement that is regularly at odds with the GOP establishment. But not all tea party rock stars are created equal....Cruz does not feel like he is aligned with Paul on foreign policy. He made that point in no uncertain terms....Paul is well-known for his libertarian-leaning views on foreign policy and national security. But Cruz has made clear that's not where he comes down....Both Paul and Cruz are possible 2016 presidential candidates, which raises the question: What do these difference mean for [2016]? The answer is they are more evidence the primary will probably be a complicated race in which it will be hard to put the candidates into any one box." Sean Sullivan in The Washington Post.
DIONNE: Are conservatives really interested in new ideas? "One way to look at this year's Conservative Political Action Conference is as a face-off between the 'No Surrender' cries of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and the 'Let's Try to Win' rhetoric of such politicians as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis). Seen in this light, Republicans truly are having the internal debate that Ryan called 'messy,' 'noisy' and 'a little bit uncomfortable.' But Ryan may have revealed more than he intended when he downplayed conservative divisions. 'For the most part,' Ryan insisted, 'these disagreements have not been over principles or even policies. They've been over tactics.' In which case, this is not an argument over ideas at all, but a discussion of packaging." E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post.
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/03/conservatism-emperor-has-old-clothes.html
DOUTHAT: Four factions, no favorites. "Thanks to a few strategically placed traffic cones, there is no front-runner for the G.O.P. nomination in 2016, which means that more prominent Republicans than usual are dreaming the presidential dream. Quite a few of them brought those dreams to the just-concluded Conservative Political Action Conference, jostling for the attention of activists, chasing cameras or being chased by them, trading compliments and subtle digs. A few, like the still-in-damage-control Chris Christie, were just there to pay their respects. But most were trying to ace CPAC's big audition, and prove that they could play the One True Conservative in the 2016 race. The question is whether that role will actually exist. We're accustomed to a narrative of Republican politics that pits the Tea Party against the establishment, the right against the center right. But that has always been an oversimplification....A better framework is suggested by Henry Olsen, writing in The National Interest, who argues that Republican presidential campaigns are usually defined by four factions rather than two." Ross Douthat in The New York Times.
CHAIT: New report shows how young liberals own the future of U.S. politics. "There are a few familiar, important caveats. First, Republicans are facing a midterm election they're going to win -- not only because the young tend not to vote in midterms, but also because the president's party tends to lose midterms in general, the House map structurally favors the GOP, and this year's Senate elections are held on overwhelmingly friendly turf for the GOP. Second, in any given election, a party can do well even if the broader structural factors are working against it. The 1970s were a terrible decade for Democrats, but Watergate helped them with the 1974 and 1976 elections. A recession or major scandal in 2016 would probably hand the election to Republicans. But the overall picture is an electorate that is growing steadily more liberal on both social and economic policy, and whose views Republicans will eventually have to accommodate. I, for one, welcome our new liberal overlords." Jonathan Chait in New York Magazine.
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