What is Conservative Political Action Conference?
[[Image:CPACattendeeChart.PNG|thumb|Number of CPAC attendees over time]] The '''Conservative Political Action Conference''' ('''CPAC'''; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|iː|p|æ|k}} {{respell|SEE|pak}}) is an annual political conference in [[National Harbor, Maryland]] attended by [[Conservatism in America|conservative]] [[Activism|activists]] and elected officials from across the [[United States]]. CPAC is hosted by the [[American Conservative Union]] (ACU). More than 100 other organizations contribute in various ways. In 2011, ACU took CPAC on the road with its first Regional CPAC in [[Orlando, Florida]]. Since then ACU has hosted regional CPACs in [[Chicago]], [[Denver]], [[St. Louis]], and [[San Diego]]. The conference was founded in 1973 by the American Conservative Union and [[Young Americans for Freedom]] as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Diamond | first = Sara | title = Roads to dominion: right-wing movements and political power in the United States | place = New York, NY | publisher = The Guilford Press | orig-year = 1995 | year = 1995 | edition = 2 | pages = 128, 138, 146, 198, 210, 212, 285, 289, 327 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w1bqY-DxHMEC&dq=Conservative+Political+Action+Conference&pg=PA289 | isbn = 0-89862-862-8 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last = Wilcox | first = Derk Arend | title = The right guide: a guide to conservative, free-market, and right-of-center organizations | publisher = Economics America, Inc. | year = 2000 | location = United States of America | page = 43 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g51IAAAAYAAJ&q=%22conservative+political+action+conference%22 | isbn = 9780914169062}}</ref> Over the years it has grown to thousands of attendees annually. Roughly half of those in attendance in the past few years have been college-aged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/02/21/4429332-ron-paul-wins-cpac-straw-poll |title=Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll |publisher=Firstread.msnbc.msn.com |