The GOP Establishment: CPAC's Biggest Losers

GOP Strategist Karl Rove may have been the biggest "loser" at CPAC. Not only was he mocked by Sarah Palin, but the entire idea voter's ceding political power to the Washington DC political power brokers was attacked over and over throughout the conference. While the media has been playing it out as a Palin vs. Rove grudge match--the attacks on Rove and the GOP establishment began with Allen West early the very first day of the conference...

He called the idea that conservatives should have to change their principles to win elections "malarkey." A "bended knee," he said, is not a conservative tradition.

...the attacks kept coming through the final speaker Ted Cruz:

If standing for truth and liberty make you a WackoBird, count me a proud WackoBird, a bit later he added, “I have to admit, when Rand and I first heard that, we thought that was maybe a new kind of drone.”

More than the continual stabs at the GOP establishment and Fox's Karl Rove the actions of the ACU and the conference attendees showed their lack of enthusiasm for the "tried and true."

Chris Christie not invited and the MSM/Republican establishment whiny response was a huge source of derision at the conference.  Although there were people who questioned why Chris Christie wasn't invited and but Jeb Bush was-- you wouldn't have head the why Jeb not Christie question from many of the attendees.  You see based on the size of the crowd and the tepid response, most attendees probably didn't realize Jeb Bush was even there. Most of the other "mainstream" GOP speakers were downplayed during the conference--those that weren't downplayed weren't there (John Boehner for example).

CPAC's biggest stars were the constitutionalists who reject the GOP establishment, like Senator's Lee, Paul, Rubio and Cruz each one of them defeated an establishment Republican to get the nomination and win their seats.

On This Week with Democratic Operative George Stephanopoulos, George Will said “What I did see at CPAC was the rise of the libertarian strand of Republicanism, the demographic tide here is large, powerful and execrable [sic],” and like the tide, it can no longer be held back."

I would disagree with Will, what I saw at CPAC was the continued rise of Constitutionalism, and the rejection of the GOP Establishment progressive-light-types.

It is clear that in order to maintain key roles in the party operatives such as Karl Rove will have to realize that they are losing--the future of the party is with constitutional conservatives...and not the "old guard"