Taking a Back Seat at CPAC

Pot
was in and social conservatism was out. That is the best single sentence
summary I can give after three exhausting and sometimes mind-numbing days at
last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

The
gathering is a media favorite partly for its colorful characters. One tall
attendee—wearing Wrangler jeans, a cowboy hat, and a shirt boldly emblazoned
with “Ask Me Why Cops Say Legalize Pot”—was known as the Lone Reefer, but he
was hardly alone. The CPAC straw poll inquired about marijuana attitudes, and
41 percent of the 2,459 participants favored its legalization for recreational
use, with another 21 percent for medicinal purposes. In the poll’s main event,
a question not on pot but on the next POTUS, the libertarian leaning Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul dominated with 31 percent of the vote (Ted Cruz was a distant
second at 11 percent).

There
would be no panels devoted specifically to abortion, and despite the
conference’s emphasis on women and the next generation of leaders (included a “10
under 40” program for the main stage) the young, energetic and articulate
pro-life voice of Live Action President Lila Rose did not make the cut. CPAC
chose instead to place its spotlight on a number of doubtlessly personally
decent but unpolished speakers, state senators and the like, who offered
speeches such as “Indiana is Leading the Way.”

Neither
did the marriage debate have a panel of its own, but it was central to a
discussion entitled, “Can Libertarians and Social Conservatives Ever Get Along?”
Panelist Matt Welch, editor of the libertarian Reason magazine, later wrote
he was generally heartened by the response of the crowd.

Welch
was referring to his panel, but he just as well could have been noting the
almost empty room that earlier in the day had heard Ralph Reed dust off his old
religious right routine from the 1990s, updated to call for the impeachment of
Attorney General Eric Holder. Between glances at their smartphones, some bored
college kids near me making lunch plans were asking, “Who is this guy?”

The
biggest stars of the CPAC show, however, are not the pontificating think
tankers or magazine editors, but the politicians who come to toss slabs of
political red meat to the activist masses. There was lots of talk of Obamacare
and Benghazi and personal freedom, but the references to social issues were
often short and fleeting, if they occurred at all.

Ben
Carson was the only potential presidential candidate to clearly affirm his
support for a traditional marriage definition. Paul Ryan and Louisiana Governor
Bobby Jindal tried to check the social box by noting issues of religious
liberty. Mike Huckabee channeled his old preacher skills to warn of “fiery
judgment” should we forget God. Political entertainer Sarah Palin closed out
CPAC with some modified Dr. Seuss and a rousing blizzard of one-liners
including a shout out for “our littlest sisters in the womb,” a quip that
brought about a third of the packed house to its feet. Rick Perry and Florida
Senator Marco Rubio made no mention of social issues at all, and New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie was content to self-identify as pro-life while
highlighting GOP tolerance for pro-choice speakers at its conventions. Rand
Paul had a lot to say about NSA spying but was silent on life and marriage.

In
the exhibit hall, an earnest looking and red-sash wearing defender of
Tradition, Family, and Property handed me a pamphlet featuring a rainbow
colored beaver gnawing away at the social leg of the conservatism’s three-legged
stool of fiscal policy, national defense, and social values. The danger to
social conservatism, however, is not so much barbarian beavers at the gate, but
internal dry rot.

Social conservatism can be debated, but economic conservatism
must be celebrated—often in quasi-religious terms. “And Entrepreneurship
Shall Set You Free: How to Celebrate Free Market Capitalism in the Popular
Culture” proclaimed the title for one main stage offering, and bright faced
college students (46 percent of the attendees were under age twenty-five) could
be seen handing out “I Love Capitalism” posters.

Chris Plante of the National Organization for Marriage said the “short shrift”
given social issues at CPAC was a disappointing “political mistake.” Maggen
Stone of Live Action noted a number of visitors were pleasantly surprised to
see their booth but were upset at the lack of pro-life programming. The shift towards libertarianism at CPAC has been evident for a number of years, and has likely helped fuel the rise of alternative venues such as the
Values Voters Summit, begun in 2006.

Both
in what was said and what wasn’t, there was often more evidence of friction
than fusionism. This gathering shows no signs of going away, but, in the long
run, whether social conservatives will be content with just a seat at the CPAC kid’s
table remains to be seen. 

John Murdock works as a natural resources attorney in Washington, D.C., and is a member of The Falls Church Anglican in northern Virginia. He has written on environmental matters for numerous outlets including The New Atlantis. 

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