AmericanConservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, speaking just before the second Conservative Political Action Conference of the year opens Friday in Dallas, told Newsmax that people at the event are "some kind of fired up over this crap, this socialism that's coming out of Washington."
"People here are awfully excited," Schlapp said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "We've got all the congressmen you want to hear from, all the senators, all the governors, so many people that we see on television and read about who are really the important voices."
He added that "more than anything else," he loves the fact that Florida and Texas "have become these mega-red states ... they're almost the alternative to all this ridiculousness we're seeing coming out of these broken blue cities."
He also noted that there are many "grassroots stars" who have been "taking back school boards and winning mayor's races in Democratic towns because the basic thing that the American people want [from] us [is] just some practicality and some common sense. Socialism doesn't work."
The CPAC weekend will open with speeches from Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Donald Trump Jr., and will wrap up Sunday with a speech from former President Donald Trump.
Other top speakers include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott, R-Fla., former acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, and former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.
Normally, CPAC is only a once-a-year event. ACU held its first CPAC for 2021 in February. Schlapp said the theme of the Dallas conference is "America Uncanceled."
The lineup will also feature discussions on COVID restrictions, including a panel on Saturday titled "Are the Leftovers from the Pandemic Here to Stay?" with Alex Berenson and Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. expected to talk about issues like mask mandates and vaccines.
Another panel features former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who will headline a discussion on "Is America Prepared to Deal with the Pandemic of Misery & Addiction Caused by the Opioid Crisis?"
The weekend panels will also feature plenty of criticism of President Joe Biden, including one Saturday discussion, "Who's the Boss, Where's My Apple Sauce? Who's Really Running the Biden Administration?" featuring Texas U.S. Reps. Jodey Arrington and Ronny Jackson, along with former Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah talking about Biden's White House control.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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