Activists from across the country will be convening in St. Louis on Saturday as the American Conservative Union (ACU) will hold its latest Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event.
With Al Cardenas, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), leading the ACU, recent CPAC events have often had a Sunshine State tinge. Two years ago, CPAC held its first event outside of Washington in conjunction with the RPOFs Presidency 5 event in Orlando. Florida Republicans like Gov. Rick Scott, former Gov. Jeb Bush, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, former U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and former U.S. Rep. Allen West have spoken at CPAC events in recent years.
While Florida conservatives wont be playing a prominent role at the CPAC event in St. Louis, the meeting will focus on topics of some interest to the Sunshine State including immigration reform, an issue Rubio championed in the Senate as a member of the Gang of Eight. Earlier this week, Cardenas announced a panel would be tackling immigration reform which includes Townhall.com editor Guy Benson and Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform.
Conservatives support immigration reform which spurs economic growth, protects families, promotes patriotic assimilation of immigrants and secures our borders, Cardenas insisted. But, we have seen that unless Congress acts, President Obama will continue to rule by executive fiat and make our dysfunctional system worse. We look forward to hearing these speakers varied opinions at CPAC St. Louis on how to best approach immigration reform from a conservative perspective.
Another panel will focus on how state governments try to lure businesses with tax policy and economic climate. Announcing the panel on states and tax policy, Cardenas took aim at Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri, a Democrat who vetoed $700 million in tax cuts earlier this year.
Despite the temporary victory of liberal ideology over economic growth in Missouri, tax policy has become a critical battleground in the fight to bring new jobs to states in the Midwest and across the country, said Cardenas.
Cardenas is not the only Florida Republican who has thrown down the gauntlet at Nixon. Last month, Scott wrote to business leaders in Missouri, urging them to consider moving to Florida as he showcased the Sunshine States business climate.
Another Republican governor who is looking to lure Missouri businesses to his state will be speaking at CPAC. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas will be speaking at the event as he looks to make another bid for the Republican presidential nomination. Perry will be joined by another contender from 2012 who could run again in 2016 -- former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Other speakers include U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinDerbySSN.
