⁣CPAC is 50 years old. In 1974 a small gathering of conservatives listened to Ronald Reagan as he gave the inaugural keynote speech in which the Presidential hopeful used it to share his vision for the country. For the last 10 of those years Matt Schlapp has been at the helm of CPAC as it has grown and expanded beyond the borders of America and become global. Matt joins us to discuss what this journey has been like, how and why it has expanded internationally to Brazil, Israel, Hungary and Japan to name but a few. What is its relationship with the Republican Party who has a difficult association with Trump and where does media fit into CPAC’s vision? With the collapse of Fox and the rise of alternative media Matt tells us how CPAC is harnessing this new digital landscape. On June 19, 2014 the board of the American Conservative Union unanimously voted to elect Matt Schlapp as the ninth Chairman of the nation’s oldest and largest conservative grassroots organization. From 2001 to 2005, he served as President Bush’s political director during the re-election and previously as his deputy political director. During the 2000 presidential campaign he was a Regional Political Director with oversight of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Matt left the White House to run the Washington, DC offices of Koch Industries, a company headquartered in his hometown and known for their philanthropy to free market causes. Matt's Congressional experience began during the historic Republican wave of 1994 where he served Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) as Chief of Staff for 5 years. During his tenure, Tiahrt averaged an ACU rating of 98%. Matt’s political activism first took root at the University of Notre Dame, where he started a conservative student magazine. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.A.) and Wichita State University (M.P.A.) Matt and his wife Mercedes have five daughters. Founded in 1974, CPAC is the nation’s oldest conservative grassroots organization and seeks to preserve and protect the values of life, liberty, and property for every American. Interview recorded 18.1.24 Connect with Matt & CPAC... X https://x.com/mschlapp?s=20 https://x.com/CPAC?s=20 CPAC https://www.digital.cpac.org/ The Desecrators: Defeating the Cancel Culture Mob and Reclaiming One Nation Under God AMAZON https://a.co/d/9bmhNIh Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE https://heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS https://heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ TRANSCRIPTS https://heartsofoak.substack.com/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts.... SHOP https://heartsofoak.org/shop/