Based on our own polling last week, a lot of our readers were skipping out on CPAC this year. Most citing the increased cost for attendance (over $200 for a 3 day pass!) and general unhappiness with Matt Schlapp (more on that later).
So we’ve got a review of our experience at CPAC as well as an awesome offer from Secur for Current Revolt readers at the end of this article.
THURSDAY
Thursday came and went with little to no activity. Attendance was worryingly low and energy was dismal. Nobody seemed really excited, attendees looked bored, and vendors and speakers we chatted with even commented that they were a bit shocked at the lack of attendance.
We left and decided to come back the next day.
FRIDAY
Friday was slightly different, featuring speakers like JD Vance, Mike Lindell, Jack Posobiec and Ken Paxton.
Among the weirder things seen was a booth with Brandon Straka, who was grifting off the Jan 6 defendants.
Straka had a fake prison-cell set up where he did a performing art-shtick pretending to be locked in jail for attending the Jan 6 protest. He cried the entire time and attendees threw him cash. Staff also passed out headsets where you could listen to testimony from Jan 6 protestors.
We call it a grift because for those who don’t know, Straka actually cooperated with the Justice Department investigations of Jan 6 in exchange for a measly $5,000 fine and three years probation on a disorderly conduct charge. Straka admitted to telling rioters to “go, go, go” when storming the capitol and even encouraged them to take away riot shields from police officers.
Now he’s doing performance art at conventions, making some money grifting off Jan 6 while normal people remain locked up in prison.
Amazing.
We ended the night with the Cattleman’s Ball, where for $375 you’d get a meal and speech from Steve Bannon. We ate the dessert and bounced.
We also ran into this weirdo who was really angry about Ted Cruz. Lisa Reynolds was on hand and bullied the weird guy to the point where he said she was making him uncomfortable.
Pretty funny.
SATURDAY
Saturday was packed with attendees and a full schedule with speakers like Matt Schlapp, Glenn Beck, and President Donald J. Trump himself.
Many have expressed disapproval with Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, for not actually being conservative.
Examples of Schlapp not being conservative include supporting men, dressed as women, in women’s sports:
New York Post @nypost
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas pushes back against critics https://t.co/DLDqkfTaEC https://t.co/6dxPRe2kBVAs well as taking a six-figure donation from a George Soros backed org:
National Pulse has a fantastic breakdown on the issues with Schlapp. You can read it here.
Alex Stein was present bullying leftist Vice Reporter, Tess Owen.
Why CPAC allows Leftists and antifa supporting media orgs to even get press credentials is anyone’s guess. These reporters exist to doxx attendees and call everyone there Nazis, but CPAC is somehow fine with this. Very odd.
In the evening, we decided to throw our own CPAC after-party.
The air conditioning couldn’t keep up and we ran out of booze, but we had a great time.
We also had the chance to experience a great new private security service by a company called Secur.
Secur provides service in a way we like to describe as the Uber for private security.
On demand or scheduled security is available through a mobile app. You just confirm your location and a trained Secur Officer calls to assess the situation, then arrives to provide in-person security for you as soon as possible.
In our situation, several leftist journalists and purple haired undesirables attempted to enter our party where they were not welcome. Secur was able to keep these individuals from entering our party, and even assisted in escorting out some partygoers who got a bit out of hand.
The level of professionalism was outstanding and we think this is a fantastic service for both activists and everyday Texans who find themselves at protests, or potentially sketchy situations, and could use some professional security. As some have experienced first hand, the police are rarely available and unwilling to protect citizens from violent protestors. Secur can be an option to keep you safe.
For Current Revolt readers, use promo code REVOLT for 20% off memberships.
This is a must-have for any journalist or activist covering or attending protests or events where things may get a bit out of hand.
It also provides peace of mind for the guy whose wife and her friends are having a bachelorette party in downtown Dallas late at night. Ask me how I know.
Check them out at GoSecur.com.
That’s it for our CPAC round up! We’ll see you out there.
The Schlapp art piece is excellent - truly a hollow man!
Nice to see the right realize what the left has seen in the GOP since Nixon. Welcome to reality, sixty years later.
Would like to get your thoughts on Steve Bannon.