Some libertarians boycott CPAC because it’s “too conservative,” others embrace it to try to steer the conservative movement in a more liberty-minded direction (on which, see Reason.tv’s excellent interview of Sen. Jim DeMint). I have no principled feelings on the subject. I’ve never attended — wasn’t really on my radar in college, couldn’t make it to DC during grad/law school, then was too busy lawyering, and now it would feel odd just to hang out rather than be part of the program — but I know lots of folks who enjoy it.
One thing I noticed about this year’s program — other than that my colleague Neal McCluskey is on an education policy panel at 10:30am on Friday — is that there’s a panel on the constitutionality of Obamacare (1:25 on Friday). Curiously, there aren’t any lawyers on this panel. C’mon, CPAC, I know this isn’t a Federalist Society convention, but it would seem useful to have people actually grappling with the legal issues educating your attendees about it. Not all of us have problems communicating with non-JDs; do I have to issue another Obamacare debate challenge?
