Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney acknowledges the crowd after he was introduced by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during the second day of the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on March 15, 2013 in National Harbor, Maryland.

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, goffered an emotional thank you today as he struck a positive tone for his party in his first public speech since losing the election to President Barack Obama.

As he recalled some of the people he met on the campaign trail, Romney told those gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington that they shouldn’t be pessimistic amid talk of the party’s demographic challenges.

“We’ve lost races before, in the past, but those setbacks prepared us for larger victories,” he said. “It’s up to us to make sure that we learn from our mistakes — and my mistakes — and that we take advantage of that learning to make sure that we take back the nation.”

Romney’s speech was warmly received by those at CPAC, a conference sponsored by the Washington-based American Conservative Union, which advocates for less government spending. He received several standing ovations.

“We have not lost our way,” Romney said. “Our nation is full of aspirations and hungry for new solutions.”

Romney, a onetime Massachusetts governor, pointed to Republican governors, including some who weren’t invited to the event such as New Jersey’s Chris Christie, as being models for the party as it moves forward.

“I would urge us all to learn lessons that come from some of our greatest success stories, and that’s 30 Republican governors across the country,” Romney said. “These governors have shown that they’re able to reach across the aisle, offer innovative solutions and that they are willing to take the heat.”

For the full report, see Bloomberg.com. 

Original post is Romney: ‘We Have Not Lost Our Way’ by Political Capital.

For conservatives who just don’t get enough conservatism at the Conservative Political Action Conference, now there’s CPAC the Cruise.

In the glossy program handed out to those arriving today for the opening day of the CPAC conference at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on the Potomac River south of Washington, there’s an ad for a seven-day “celebrity summit cruise” Oct. 19-26.

Details appear limited for now, except for an e-mail address and phone number for more information.

It is a project of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual CPAC, where Republicans from Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin will be addressing conference-goers over three days.

Bloomberg’s political reporting crew will be filing updates from the CPAC gathering throughout the coming days.

And looking for more details on that conservative cruise.

Original post is SS CPAC, a Cruise with Celebrities by Political Capital.

Photograph by Ed Reinke/AP Photo

Rand Paul, left, enjoys a light moment with his father Ron Paul during a campaign event in Erlanger, Kentucky.

Another CPAC, another Paul.

The American Conservative Union, which has provided a friendly forum for the likes of Texas Rep. Ron Paul and other candidates for national office, will hear from the former congressman’s son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, at its CPAC conference in March.

Paul will be the featured speaker at CPAC 2013, American Conservative Union ACU Chairman Al Cardenas says. “In just two years, Rand Paul has already established himself as a strong, independent voice for conservatives in the U.S. Senate.”

A voice whom, like his father, may be ready for a hand at Republican presidential primary politics.

Paul was a practicing ophthalmologist in Kentucky for many years, his father an obstetrician for many more in Texas. The father wowed the straw-poll crowd at CPAC’s last presidential campaign gathering. The son hopes to do the same.

The 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference will be held March 14-16, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington.

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Original post is Paul: Son Also Rises, Ready for CPAC by Political Capital.

Photographs by Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. (left) and Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Lo and behold, President Barack Obama has struck a blow for bipartisanship — something that’s in such short supply these days.

With his nomination of Jack Lew to take the helm at the Treasury Department, Obama managed to unite Jeff Sessions of Alabama, one of the Senate’s most conservative members, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, perhaps the chamber’s most liberal lawmaker. The president, though, won’t be lauding this alliance — they’re united AGAINST Lew.

Sessions is still miffed that Lew, as head of the administration’s Office of Management and Budget, asserted that one of the Obama budgets that was dead-on-arrival in Congress wouldn’t add to the deficit. “His testimony before the Senate Budget Committee less than two years ago was so outrageous and false that it alone disqualifies” him for the Treasury job, Sessions said in a statement.

Sanders, first elected to the Senate in 2006 running as a Socialist and then easily re-elected last November running as an independent, took umbrage to Lew’s relatively brief stint as a Citigroup executive.

“As a supporter of the president, I remain extremely concerned that virtually all of his key economic advisers have come from Wall Street,” Sanders said in a statement. “In my view, we need a Treasury secretary who is prepared to stand up to corporate America and their powerful lobbyists and fight for policies that protect the working families in our country. I do not believe Mr. Lew is that person.”

Sessions, 66, and Sanders, 71, split on one aspect of Lew’s nomination. Sanders said he anticipates Senate confirmation of Obama’s pick; Sessions  expects Lew, 57, to be blocked, an aide told The Hill newspaper.

How odd is it for the Brooklyn-bred Sanders and Sessions, born in Selma, to find themselves on the same side? Just check out their respective ratings from various special interest groups.

The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave Sanders a 95 percent favorable score for his 2010 votes. Sessions got 5 percent. Conversely, the southerner received a 100 percent score from the American Conservative Union, the northerner 4 percent.

Original post is Senate Odd Couple: Bernie Sanders/Jeff Sessions by Political Capital.