CPAC changes aimed at returning power to the people

“Sometimes people who love each other can have deep disagreements, and we should not shy away from it,” Schlapp, first-year chairman of the American Conservative Union, explained in an interview last week.

And that’s the philosophy Schlapp is applying in his job of organizing the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, that kicks off this week.

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Schlapp is flipping the script on a conference that has been meeting annually for over 40 years at a time when the conservative movement is trying to find its bearings, define its positions on a slew of divisive issues and position itself for maximum influence headed into 2016.

The changes weren’t easy to swallow for everyone; many speakers would rather avoid muddling their message with on-the-spot questions after a fine-tuned speech.

But the potential for criticism didn’t keep Schlapp from making changes he had been envisioning since his years as a board member, he said.

“We have not held back because of people’s feelings. We didn’t feel like that was the right guardrail,” he said. “The right guardrail was could we implement it in time.”

CNN