Bryn Weese
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Republican heavyweights lined up to attack President Barack Obama at a huge conservative gathering here Thursday.
Tea Party favourite Sen. Marco Rubio kicked off the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) by blasting Obama for engaging in "class warfare" and working towards a society where the only way to raise America's poorest is to tear down its richest citizens.
"The basic argument that he's making to our nation is that the reason why some of us are worse off than we used to be is 'cause other people are doing too well. That the only way for some of us to do better is for other people to do worse," he said. "That's the kind of thought process that people come here to get away from. And it's never worked anywhere it's been tried."
This is the 39th annual CPAC, considered the largest and most influential gathering of the who's who in conservative America.
In between strategy and policy sessions to shape the conservative message and work to electing more conservative lawmakers, household names took turns taking swipes at Obama, whom the estimated 10,000 attendees here want to replace at the White House in November.
Michele Bachmann took aim at the president's foreign policy, particularly for not supporting Israel enough and for allowing the Arab Spring uprisings to overthrow governments friendly to the U.S.
"Obama failed to stand by Mubarak, and that helped lead to the revolution in Egypt," she said. "Before Obama was elected, Tunisia was a stable U.S. partner. No more.
"Before President Obama was elected, no one had ever heard of a United States president saying to the world that the United States is not a Judeo-Christian nation," she added. "And before President Obama was elected, we never had a president go around apologizing to the world.
"We won't."
CPAC also comes at a pivotal time in the Republican primary race, with frontrunner Mitt Romney still reeling from Rick Santorum's three wins this week in the American heartland.
Romney, Santorum and Newt Gingrich will address the conference Friday, and Saturday the conservatives here will vote in a much-anticipated straw poll of who they think should be the Republican nominee to take on Obama in November.
In 2008, Romney won the CPAC straw poll just before he dropped out of the race to endorse John McCain.
Republican Sen. Jim DeMint called CPAC, "the huddle of the conservative movement for the 2012 elections," not only in terms of policy and strategy, but also energy going forward. "We're here to get our energy and courage from you."
Rick Perry who dropped out of the Republican race last month and endorsed Gingrich, also spoke Thursday and joked about his candidacy, as well as calling for the federal government to adhere to the 10th amendment and devolve federal powers to the states.
"A candidate I am no more," he said, joking he didn't lose but simply "ran out of time.
"But a 10th amendment conservative I will always be until my last breath."
CPAC continues through Saturday with Sarah Palin set to deliver the keynote speech on the final day.
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