CPAC 2019: Conservatives rally the base against AOC and Democratic socialism
Conservatives gather this week to plot a strategy for winning big in 2020 and they’re more energized than they’ve been in years -- thanks to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
From her proposed Green New Deal, which promises a government job to anyone who wants one, to even broader support on the left for a costly Medicare for all policy, conservatives see Democrats self-destructing by embracing something the GOP can easily cast as socialism.
“When the American people see the radical policies Democrats have added to the agenda, it gives Republicans a great opening,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and host of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
The strategy is evident throughout the CPAC agenda. The first panel at “Activism Boot Camp” Wednesday is “How the Left Does It: People, Technology & How They Sell Socialism with a Smile.” Among the panelists are Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign.
On Thursday, Schlapp is scheduled to moderate a session on “Marketing Marxism: There’s Nothing New About the Green New Deal.”
And on the Friday agenda is a panel on “AOC’s Green New Deal: Debunking the Climate Alarmism Behind Bringing Full Socialism to America.”
“Fighting against the Green New Deal requires fighting against Ocasio-Cortez’s socialist ideology,” said Justin Haskins, executive editor and research fellow at the Illinois-based Heartland Institute, which is sponsoring the event.
CPAC’s laser-like focus on socialist and self-described Democratic socialist Ocasio-Cortez is noteworthy, but not surprising. President Donald Trump previewed the party’s strategy in his State of the Union address and Republicans on and off Capitol Hill have carried the message since.
Ocasio-Cortez was working at a New York City restaurant as a bartender when she launched her longshot 2018 campaign to oust veteran Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley. She had previously been active in grassroots political campaigns, including a stint working for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 Democratic presidential campaign.
She has stayed in the political spotlight this year with a stream of comments outlining her views and adeptly defending herself online from detractors.
Recently, she said no one on her congressional staff would earn less than $52,000 annually, a decent salary in a place where entry-level employees often make much less. The funds for congressional staff are allocated to each member, and a higher salary at the entry level means top staff will earn less working for Ocasio-Cortez than for other members.
“Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth said Sunday of her plan, “It’s actually socialism and communism on display.”
Ocasio-Cortez fired back, tweeting: “The GOP is so disconnected from the basic idea that people should be paid enough to live that Fox actually thinks me paying a living wage in my office is ‘communism,’ So the next time GOP screams ‘socialist,’ know that’s their go-to attack for any common-sense, humane policy.”
While more senior Democrats might chafe at the attention garnered by Ocasio-Cortez, there’s no debate that she is one of the most influential freshman lawmakers Congress has seen in years.
“You have a 29-year-old socialist and the only thing she’s done on policy issues in her life is bartending, yet she’s driving an entire national agenda,” said Mark Meckler, president of the conservative grassroots group Convention of States Action.
“That’s the very definition of a party that’s lost control,” said Meckler.
The Green New Deal is a blueprint pushed by some congressional Democrats that outlines a long-term path to a cleaner environment. While the proposal lacks specific ways to implement the plan, Republicans maintain it would not only be costly, but would force most buildings to be rebuilt and the nation’s transportation system to be overhauled.
“Not only would the Green New Deal destroy millions of jobs and dramatically increase energy costs, hurting families and businesses across the country, it would impose a laundry list of socialist policies that would put government in charge of our lives and run up the national debt by tens of trillions of dollars, creating significant economic problems down the road,” said Haskins.
Republicans will draw on more than the Green New Deal to make the case at CPAC that Democrats are increasingly radical. Due to come up at the conference is the Democratic push in some quarters to allow certain late-term abortions. New York recently passed legislation making it easier for a woman to have an abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky gave the abortion issue its conservative political context Tuesday.
“We’re no longer dealing with a normal, traditional Democratic party,” he said. “We’re looking at a party that has been dragged so far to the left, it would have been unrecognizable to folks just a few years ago.”
Trump will address the conference Saturday and will be celebrated at CPAC, notably for nominating conservative judges, fighting hard against illegal immigration and limiting the reach of government. Vice President Mike Pence and most of the cabinet members are also scheduled to speak.
The goal is to take the political momentum that’s been building since the start of this year and send the faithful back home to rally the masses to re-elect Trump and gain the 18 seats needed to win back the House. The GOP also has a challenge in holding the Senate, where it now controls 53 of the 100 seats. It will defend 22 seats next year while Democrats only need to defend 12.
They’ll get advice from strategists such as Fritz Brogan, co-chair of Maverick PAC, which advises young conservative candidates. He’ll conduct a seminar titled “Stopping Nancy Pelosi: How to Prepare the Next Generation of Conservative Leadership.”
“The base is in the right place. They are invigorated,” said Meckler. “They’re scared by what they see on the radical left.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 5:00 AM.