wHydonald Trump and his Acolite will win a victory lap at this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference.
The Principles First Summit, held in Washington from Friday to Sunday, has become a venue for anti-Trump conservatives to express deep concern about Republican factions that will “make America great.” The size and range have grown. As organizers confront Trump’s leadership for another four years, they have grown beyond party boundaries with speakers such as billionaires Mark Cuba and Jared Police, who are Democratic governors of Colorado. It creates a vision for a new approach to American politics.
That vision looks quite different from six years ago when conservative lawyer Heath Mayo first established the principles. Mayo, a Rank File Republican who supported Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign at the time, wanted to present an anti-Trump alternative to his fellow conservatives. .
“It started with disgruntled Republicans and conservatives, but it was when it seemed more realistic in 2019, or people were harboring hope that the party would come to that feeling. It was time,” Mayo said. “It’s grown over the years.”
The group’s first summit attracted hundreds of attendees in 2020, but the number of guests at this year’s sold-out event has increased to around 1,100.
“In fact, we’re amazed at how many people signed up in the future,” Mayo said. “I think it’s this hunger for a new space in our politics: a new idea, a new face.”
These new faces include Cuba, which is scheduled to address the summit on Saturday, as his name floats as a potential presidential candidate in 2028. The same thing was said about Trump 10 years ago, as the presidential candidate never worked for public office.
“Obviously we live in a moment of confusion. Things are changing so fast… Democrats may have learned that lesson in the hard way in November,” Mayo said. . “I hope it’s the weekend. It’s time for people to put the labels on the party aside and really ask where we’re going as a country.”
The Summit speaker list reflects its mission, from former Trump national security adviser John Bolton to police, who occasionally clashed with fellow Democrats about how to navigate the new Trump era. . Other speakers include Chris Christie, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, who became a fierce critic of Trump, and a group of presidential supporters, who tried to destroy Congress on January 6, 2021. It includes four police officers who responded to the Capitol. Joe Biden’s election victory certification.
“I feel that character and integrity are the two non-negotiable and important components of principles at first,” says Rich Logis, the founder of the group called Summit’s Magazine. “If you look at the attendees, it’s a large, diverse band of authors, thinkers, formerly elected officials. It doesn’t distort the right wing. It doesn’t distort the left wing. But they all share in common That means they are dedicated to truth, democracy, liberal democracy, and the rule of law.”
Kyle Sweetser, another speaker at the summit and former Trump supporter who voted for Harris in November, hoped the event could provide fellow voters with examples of productive political discourse. I’m here.
“I think it’s more important than ever to provide a platform of sorts, at least to reaffirm our commitment to democratic values and principles,” Sweetser said. “And I’m really looking forward to some good discussion and some exchange of ideas that will strengthen our democracy.”
Sweetser knows firsthand how difficult it is to reach Trump supporters who embraced the Maga movement. He began questioning his loyalty after voting for Trump twice, urging him to diversify his media diet and seek more information about the president’s records. He believes he is proof of evidence that Trump supporters can change their ways, the message he wants to bring to the first summit of principles.
“I want some of the Democrats to understand that there are a lot of Republicans who are good people. If Democrats work for those people, they have some of those people on their side. It can be attracted to me,” Swisher said. “But unfortunately, it’s going to be a heavy lift. It’s going to do a lot of work and it will take patience.”
I bet that a lot of people in the Maga community will realize that the President won’t fix anything for them
Rich Logis
Both Sweetser and Logis predicted that they failed to follow the promises of major campaigns to help Trump deal with the high inflation he saw in recent years.
Some early examples of this trend may already have emerged. In Sweetser’s Alabama, about 250 customers from the Huntsville-based utility company suspend a program aimed at reducing heating costs for low-income households. , learned to see an additional $100 fee on the Energy Bill.
“I bet that a lot of people in the Maga community will now realize that the President won’t fix anything for them,” Logis said. “If the scale starts to drop a little from the eye, I want them to know there’s an exit lamp.”
That exit ramp ultimately brought Logis to the Democratic National Convention, where he was featured in a video describing his transformation from a stubborn Trump supporter to Harris’ voter. Harris may not have succeeded in November, but Mayo is still looking at the potential path to victory for democratic candidates who can unify the ideologically diverse groups first represented in principle. Masu.
“There must still be a wide coalition to be constructed and constructive. We must have ideas and solutions for the challenges Americans face, like the affordable crisis,” Mayo said. said. “When it feels hopeless, I feel there’s a reason to have hope when I see a lot of people come along and talk about these things.”
