Conservative Student News

Photo credit: Renae Bartusch

Imagine being surrounded by people from all over the United States and of all different ages who believe in and stand for the same ideas that you do. This is exactly where I found myself Feb.7-9, 2008. I was in Washington, D.C. for the American Conservative Union's 35th year to host the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Omni Shoreham Hotel.

CPAC ‘08 attracted 6,000 plus people and I was lucky enough to be one of those people. CPAC hosts some of the most prominent intellectuals, policymakers, and professionals who are a part of the conservative movement today. This year, CPAC also honored one of the most revered and influential conservatives of our time, Ronald Reagan.

The first day of the conference was action-packed to say the least. The lineup of speakers included Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Ron Paul (Mike Huckabee spoke the following day). Dick Cheney's speech was a great way to kick off the conference. One quote from him that will remain forever engraved in my mind was "The absence of another 9/11 is not an accident, it is an achievement." I have never heard people cheer so loud or clap so hard for one statement during a speech. It sent chills down my spine because I knew it was true.

I must say that I did not sleep very much on this trip, but for good reason. President Bush was scheduled to speak at 10:00 a.m. until the devastating storms hit the southern part of the United States. His speech was moved to 7:00 a.m. so that he could leave earlier to survey the damage from the tornadoes. However, this three hour time change did not stop anyone from getting up in the wee hours of the morning to wait to go through security to see him.

Once again, I was surrounded by people who feel how I feel and who appreciate what our President has done for us. The crowd received him with open arms and applauded him numerous times after he talked about what he has accomplished so far in office. He has had many difficult decisions to make during his presidency and I was happy to see people acknowledge his accomplishments.

All of the speakers were excellent, especially the president, but what I found most engaging was listening to the candidates. The 2008 Republican Presidential race has been a heated one that has drawn an enormous amount of attention from the media and the public. So, for the candidates to be talking directly to their conservative supporters was very important. There were a mix of supporters for each of the candidates and a sense of excitement in the air before each of them spoke. It was clear after the conference that the majority of people supported Mitt Romney and his conservative ideals. A straw poll was taken and, even after Romney suspended his campaign, he came out on top.

Tony Snow, President Bush's former press secretary, left the conference attendees with a sense of hope for the future as he spoke on the last day of CPAC. His speech was a perfect ending to an amazing couple of days. He got the CPAC attendees on their feet multiple times and knew exactly what to say in order to leave us with a positive feeling about both our country's future and the direction of the conservative movement.

Snow talked about why it is great to be conservative and how our ideals and beliefs are definitely not going to change or disappear. At one point, he talked about how liberals think that we are losing momentum, while we are only closing act one to begin act two. A standing ovation was in order after that statement and after he affirmed that conservatism is compassion.

I feel so energized from the amazing speakers that I heard. They made me feel good about being a conservative. This was the first time I have been around people who are predominately conservative, rather than liberal, and it made me feel optimistic about where the conservative movement is going. After attending CPAC '08 I am proud to say I am conservative. Young people might think that being liberal and "open to new ideas" is the cool thing: Attending three days of CPAC and listening to powerful conservative movers and shakers reaffirmed my political beliefs and strengthened my confidence as a conservative. I know that the conservative movement is something I am excited to be a part of.