CPAC Didn’t Used to Be This Insane (I Swear)

REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger

It’s time once again for the “Mardi Gras for the Right,” also known as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The annual gathering has long been a riotous affair, but the bacchanalian revelry once belied a buttoned-down conservative class that ran the event.

These days, they let their freak flag fly. And no, I’m not talking about dubious yarns of after-hours debauchery—though I am old enough to remember Steve Stockman’s hot tub party (no, I wasn’t there). I’m talking instead about political statements that will be uttered on stage by credentialed speakers or on camera by attention-starved activists and attendees. I mean, the event just kicked off Thursday, and already, a video with a self-described “Jan. 6 political prisoner” is garnering buzz.

Those small potatoes will quickly be forgotten. Every CPAC has a narrative, but what will this year be? Attendance could be down. That’d be embarrassing. Big names like Gov. Ron DeSantis are skipping this year’s event. Could it be that CPAC isn’t as relevant as it used to be? What is more, this year’s meeting is taking place on the heels of allegations that the event’s organizer, Matt Schlapp, groped a Herschel Walker campaign aide.

Read more at The Daily Beast.