CPAC 2011 was like a trip through the looking glass.
At most political conferences, the mix of pragmatists and true believers results in a message with broad appeal, but rooted in shared principles. That's when everyone "gets it." CPAC was a mass exercise in not "getting it."
Two days at CPAC made the GOP's big problem crystal clear. The conservative movement is split between two factions of "true believers," both wildly out of step with what most Americans want, and heavily invested in "not getting it."
I have to admit, I got a little excited during Mitt Romney's speech at CPAC. It began so well, in a sense. I wrote yesterday that I heard (and saw) very little about jobs and job creation at CPAC. Then, Mitt Romney took to the stage and changed that. But, it turned out, only for a moment.
I was only half-listening to Romney until I heard the "J-Word" — the equivalent of a four-letter word at CPAC, it turns out, because it's only mentioned in the context of slamming the president and the Democratic congress for "failing" to create jobs. The problem is, that's where it ends at CPAC.
Believe it or not, the appearance of Donald Trump at CPAC was not the most surreal moment of my first day at the conference. That came later, but not by much.
No, I'm not jumping ship or anything like that. I'm just at CPAC looking for something, anything about how conservatives plan to create jobs. Let's just say I'm still looking.
Today, I'm attending (and covering) the Conservative Political Action Conference (a.k.a CPAC) for the first time, and so far it's been interesting. I have to admit, I don't spend an awful lot of time hanging out with conservatives. I've spend a lot of time reading what they've written, but not so much listening to what they have to say.
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