CPAC kicks off annual gathering

Well, it was laid out in the prime minister's speech at CPAC, he had a lot of Americanisms, a lot of movie quotes. But the point of his speech was that conservatives need to, in his words, play by their own rules to defeat the left. So they need to be ready to dismantle the institutions of the left. They need to be ready to be called names. They need to be ready to just do what is necessary. And if they do that, they're going to win. And so what you see in Orban, you've been seeing this on the American right for a number of years, is a model of governance that there's a wide belief Donald Trump should copy or Ron DeSantis should copy if he takes back power, don't worry about offending the media. Don't worry about offending institutions and use the power of the state, as you're kind of seeing in Florida and some other places, to shut down institutions that are not serving the needs that you were elected to fill. - Dave, you've covered the Republican Party for years. We've covered CPACs together going back to the Tea Party moment inside the GOP where CPAC has been a mainstay. How has CPAC changed since those Tea Party days and the earlier days of CPAC back in the '70s and '80s when Ronald Reagan was the main draw?

There's less of a debate at CPAC. When I started coming in the late 2000s and at the end of the Bush era, there was a argument about what conservatives should be doing. Should they-- the libertarian wing of the movement had debates with more nationalist wings. And frankly, in 2007 and 2008, the first conventions I went to, the sort of Tom Tancredo nationalist, let's build a border wall conservatives, were pretty marginalized. The leaders of the conference, leaders Republican Party, thought those sort of politics would never lead you to a majority. That has changed. This is a very Trump colored CPAC under Matt Schlapp's leadership. The media that is here, the sponsors of the conference, they've changed. They're all much more pro Trump. Mega outlets and-- work outside the mainstream media, work outside even the Republican Party itself, you'll notice-- you talked about some people who are going to come, but you'll notice Mitch McConnell is not here. Kevin McCarthy is not here. Jim Jordan is here. So the forces inside the Republican establishment that are angling for Trump to get back, or going out of their way to try to overturn the 2020 election, they're really in the driver's seat of the conference. And the conservatives who disagree with that are just not here. - As you've just outlined, this is really seen as a gathering of Trump supporters, Trump voters. But where, Dave, does the former President actually fit at CPAC in 2022? Is this a crowd in Texas that wants him to run desperately? Or do they see him as one of many options for 2024?

They see him as one of a few options. There's a lot of enthusiasm for Ron DeSantis wherein Texas. There's less enthusiasm for Greg Abbott or for Ted Cruz, and I'd say for either of those two men. But it is less about the men except for the people who believe that the election was stolen from Donald Trump, it is more-- we need fighters like Trump who are going to go in there and not be afraid to dismantle the left and make targets out of the media. And that attitude was always there with conservatives, but that is the mindset. I haven't heard and there hasn't been much of a focus on 2024 talk. I'd say it's generally assumed that Trump is going to run and be their nominee. And if he doesn't, then someone like DeSantis is the front runner. People are not wearing gear, their shirts, as they have in the past, to the extent anyone's wearing anything that shows their support for a candidate. It's all Trump. - Dave Weigel, good luck in Texas, appreciate your time.

Thank you so much. - We'll be right back. You are streaming Red and Blue on CBS News. [MUSIC PLAYING] - CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley on CBS. - You ready? - A generation of kids opens up on CBS Reports. - I just want to be like a regular kid. - Their world, their struggles, their voices. - What if I was white? - A lot of people like to call names and make you feel ashamed for being proud of who you are. - Now streaming, Gender. - I did not realize that you could change your gender. - Realizing how you feel. - You can be a boy, sometimes you feel like a girl, sometimes you feel like both. - Redefining who you are. - I identify as trans. - Gender fluid. - Non-binary and queer. - Is the idea of gender.