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.

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Ken Koeppe wears tea bags on his hat during an Americans For Prosperity rally.

A new Karl Rove plan to spend money in Republican primary races has stoked anger among Republicans who think the party needs to track right rather than to the center, Bloomberg News reports.

“Their idea of the most electable presidential candidate was Mitt Romney, and before him John McCain and before him Bob Dole,” said Brent Bozell, the leader of For America, a social media group that identifies its goals as promoting limited government, a strong national defense and Judeo-Christian values.

“These fake conservatives need to go away before they do more damage,” he said in an e-mailed statement this morning. A blog on For America’s website makes the same argument.

Bozell’s tone matches that of Erick Erickson, editor of conservative website Redstate.com. In a post this morning, Erickson wrote that Rove and his associates at the super-PAC American Crossroads and its nonprofit companion Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies “spent hundreds of millions of rich donors’ money and had jack to show for it.”

Erickson writes that Rove’s new political group, the Conservative Victory Project, will make it easy ”to figure out who the terrible candidates will be in 2014″ — the ones supported by the project.

The Conservative Victory Project is meant as a counterweight to other outside groups that have played in recent Republican primaries, The New York Times reported yesterday. Rove and fellow Crossroads associate Steven Law are behind the project, the Times reported.

Teaparty.org, a social media group that aggregates information about the anti-tax movement, interpreted this new Rove venture as a hostile move. It responded accordingly, featuring a Breitbart headline on its blog: “Rove Declares War on Tea Party.”

Original post is Rove and ‘Fake Conservatives:’ ‘Go Away,’ Bozell Says by Political Capital.

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Speaker of the House John Boehner after the weekly House GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 12, 2012.

A letter to House and Senate Republicans circulating today bluntly warns that social conservatives will unite to vote them out in 2014 primary elections if they adopt President Barack Obama’s plan to raise taxes.

“Let us also remind you that a great many potent conservative organizations and millions of conservative and liberty-loving voters do not believe in the divine right of incumbents to be re-nominated,” the letter says. “Conservatives know how to recruit and support candidates.”

The two-page letter was signed by dozens of leaders of Republican-leaning groups, including For America, Let Freedom Ring, the Family Research Council and the Conservative Action Project. Foster Friess, a millionaire Wyoming investor and major Republican donor, and Republican writers such as RedState editor Erick Erickson also appear on the list.

The message was drafted by Morton Blackwell, who hosts a weekly lunch for conservative leaders and is chairman of the Leadership Institute, which trains conservatives. He also serves as Virginia representative to the Republican National Committee, according to his biography.

The RNC typically stays out of primaries.

Blackwell sent the letter Nov. 30 to House and Senate Republicans. A copy was recirculated today to members of the media.

“I know it’s having an impact,” Blackwell said of the letter. He said House and Senate Republicans have “reacted” to it, declining to name them or give specifics about what they said.

Outside groups that were active in the just-ended presidential election are wielding the hammer of 2014 primaries threats as they push their agendas on the fiscal crisis that could result in more than $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases.

As Bloomberg News reported yesterday, Democrats aren’t immune.

“Members of Congress need to know that we are watching, and we will hold them accountable,” said Garlin Gilchrist II, national campaign director of MoveOn.org, a Democratic-leaning online organization. The “accountability” piece includes “maybe even primarying people who vote the wrong way,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Original post is Republicans Receive Primary Threats Over Fiscal Deal by Political Capital.

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Mitt Romney speaks as his son Tagg applauds during the regional Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on October 4, 2012 in Denver.

Mitt Romney had 90 minutes on stage with President Barack Obama last night.

The morning after, he took nine minutes to bask in what instant polling is portraying as a debate victory.

“Last night, I thought, was a great opportunity for the American people to see two different visions for the country,” Romney said this morning at a gathering of the Colorado Conservative Political Action Committee in Denver. “I saw the president’s vision as trickle-down government, and I don’t think that’s what America believes in.”

Romney, who surprised the Colorado CPAC gathering where his sons were slated to appear today, was introduced by son Tagg. Before announcing the surprise guest, Tagg Romney warmed up the crowd by asking: “How did dad do last night?”

The audience cheered.

“You know how important this is,” Romney told his audience. “Trickle-down government will not create the jobs Americans need. Trickle-down government will not bring down the cost of energy,” Romney said. “The consequence for doing it right versus doing it wrong is really extraordinary.”

The Republican nominee said the country’s economic recovery will see ups and downs, but i’ts not the recovery the U.S. needs.

“This is not the trend you want to see,” he said, adding that the Federal Reserve is just “printing” more money and doing what it could.

“The American people last night were given a choice,” Romney said. One is continuing down a road to become “more like Europe., he said. The other, he said, “is a path that returns America to America.”

“This has not been a real recovery. Oh it bumps up, it bumps down,” Romney said. “But this is not the trend you want to see.”

“The Federal Reserve, printing more money, doing everything they can, trying to prop this thing up. We need to rekindle the strong economy.”

Romney was leaving Denver today for a campaign appearance in Virginia.

Original post is Tagg Romney: `How Did Dad Do?’ by Political Capital.