The Feb. 18-20 Conservative Political Action Conference ushered in some of the nation’s top conservative leaders,  media personalities  and frustrated taxpayers to talk about a wave of resurgence for the Republican Party and conservative values. 

With sights, sounds and multiple seminars calling for limited government and a halt on federal spending also came hints of a GOP effort to win a larger share the growing Latino vote.

Ex-Vice President Dick Cheney, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Attorney General John Ashcroft and commentators Leslie Sánchez and Glenn Beck were among the high-profile conservatives in attendance.

Columnist and political pundit Ann Coulter tapped the mood and sentiment of the crowd by sharing, “For the first time in my life I am sometimes not proud of my country,” mocking First Lady Michelle Obama’s one-time comment, “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country.”

The 37th annual CPAC event attracted a record turnout estimated at nearly 10,000 to the Marriott Wardman Hotel in northwest Washington.  It emphasized the conservative movement’s influence as the GOP builds momentum for a congressional comeback in November.

Although Latinos and other persons of color were sparse in the crowd, the program did touch on ethnic involvement and empowerment, as well as immigration — issues of concern to a Latino constituency.

“The Rise of Latino Conservatism,” a one-hour seminar sponsored by the American Principle Project along with Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, elaborated on efforts to show the strong connection between the Hispanic culture and conservative values.

Senior fellow for the Partnership Alfonso Aguilar said the Obama administration is promoting a “policy of entitlement,” countering that Latinos believe in a “policy of aspiration.”  

Aguilar said his organization has half a million dollars of funding to help conservative candidates who are for immigration reform.  

“In order for the conservative movement to grow, we need to open ourselves to the Latino community,” Aguilar told Hispanic Link News Service. “Latinos are conservative. They are pro-family. They believe in the right to life, traditional marriage, and they don’t like big government.”

American Council for Immigration Reform spokesperson Michael McLaughlin offered a bit different take during the seminar on immigration, which it titled, Saving Freedom from Obama’s Immigration Plan.   

“The Republican Party has failed miserably to counter the Democratic political strategy on the issue of immigration. They have been cawed and intimidated, fearing that unless they adapt to the new demographic reality formed by mass immigration in the last 45 years, the Republican Party will become politically irrelevant and powerless.”

He elaborated, “The Republican Party has focused primarily on illegal immigration and border security…because they require little political courage to address. Legal immigration is rarely discussed because of the problem of people being worried about being reelected rather than trying to do what is best for the country.”

Amon others, with yet other views, were Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation, Linda Chávez of Center for Equal Opportunity and Edward Lynch of the Latin American Republican Club

While Lynch and Chávez voiced the need to fix a broken immigration system, Rector maintained that granting undocumented immigrants’ amnesty would “bankrupt” the nation.

“When you open borders and when you allow people to come here legally in vast numbers or illegally through amnesty, what you are doing is granting them access to the U.S. ballot box,” he warned.

With the Latino population is expected to increase 200% by 2050., the GOP’s success is contingent on how well it addresses the immigration issue, Aguilar insisted, claiming that conservative Latinos are for legalization, but with a penalty. 

Senate hopeful Marco Rubio of Florida, who wasn’t on the panel, states on his website: “If I had been in the Senate at the time, I would have opposed the McCain-Kennedy bill. I believe we must fix our immigration system by first securing the border, fixing the visa and entry process and opposing amnesty in any reform.”

Aguilar said of Rubio, “I’m still trying to grapple with his position on immigration. He may be anti-amnesty, but if he is anti-reform he may not win or hold that seat for long.”

(Luis Carlos López is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington, D.C. Email: [email protected])