There’s a reason Milo Yiannopoulos was invited to CPAC last week.
Though the invitation was swiftly rescinded, and Yiannopoulos is not conservative, he’s managed to amass a following that aligns itself with Republican President Trump.
After the dustup, mainstream media outlets spent the week debating whether the influence of the alt-right, a group Yiannopoulos is perceived to represent, has fundamentally fractured the conservative movement.
It has not, and it will not.
In the first moments of its highly-anticipated annual gathering of conservatives, American Conservative Union Executive Director Dan Schneider took to the stage to issue an unequivocal rebuke of the alt-right.
“CPAC, we have been slapped in the face,” Schneider said.
Referring explicitly to the alt-right, Schneider told the audience, “They are anti-Semites, they are racist, they are sexist.”
“They are not an extension of a conservatism. They are nothing but garden variety left-wing fascists.”
Schneider offered the audience a clear definition of American conservatism, explaining conclusively, “Conservatism is the political philosophy that sovereignty resides in the person.”
“We must not be duped, we must not be deceived. This is serious business,” Schneider told the crowd.
The American Conservative Union’s decision to deliver such an unambiguous rejection of the alt-right so early in the conference constituted an important moment.
While many on the Left work to align mainstream conservatism with the alt-right, the more movement institutions categorically condemn it, the more difficult their work will be.
It would be easy for conservatives to stay silent and allow the Left and the alt-right to muddy the waters of the movement — and with its initial invitation to Yiannopoulos, that’s exactly what many conservatives feared the ACU had done.
But it didn’t.
On Thursday, the CPAC crowd, comprised of thousands of movement leaders and grassroots activists from around the country, erupted in cheers for Sen. Ted Cruz, for Gov. Scott Walker, and for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Resounding rounds of applause for conventional conservatism, straight from its core.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
