GOP Conservatives Still Shopping
By CBSNews.com Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs.
In 2004, President George W. Bush accomplished something his father couldn't by winning a second term. He was elected and re-elected largely on a strategy of appealing to, then turning out, the conservative base of the Republican Party. But for the movement's movers and shakers gathering in Washington this week, Bush doesn't hold the same place in their hearts as the last two-term GOP president. For them, George W. Bush is no Ronald Reagan.
At the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday morning, the 2008 presidential contest was the most visible concern for the activists, students and conservative leaders in attendance. It was hard to miss the presence of the Gipper, but more than pure nostalgia or affection, conservatives are asserting a measure of independence and staking out their claims for the coming election.
Conservatives find themselves outsiders to some extent within their own party, a position they have not been in since the early 1990s. Feeling abandoned on issues ranging from immigration to government spending, this core segment of the GOP is looking to flex its muscle. And in attempting to assert influence over the 2008 field, those attending the conference are keeping their president at arms length as well. Looking toward the future, these activists indicate they aren't following anyone's agenda but theirs.
David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union and the key organizer of the CPAC event, told reporters that while nearly everyone at the conference are clearly affiliated with and work through the Republican Party, "there has always been a question of, how do you do that without just being relegated to the back of the bus and taken for granted?"
When conservative author and direct-mail guru Richard Viguerie addressed the conference Thursday morning, he made a point of congratulating organizers for not inviting the chairman of the Republican National Committee to speak – something that has been done in years past. Keene said the reason RNC General Chairman Mel Martinez was not included in the program was not meant to send any message. Martinez had not yet been elected to the post last month when the schedule was firmed up. Still, Viguerie's glee signaled how far conservative activists want to stay from the party establishment at this point in time.
Keene indicated that conservatives were weary of being taken for granted. "What you see now," he told CBSNews.com, "is a reaction to Bush and the congressional leadership over the last few years, where there was always a reason to say, 'well, we need to go along with this because these are our guys.'" Keene indicated that relationship hasn't worked out that well for conservative ideals. "Pretty soon, incrementally, you do all that and you wake up one morning and not only does it turn into a political disaster but it wasn't all that good" for conservatives. "How do you influence without being co-opted or being so outside you can't? It's a balancing act."
President Bush isn't being shunned at the conference. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was well-received by a packed room when he spoke and stressed the administration's conservative credentials on Thursday afternoon. Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to give the main address at the event's Presidential Banquet.
Still, organizers are sending a pointed message. CPAC is conducting a straw poll during the course of the three-day conference, designed to gauge the level of support among these conservative die-hards for the Republican Party's presidential field. In addition to questions about candidate preference and issues of importance, the fourth question on the poll might be most telling. It asks, "all things being equal, would you MOST likely support a Republican candidate for President who called themselves" a "Ronald Reagan Republican" or a "George W. Bush Republican?"
While the candidate preference results will be most buzzed about, there's little doubt about the statistical outcome of that question. It's a message aimed more at the field of presidential hopefuls than the administration.
John McCain has had a rocky relationship with conservatives because of his past tussles with them. McCain championed campaign-finance legislation, an anathema to conservatives and has angered them on issues ranging from judicial nominations to taxes. When he ran for president in 2000, he clashed harshly with Bush (then a conservative favorite) and criticized leaders of the religious right, calling them "agents of intolerance." While he has spent the past years patching up those relationships, divisions with conservatives remain.
McCain decided not to attend, but the two other perceived front-runners will speak on Friday and both have their own differences with the movement. Rudy Giuliani is soaring in the polls, even among evangelicals and self-described conservatives, on the strength of his performance on 9/11. But his moderate-to-liberal positions on social issues like abortion and gay rights are completely out of step with this audience.
Seeing a void, Mitt Romney has targeted conservatives of all stripes. But Romney's recent conversion on abortion (he used to be pro-choice, now he's pro-life) and other issues have many wondering about the conviction of his new-found convictions. Signs of that were evident in the halls of the CPAC event, where an anonymous man wondered the halls in a dolphin costume designed to portray Romney as a "flipper" and flip-flops strewn about with his name on them.
The activists at CPAC are still shopping for a candidate, and making that point loud and clear. "You've got all these candidates," Keene said, "and none of them are born to the faith, if you will. So if we're going to be a player, then we're going to have to be strong and say we're here because we believe A, B and C."