What CPAC Taught Me

Three lessons from my first CPAC.

On the drive home from CPAC, my wife asked me what the three biggest things I learned were.

The first was that the conference’s theme was Action over Words, and messaging focused on this. People are tired of platitudes, recycled talking points, and performance politics that never survive contact with governing. They want proof. They want results. They want to know whether strong rhetoric will actually become policy. Conservatives have craved this level of accountability since the Tea Party Movement that began around 2007.

The second was unity. That word can be overused, but the concern behind it is real. A movement that keeps shrinking its own tent will eventually shrink its own future. That does not mean giving up standards. It means asking how small a coalition can afford to become before it loses the ability to govern.

There are many internal conflicts within the movement where I have respected people on both sides of the argument. Some are easier to spot, while others operate as ‘infiltrators’ seeking to undermine the movement from within. Liberals have the advantage of operating under a ‘hivemind mentality’. Perhaps, it’s difficult to quantify when someone has crossed the threshold into RHINO territory, but many of us just know it when we see it, such as refusal to pass common sense common ground policy, such as the SAVE Act.

That question stayed with me. A serious movement has to know the difference between preserving standards and devouring its own.

The third thing I learned was that many people in the room see this fight as larger than America alone. There was a real sense that what is happening here is connected to a broader struggle over sovereignty, order, and civilizational confidence. I mentioned to many foreigners attending CPAC, how moved I was to see large marches around the world chanting ‘We are Charlie Kirk’. It was well received in America and well respected. We should want good to spread across the world over evil, even while believing in the ‘America First’ policy.

What I wish I had heard more of, however, was policy in action. Not just diagnosis. Not just applause lines. More specifics about what has been done, what is working, and what comes next. Many speakers made this their focus, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He praised President Trump as the best president of his lifetime, called it a Godsend that brought them together, and covered a long list of first-year accomplishments to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), where decades of Uniparty politicians had failed. A Democrat of all people, and one who has proven to be passionate about God and the spiritual, mental, and physical well-being of Americans. I hope he continues to prove to be who we need in that role. The fight continues against the ‘poisoning of our well’ through food and water, product contamination, environmental contamination, and even the provision of higher-quality meals to our Armed Forces.

To the administration’s credit, the new White House app now offers a more concise public-facing presentation of its priorities and initiatives. In addition to achievements, news, social media, and other features. That kind of clarity helps. The ongoing measure will be that the policy pipeline is moving in ways the public can see, measure, and trust. By taking the leap of releasing such lists, individual Americans can debate policy priorities while focusing on making measurable progress.

The ball is now in Congress’s court, where they face pressure to legislate crucial policy changes, or face recall into oblivion under Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution.

Top Priorities

• Lead the World in AI
• Grow the Economy
• Strengthen National Security
• Reform Government (DOGE)
• Make America Healthy Again
• Secure the Border
• Unleash American Energy
• Support Public Safety
• Protect Religious Liberty

Key Initiatives

• The SAVE America Act
• Working Families Tax Cuts
• School Choice
• Freedom 250
• AI.Gov
• Crypto
• FIFA
• The Trump Gold Card
• Restoring Maritime Dominance
• Fostering the Future
• Summer Reading Challenge

There are policy decisions we could focus on now where common ground exists, while other debates continue and real action stays in motion.

I also intentionally saved my mention of Chuck Norris’ passing for this post.

“Well, I used to be a Democrat, but unfortunately, the Democrats went too far to the left, and Republicans moved into their position that the Democrats were 40 years ago… I realized that I had to go to a Republican because the Democrats got too far off the trail. They just completely lost all reality of what America stood for.”

Rest in peace, Chuck Norris.

I came home from CPAC with three lessons, but not yet a final verdict. The larger question of where that leaves me is more personal, and it deserves its own reflection.