An article that appeared in Reuters yesterday, reveals a troubling trend in the Republican Party. It is called "U.S. conservative conference with Hungary's hardline leader reflects Republican divide" by Peter Eisler, Alexandra Ulmer, Anita Komuves and Andrew R.c. Marshall and select paragraphs are below. A link to the article follows:
"April 5 (Reuters) - America's most prominent conservative gathering, founded on ideals of personal liberty and limited government, convenes in Budapest next month to celebrate a European leader accused of undermining democracy and individual rights.
The May meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is seen by some Republicans as a test of how closely American conservatives are willing align themselves with a global movement of far-right, Russia-friendly strongmen embraced by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
The event's keynote speaker is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The European Union has accused Orban, who won re-election by a large margin on Sunday, of curbing media and judicial independence, enriching associates with public funds and recasting election laws to entrench his power.
The Hungary meeting reflects a years-long push by CPAC's organizers, the American Conservative Union (ACU), to promote Trump's divisive brand of nationalist populism to foreign audiences. Last fall, a similar CPAC-branded meeting was held in Brazil, spotlighting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right leader and Putin admirer.
The Hungary gathering spotlights an emerging split among Republicans. While some have grown more tolerant of Putin and other foreign leaders with authoritarian tendencies, others are alarmed at the association.
Al Cardenas, who served as ACU's chairman from 2011 to 2014, called CPAC's embrace of Orban troubling, noting the Hungarian leader's close ties to Putin, 'the most dangerous adversary of the free world.'
'Orban is no friend of democratic nations, and any gestures or cooperation with USA nonprofits sends the wrong signal to the rest of the world, especially in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war,' said Cardenas, who was also once head of Florida's Republican Party."
It should be noted that until the previous president, Republican presidents avoided CPAC, choosing not to attend. They saw the group as too extreme for the party. Trump is the first president to embrace CPAC and, in and of itself, that speaks volumes. This meeting Hungary is just one more piece of evidence as to why they need to be regarded with caution.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-conservative-conference-with-hungarys-hardline-leader-reflects-republican-2022-04-05/#:~:text=CPAC%20Hungary%2C%20scheduled%20for%20May%2018-20%2C%20marks%20its,groups%20get%20to%20influential%20conservative%20officials%20and%20leaders.
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