CPAC Organizers Make Statement With Boehner Snub

by Ben Bullard
We expect to encounter any number of conservatives, libertarians, Tea Partiers and, yes, a few token RINOs invited to speak at this year’s CPAC conference, which we’ll be covering from the floor of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.
But one person we know we won’t be running into is House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Nobody bothered asking him to come.
Evidently nonplussed by the Speaker’s ongoing offensive against grassroots conservatives, the event’s organizers didn’t think it appropriate to invite him.
The Washington Times, a presenting sponsor at this year’s CPAC, called the non-invite a “major snub.”

"House Speaker John A. Boehner, who has tangled repeatedly with the right wing of the Republican Party, has not been invited to this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, a major snub at the annual gathering and a sign of the top Republican officeholder’s struggle to find common ground with grass-roots activists.
People familiar with CPAC’s planning, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said the American Conservative Union, which hosts the event, never sent an invitation to Mr. Boehner, in part because it wanted the focus this year to be on leading conservative thinkers at the grass-roots level and not at the congressional or party leadership level."

While attendees and conservatives reading along at home may applaud the conference’s statement dis on Boehner, the message is a mixed one. Embattled moderate New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is slated for a key speech, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a particular target of conservatives’ disgust, is also expected to contribute. Then there’s always a Trump troll or two.
Look for our on-the-scene coverage of CPAC 2014 starting Thursday – including tweets, photos from the floor, Facebook updates and, of course, regularly-updated blurbs and features at personalliberty.com.