Decoding CPAC

I don't take seriously much of anything that comes out of the Conservative Political Action Council known as CPAC, but it provides a clear view of what goes on in the heads of the attendees, it resembles a tent revival gathering of the mean spirited crowd, and all they want is to be told the devil is a really bad dude.  It really doesn't reflect what the speakers think, they're going to utter whatever sound bites they think will get the folks riled up and cheering.  The Washington Post had a pretty good article by Dana Milbank on it.

The conservative movement is united in one way: its antipathy toward anything that has to do with President Obama. In the 2014 midterm elections, that will likely be enough to allow Republicans to keep the House and possibly win the Senate.   ... 
Take away the shared contempt of Obama, and there was little left. After strolling past the talk-radio booths (sponsored by Koch Industries), participants could hear sessions on “The American Dream vs. The Obama Nightmare,” and “Health Care After ObamaCare: A Practical Guide for Living When No One Has Insurance and America Runs Out of Doctors.”
The booths in the CPAC exhibit hall made very clear what the conservatives are against: anti-United Nations, anti-AARP, anti-Federal Reserve, anti-union, anti-abortion, anti-bilingualism, anti-lawsuit, anti-gay marriage.
There were “pro” booths too: pro-Cruz, pro-Sarah Palin and pro-Rand Paul. But that only underscored the party’s, and the movement’s, lack of agreement on its leadership.

There were some recurring themes repeated often.

1. Obama is weak and the US is not respected internationally.  Now this is pretty easy to decode, anytime the US doesn't get everything it wants from the international community, it denotes "lack of respect", which really boils down to lack of fear of our mighty power and our unswerving will to use it.  These folks pine for the good old days of Iraq and Afghanistan, in their mind those wars showed our true character.
2. Chris Christie said "We have got to stop letting the media define who we are and what we stand for.".  That is pretty easy too, the media is the enemy, their probing questions and unwillingness to accept the almighty truths given them by Cruz, Paul et al means they're hostile to all conservatives.  Never mind that the majority of the media is controlled by mega capitalists.  Different points of view don't play well at CPAC.
3. It's all about the Second Amendment.  Mitch McConnell walked on with a rifle, a gift he was giving to the retiring Tom Coburn  Wayne LaPierre of the NRA cried the battle call.  “Joining the NRA,” he told the crowd, “is how you resist. It’s how you tell the world that you’re going to fight and you’re going to protect everything you care about: trust, honor, dignity, civic duty, courtesy, kindness, the liberty to live our lives and believe as we choose, to be as accepted as we are accepting of others, freedom that only comes through the second amendment and the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution!”.  Arguing with him will just get you shot, but I'm nut sure what packing heat has to do with "trust, honor, dignity, civic duty, courtesy, kindness", but I'll ask him next time I see him.
4. Government is bad for all of us.  Original sin created government and the sooner we do away with it, the better.  Just ask Rand Paul.