CPAC, the nation’s largest annual gathering of conservative thinkers, pundits, and activists gets underway on Wednesday in National Harbor, Maryland.
One agenda topic stands out for the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference: the “deep state’s” supposed “coup” against President Trump.
Evincing the priority here, there are six different events with “coup” in their title and only four with “conservative” or “conservatism.” These include the memorably titled “The Coup: The Day After Tomorrow,” and “The Coup: Rosenstein and Comey — The Empire Strikes Back.” Carter Page is also being honored as a “Hero of Activism.”
Now, I get that Page suffered illegal treatment at the hands of the Justice Department, but there’s scant evidence the guy is a hero of the republic. Following a meeting with Page in 2013, Russian SVR intelligence officer Victor Podobnyy was recorded telling an SVR colleague that Page “takes on everything … his enthusiasm works for me.”
To be fair to CPAC, these “coup” panels do include some impressive speakers.
Members of Congress abound, and the excellent Andy McCarthy is also speaking. I also recognize that CPAC attendees are sympathetic to the idea of a coup and deserve discussions on that topic. The broader concerns are also legitimate: the Justice Department’s decision last week against prosecuting former FBI acting Director Andrew McCabe reeks of a double standard, for example. It is also critical that we receive answers and remedies in regard to the FISA abuses now being investigated by U.S. Attorney John Durham.
Still, I wish CPAC had invited some more skeptical conservative voices to challenge the “coup” consensus. I would suggest that, as much as it aggravates many conservatives to hear it, some individuals like Alexander Vindman were doing their duty rather than betraying their nation — or at least, that this is a reasonable, defensible statement.
Moreover, there is abundant evidence that the intelligence community has served the country well over the past few years. CIA Director Gina Haspel has exemplified mission-focused success in conformity with the Trump administration’s priorities. And seeing how the archetypal agency of the so-called deep state has lost at least six officers under the Trump administration, a little more balance might have allowed CPAC to advertise that which defines it at its best: conservative patriotism.
