By Kate Seifert

Staff Writer

So how’s that hope and change working for you? 

Although Barack Obama won the 2008 Presidential Election, his supporters are now having doubts. Even Representative Joe Sestak (D-PA), candidate for the U.S. Senate, attacked Obama in his new “Dear Mr. President” ad. The clip features community members who voted or worked on Obama’s campaign scolding the president for supporting Senator Arlen Specter, stating that this is “not change we can believe in.” 

If this is what Democrats are saying, you can be sure that critics on the other side of the political spectrum are feeling stronger than ever—that was made abundantly clear to me at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week.  

Friday, Feb. 18 kicked off the 37th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC. It lasted until Saturday and brought in nearly 10,000 attendees, including (but certainly not limited to) Tea Party activists, pro-lifers, veterans, policemen for the legalization of marijuana, conservative bloggers, and hoards of college Republicans.

The hotel was abuzz with activities in several ballrooms and a packed exhibit hall with a labyrinth of conservative organization tables representing a bevy of causes.

The NRA had a virtual shooting range. Several publishing companies were selling copies of Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck’s most recent books. The other 90 or so other booths showcased their causes, including special interest groups such as the Poker Players Alliance, Concerned Women for America, and the Council for Racial Equality.  

It was nearly impossible to walk from one room to another without receiving flyers for upcoming activities and informational DVDs. The roster of speakers was filled with powerful and influential conservative icons and underdogs.

Walking into see Liz Cheney speak, I was handed a sticker that read "Draft Cheney 2012." Sure enough, after mentioning the influence her father has had on her, Liz shocked the audience by announcing that she was bringing him out. Dick Cheney walked on stage, waving to the ecstatic crowd.

“Knock it off," he said. "A welcome like this almost enough to make me want to run for office again.”

The audience rose in a standing ovation.

As Mitt Romney took the stage, the hall was filled with whispers that he would be the next presidential candidate. He began with some recent Olympic news, informing us that the gold medal Lindsey Vonn had won the night before had been stripped away from her. 

“President Obama has been going downhill faster than she had,” he said, joking. 

Romney continued to point out President Obama’s failures and noted that Obama’s self-grade of a B+ for his first year of his presidency will “go down in history as the biggest exaggeration since Al Gore’s invention of the internet.”   

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence reminded us that “a recession is when your neighbor loses his job, a depression is when you lose your job, but recovery is when Nancy Pelosi loses hers.”      

The crowd grew so impatient while waiting for Ron Paul that the Two-Minute Activists, young conservatives explaining how they have been making a difference, were nearly ignored. 

However one speaker, Ryan Sorba, an organizer with California Young Americans for Freedom, created uproar as he began his speech by condemning CPAC for inviting GOProud (which he mistakenly called GoPride), an organization for gay conservatives, to co-sponsor conference. 

As the crowd began to boo, Sorba answered, “Bring it, I love it!”

He continued to explain his views as some in the crowd clapped in support and others vocalized their anger, inciting him to step off the stage. It was an awkward moment as the audience was left to debate whether he had the right to freedom of opinion, or if he was truly overstepping boundaries by using his time to pursue a separate agenda. 

I spoke with a representative from GOProud, which was positioned two booths down from the National Organization for Marriage in the exhibit hall. The representative said the Sorba incident was unfortunate, though many people had come to express their support for GOProud, which strives to preserve traditional conservative values on the federal level.  

The always entertaining Ann Coulter made a quick speech to the at-capacity ballroom, which was more of a stand-up comedy routine with the typical low blows aimed at Bill Clinton, President Obama, and John Edwards. She didn’t provide anything extraordinarily shocking or any easy-to-manipulate sound bites for her enemies to use against her in the future.  

Who do CPAC attendees see as the 2012 Republican presidential candidate? Straw Poll results read: 31% for Rep. Ron Paul (a result which was booed when announced), 22% for Mitt Romney, 7% for Sarah Palin, followed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty with 6%, Rep. Mike Pence with 5%, Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee with 4% each, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Rick Santorum and Sen. John Thune with 2% each and Gov. Haley Barbour with 1%. 

The poll was hardly scientific, though. Only about 25 percent of attendees participated in the poll, and Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty fought hard for votes, while other candidates remained relatively apathetic. 

Glenn Beck was the keynote speaker at the conference and if the audience was fatigued from three long days of activism, it was impossible to tell. His mere presence electrified the room and he brought his trusty chalk board on stage to outline what he called the “disease of America”: progressivism. He said he agreed with Dick Cheney that it had been a good year for conservatives however that “it’s not enough not to suck as much as the other side.”

Liberal-bashing and shameless book-plugging aside, CPAC’s featured speakers pumped up the audience by reminding them of the past year’s victories including the Senate wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. It was also apparent that libertarian beliefs are becoming more mainstream inside the GOP, as evidence by enthusiasm shown for Ron Paul during his speech (even if his win in the straw poll was not well received).

Looking towards the future, conservatives are focused on gaining the House majority and ensuring that Barack Obama will be a one-term president. A year ago, obituaries were being written about the conservative movement, however after last weekend’s conference, it is obvious that this movement is not only alive, but energized and ready to take back Washington.      

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