American Conservative Union

Founded by William F. Buckley in 1964, the American Conservative Union (ACU) is one of the nation's oldest lobbying groups on the Right. It is best known for its annual ratings of Congress and its sponsorship of the annual Conservative Political Action Convention (CPAC), a gathering of Washington insiders, right-wing pundits and grassroots activists from across the country.

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American Conservative Union

Palin's Incoherent Excuse For Skipping CPAC

Submitted by Kyle on January 8, 2010 - 9:19am

Once again, Sarah Palin will be skipping CPAC, traditionally the biggest conservative political gathering of the year, apparently because she's a maverick who doesn't want to be associated with those who place "special interests over core beliefs":

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Pain is turning down an invitation to speak at one high-profile conservative gathering while accepting another.

Palin is declining an invitation to address the Conservative Political Action Conference next month because, a source said, she does not want to be affiliated with the longtime organizer of the traditional movement confab.

At issue is the role of David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union which organizes CPAC. In September, POLITICO reported that Keene asked FedEx for between $2 million and $3 million to get the group's support in a bitter legislative battle with rival UPS.

A source close to the Palin camp says that request led to a decision to stay away from the upcoming CPAC conference, calling it a forum that will place "special interests over core beliefs" and "pocketbook over policy."

"That's not what CPAC should be about and people are tiring," the source said. "Palin is taking a stance against this just as she did in Alaska."

When asked about the move, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said: "We support those who advance our core beliefs and lead by principle."

Interestingly, Palin seems to be the only one taking this sort of "principled" stand dozens of conservative groups have signed on as co-sponsors of the event, including Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Eagle Forum.

Even more interesting is this fact:

While Palin was turning down CPAC, she accepted an invitation to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this April.

"I'm looking forward to addressing conservative activists from across the south at the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference," Palin said in a statement announcing her attendance. "This is a great opportunity to listen and speak to those who are helping to set the direction of our party."

Well, take a guess who else is co-sponsoring CPAC. That's right, the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.

So Palin doesn't want to associate with CPAC because its organizers don't "advance our core beliefs and lead by principle" ... but will speak at a conference hosted by a group that is co-sponsoring CPAC?

That makes a lot of sense.

And apparently she believes the folks putting on the National Tea Party Convention do share her core beliefs and lead by principle, which is why she is eager to share the stage with people like Joseph Farah and Rick Scarborough.

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CPAC Won't Drop GOProud Sponsorship

Submitted by Kyle on December 28, 2009 - 9:11am

David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union, which puts on the Conservative Political Action Conference every year, has responded to the complaints from anti-gay activists who are demanded that the gay conservative group GOProud be removed from the list of CPAC co-sponsors, by refusing to do so but assuring them that GOProud will not be allowed to speak at the event and that the CPAC's overwhelmingly anti-gay bias would not be undermined by GOProud's presence:

Keene admitted GOProud "has signed on as a CPAC co-sponsor, but will have no speakers and we told them that, in fact, since opposition to gay marriage, etc are consensus positions (if not unanimous) among conservatives, these topics are not open to debate."

...

"I know that there are those who are as opposed to the sinner as the sin, but our view is that CPAC is inclusive and welcomes all of those who agree with us on most issues. I don't know the GOProud people personally, but we find it difficult to exclude groups because of disagreements on one or two issues no matter how important many of us believe those issues to be … other examples: we have pro-life and pro-abortion co-sponsors, advocates of restrictive and more open immigration, supporters and opponents of the war in Afghanistan and supporters and opponents of some of the restrictions adopted in the war on terror since 9/11," he continued.

"Some of these issues draw significant support on both sides of the question from the broad movement and these we often debate at CPAC … trade policy, immigration are example … while others like abortion are consensus positions and while we accept those who differ from the consensus, we see no reason for further debate. Gay issues fall within this category," he said.

Of course, anti-gay activists aren't buying it and instead see it as proof that the conservative movement is being infiltrated by socialists:

"I would have thought the American Conservative Union would have had a higher standard for groups that cosponsor their pivotal annual event," [radio host Adam] McManus told WND. "If there's one time when conservatives need to be getting their message right and need to be clear about what they believe, it's right now amidst the Obama socialist push."

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Coulter to Speak, Limbaugh to be Hailed at CPAC

Submitted by Kyle on February 6, 2009 - 2:22pm

Remember last year when the hosts of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) decided not to give Ann Coulter her traditional speaking role at the event because, the year before, she had called John Edwards a "faggot"? Well, apparently, all has been forgiven

Coulter still spoke last year, of course, but was relegated to a back room where she was the guest of several of the conference's sponsors. And now, as the conservative movement tries to figure out its course of action under a Democratic president and Congress, it looks like CPAC organizers have decided to place her front and center once again by giving her, and several other right-wing blowhards, prime speaking spots at the event:

The latest schedule for the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. late February: Possible presidential candidates include Rep. Paul Ryan (WI), speaking Thursday, Rep. Mike Pence (IN), speaking Thursday -- he's invited, not confirmed -- Gov. Mike Huckabee, on Thursday, Gov. Sarah Palin, on Thursday -- invited, not confirmed, and Rep. John Shadegg (AZ). On Friday, Sen. John Cornyn speaks in the early morning; Newt Gingrich hosts a screening of a movie about Ronald Reagan. Ron Paul and Mitt Romney speak in the afternoon. On Saturday, Rick Santorum begins the day and Gov. Tim Palwenty is an invites speaker. The lovely Ann Coulter speaks at noon. And Rush Limbaugh finishes the conference.

Indeed, according to the schedule, Coulter and Limbaugh are slotted to speak in the Regency Ballroom, which is the hub of the entire conference, on the final day ... and Limbaugh is going to be awarded with a "Defender of the Constitution Award" to close out the whole event.

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Right Issues Demands on SCOTUS

Submitted by Kyle on September 9, 2008 - 10:01am

The Hill reports that even though John McCain has repeatedly and explicitly promised to nominate judges like John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, the Right is still a little unsure that they can trust him and so they decided to work explicit language into the GOP platform in order to send him a clear message:

Republican conservatives have given John McCain a warning on what kind of justices he may appoint to the Supreme Court as president.

Their message: no surprises.

Authors of the 2008 GOP platform have included specific language urging Sen. McCain (Ariz.), the party’s nominee, not to appoint “stealth nominees” to the court. That language was the result of lobbing by the conservative activists.

…

The platform makes clear that McCain should appoint jurists who have clearly defined views of constitutional interpretation.

It states: “We oppose stealth nominations to the federal bench, and especially the Supreme Court, whose lack of a clear and distinguished record leaves doubt about their respect for the Constitution.”

Conservative activists led by Manuel Miranda, chairman of the Third Branch Conference, a coalition of conservative leaders active on judicial matters, began pushing for the platform changes in May. It began a minuet between the McCain campaign and its conservative skeptics that eventually shaped the presidential platform.

The last time the Right was sending McCain explicit messages about what it expected from him, they were telling him that his choices of running mate were patently unacceptable, to which he responded by utterly capitulating and giving them everything they wanted in Sarah Palin. In fact, it seems as if his caving to their demands on Palin has actually helped assuage their concerns about his willingness to do their bidding:

Conservative leaders who worked on the platform said the strength of the document and McCain’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate eased concerns that lingered right up until the convention.

“The two combined changed everything,” said [David] Keene [of the American Conservative Union.]

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The Elusive Reagan Spirit

Submitted by Ezra on February 7, 2008 - 4:05pm

Ronald Reagan’s disembodied voice opened the Conservative Political Action Conference, and the host, American Conservative Union President David Keene, boasted that Reagan spoke at CPAC seventeen times. Indeed, the very first panel was a discussion of the former president. “What better way to start a Conservative Political Action Conference than with a conversation about Ronald Reagan?” asked right-wing publisher Al Regnery.

But while the activists gathered at CPAC are unanimous in invoking Reagan’s legacy, confusion about what that means was evident from the start.

Starting off the first panel (the one about Reagan), Robert Novak posed the question, “Is George W. Bush really Ronald Reagan’s disciple?” If Reagan were president, he asked, would we still be in Iraq? This panel agreed: Nope.

However, this moment of agreement was interrupted by the early arrival of the next speaker: Vice President Dick Cheney, who received standing ovations for his hard-line statements on the war, domestic surveillance, and the administration’s “tough” interrogation policy. The Bush Administration’s legacy appeared secure with this crowd.

And then the Reagan panel resumed: Would Reagan, Novak asked, “conceivably” have proposed such projects as No Child Left Behind or the Medicare prescription drug plan?