I think it was small minded not to invite Christie despite all the gripes people have against him.On the other hand,I think it´s a waste of time to reach out to disaffected liberal groups.The dems don´t do reach outs at their gatherings.They´re more than happy to just cater to their fringe base.

If the republicans had any sense the reach outs would be to tea party groups,that´s who they need to win elections.

THe WaPo´s concern is touching, albeit suspicious.

I do not understand why anyone would expect CPAC to invite Gov. Christie. The CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference. Gov. Christie is not a conservative. The only reason for CPAC to invite Gov. Christie would be because it had become more about being Republican than about being Conservative.

Jennifer Rubin´s lack of understanding is on display here: CPAC´s purpose is not to be a "big tent." It´s purpose was to be "conservative," hence the name of the organization. The GOP is the one that needs a bigger tent, big enough to cover these conservatives.

Inviting Christie to CPAC would be saying ´we are ok with your liberalism and with your toadying up to Obama for Federal dollars because it has made you popular with the liberal media´. Yeah. No.

The Dems don´t have to reach out when they have nefarious organizations to assist them in stealing elections. Since when did Communists ever reach out?

Here they go again...saying the Republican Party can´t win elections unless they become just like Democrats.

A recipe for disaster, as we have already seen in several election cycles. Christie is a Republicrat, or if you prefer, a Progressive. He is not a conservative.

The horses are out of the barn. Deal with it.

The republicans have so degraded the value of their political party that they are nothing but a lighter form of the lunatics on the left.....and running hard to catch up. Why should the cpac conservatives follow that example? Are these people demanding that the liberals ensconced in the republican party be included in cpac in order to insure that the USA has NO ALTERNATIVE TO THE EXTREME LEFT? Because that is what it sounds like to me.

i think it is time to turn this conversation in a different direction.

it is time for the repugs to start providing reasons why any conservative or tea party type should stick with the repugs given the republican performance since Reagan.

it is time for action and if the repugs cant provide any then lets move on and form a new party that has the courage and conviction to do so.

If Carson´s complaining about a cinservative group not inviting RINO Christie, then Carson is likely a RINO himself.

Taking advise from Jennifer Rubin at WaPo is like taking advise from the Ayatollah on Middle East Policy.

"If Carson´s complaining about a cinservative group not inviting RINO Christie, then Carson is likely a RINO himself."

Well, that didn´t take long, did it.

Dr. Carson has stated he is an independent, not a GOP or Dem.

FTA: They are creatures of the 1980s, when our problems, our country and the world were different. They became so adept at the politics of the 1980s that they never left that decade.
What has changed is the meaning of words. We have traded ancient, tested (and sometimes Divinely Revealed) values for the ideas of immature and mentally deficient charlatans.

I reject her premise that conservative candidates don´t win, the numbers say otherwise. There´s always alot of finger pointing at Angle, O´Donnell, and Akin, but the fact is, conservatives win. Cruz, Rubio, Jindal, the 2010 House victory. Romney lost, McCain lost, Dole lost, Mandel lost.

The other argument I reject is the ´´deport 11M illiegal aliens´´ straw man. I don´t know anybody rational that expects this to happen. But we also don´t want to excuse their criminal behavior or reward them for it, either.

The earlier poster has it right. What is the GOP doing to reach out to conservatives? Have Rove insult them?

Why is it so difficult to understand the reality that all Rs are not Cs. Two different sets with some overlap.

Let´s just demand that Conservatives adopt some larval form of socialism, pubic obsession and pederasty, and thus give America a reason to vote for us.

Yeah, that´s the ticket.

I am just sick and tired of being told that I am wrong to stand on my principles and not cave on them. If the moderates in the party and the ones who post here are comfortable with always caving, of accepting the fact that they are comfortable with voting for the garbage RINOS that the elites like Rove give us, that is their choice. Just don´t expect it to be mine. No, I am not a crazy one issue voter. I just am tired of the ´its his turn´ method of picking a candidate.

#10, you probably won´t care for Dr. Carson´s position on the ownership of semi-automatic weapons by city-dwellers, either.