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From Watergate to the Tea Party: A Look Back at the History of CPAC

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WASHINGTON – The annual Conservative Political Action Conference kicks off Wednesday in National Harbor, Maryland. 

CPAC is about one half conservative family reunion and one half political rally. It's where a who's who of conservatives, meet, greet and galvanize. 

In fact, thousands hit the Beltway each year hoping to get a glance at the next big GOP star. 

In 2010, the crowds heard from a then-candidate Marco Rubio, R-FL. 

"They have taken matters into their own hands. From tea parties to the election in Massachusetts," Rubio told the crowds of the popular Tea Party movement. 
 
But it wasn't always that way. CPAC began in 1974 during a rocky time for conservatives. 

It was the height of Watergate and Republicans were split over their support of President Richard Nixon. 

It took a speech from a rising star named Ronald Reagan to unite the crowds. 

Reagan would make several CPAC cameos over the next few decades.
 
"Nostalgia isn't enough. The challenge is now. It's time we stop looking backward," Reagan said in a 1982 speech. 

The conference also gives potential candidates a chance to make their case ahead of the next election – like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush did on the issue of amnesty.  

"The simple plan is there is no plan to deport 11 million people. We should give them a path to legal status where they work, where they don't receive government benefits," he stated in 2016.

Sometimes the event is meant to show unity inside the party. 

"We decided to say that everyone is a part of our conservative family," Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, explained.  
 
That mantra has ruffled a few feathers, especially when the speakers come with a cloud of controversy. 

In 2017, former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos was invited and then uninvited after a controversial video surfaced in which Yiannopoulos seemed to defend pedophilia. 
 
There's also 2018 invitee Marion Le-Pen of France.

Le-Pen's views are deemed extreme by some fellow Republicans who are vowing to skip this year's festivities. 
 

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About The Author

Amber C.
Strong

Amber Strong joined the CBN News team in Washington, D.C., in 2014 as a producer and field producer. Currently, she works as a correspondent, producer, and backup anchor for "The Brody File." Her beat includes national politics and The White House. And while she loves her current backyard of Washington, D.C., she’s a Hoosier girl at heart. Amber lives and breathes all things entertainment and politics and has had the privilege of interviewing some of the biggest names in both industries, including late night host Jimmy Fallon and presidential contender Rick Santorum. However, her true love is