Greetings Fellow Liberty Lovers,

Early last week I received a telephone call from a nice woman named Louise at LP National HQ. While I do get the occasional call from HQ, usually pertaining to campaigns or my membership, it is very unusual for me to be receiving calls from National level political headquarters on my cell phone during business hours. Louise informed me that she was calling on behalf of the National LP's Communications Director, Stephen Gordon, who would like to extend me the offer of representing the LP Blog at the CPAC 2007 here in Washington, D.C. The offer was so out of left field (and completely awesome) that I actually had poor Louise repeat this three times to me before it fully sank in.

Mind racing, I considered the primary reasons why I might be invited to do something like this for the LP. Aside from my participation in the party itself, I actually just moved up here to the D.C. area only weeks ago from my home city of Atlanta, thus enabling me to attend on the cheap. Additionally, Stephen was a fan of my coverage for Third Party Watch of the 2006 LP Convention in Portland, OR. Between the three, I suppose he felt it was worth the gamble to allow me a chance to cover such a big event.

Like many of you, until recently I was not overly familiar with the CPAC. CPAC, short for Conservative Political Action Conference, as it turns out, is a massive conservative leaning conference held annually in the heart of the Nation's capital. Speakers at this year's event include, among others, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Tony Snow, John Bolton, and the Vice President. Ah, and everyone's favorite new LP torch bearer, former Congressman Bob Barr.

Beyond the proposterously impressive list of conservative speakers, which frankly could only be more impressive if the President himself was attending, what exactly goes on at this conference? Great question. The event features a large number of panels and workshops, featuring fair and balanced titles such as "Why Are Liberals Hell-Bent on Raising Our Taxes" and "Loony Ladies of the Left: How to Combat the Radical Feminists on Your Campus." No, seriously, I did not make those up. Jabs aside, the event does feature a number of extremely informative looking sessions on conservative activism and policy, as well as what amounts to being probably the top conservative networking event this side of the Republican National Convention.

As best I can tell, Mr. Barr, who now serves as the Southest Region's Representative to the Libertarian National Committee, is the only Libertarian speaker on the docket. He will be participating in a panel Saturday morning titled "Balancing Individual Rights and National Security." Such a panel seems right up his alley and I very much look forward to hearing what he has to say.

While I share much in common with the former Congressman in terms of political ideology, I must say that I have little in common with most of the CPAC's speakers and attendees. I am a mile to the right of the Republican leadership in terms of fiscal policy (I'm for balanced budgets, small government, and free trade; remember those?) and ten miles to their left on social issues (I oppose government involvement in marriage, the War on Drugs, & the war in Iraq). Indeed, one wonders if Mr. Gordon knew of my near complete dislike of the Republican agenda if he still would have asked me to cover this for the LP. But then, a wise man once said, "Only Nixon could go to China."

Over the next three days I hope to bring you fresh, lively coverage and perspective on the biggest conservative event of 2007. I hope it will be long on wit and color with a dash of substance. I expect to post several times a day each day, so be sure and check back for the latest updates.

Oh, and Pye, you still owe me a steak dinner.