Christopher John Matthews is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, on America's Talking and later on MSNBC, from 1997 until March 2, 2020. He announced on his final episode that he was retiring, following an accusation that he had made inappropriate comments to a Hardball guest four years earlier. On that occasion, he stated: "The younger generation's out there ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, in media, in fighting for their causes. They're improving the workplace."
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on December 18, 1964, it calls itself the oldest ongoing conservative lobbying organization in the U.S. The ACU is concerned with issues such as personal liberty or freedom, foreign policy, and traditional values, which they define as foundations of conservatism.
Radio America is an American radio network specializing in conservative-oriented talk programming. A division of the American Studies Center, the network says its mission is "to produce and syndicate quality radio programs reflecting a commitment to traditional American values, limited government and the free market." The American Studies Center has funded special broadcast projects at Radio America, such as a documentary series on African American conservatives, and conservative programming like The Alan Keyes Show; What's the Story? With Fred Barnes; Common Sense Radio with Oliver North; Bob Barr's Laws of the Universe; Veterans Chronicles with Gene Pell; The G. Gordon Liddy Show; The Greg Knapp Experience; and Dateline Washington with Greg Corombos.
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). The first CPAC took place in 1974.
Mark Reed Levin is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. Nicknamed The Great One, he is the host of syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show, as well as Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News. Levin worked in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is the former president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, a New York Times best-selling author of seven books and contributes commentary to media outlets such as National Review Online. Since 2015, Levin has been editor-in-chief of the Conservative Review and is known for his incendiary commentary.
Rear Admiral Rafael Celestino Benítez was a highly decorated American submarine commander who led the rescue effort of the crew members of the USS Cochino during the Cold War. After retiring from the navy, he was Pan American World Airways' vice president for Latin America. He taught international law for 16 years at the University of Miami School of Law, and served as associate dean, interim dean and director and founder of the foreign graduate law program. While there, he founded the comparative law LL.M. program, the inter-American law LL.M. program, and the Inter-American Law Review. After his death, the university established a scholarship in his memory to benefit a foreign attorney who is enrolled in one of the Law School's LL.M. programs.
Alberto Remigio Cárdenas y Pardo is a Cuban-born American lawyer, politician and conservative activist who is a partner in the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs and in the Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners. He has been named as one of Washington D.C.'s top lobbyists by The Hill newspaper. Cardenas was a member of the Board of Trustees of Florida A&M University.
Suhail A. Khan is the Senior Fellow for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Institute for Global Engagement and Director of External Affairs at Microsoft Corporation. Khan was previously a senior political appointee with the Bush administration, and a conservative political activist in Washington, D.C.
Guy Edmonds is an Australian born director, writer, actor and author. He co-created, wrote, acted in and directed the Emmy award-winning comedy series Hardball. He co-authored the hit book series Zombie Diaries and Zoo Crew. As an actor he is best known for his work on such programmes as Home and Away, A Moody Christmas and Underbelly: Razor, and on stage in the world premiere productions of Holding the Man as Timothy Conigrave in Australia and London's West End, and Rupert alongside Academy Award nominee James Cromwell in Australia and Washington D.C, USA.
The American Veterans Center is a non-profit educational organization and one of two programs of the American Studies Center. The mission of the American Veterans Center is "to preserve and promote the legacy of America’s servicemen and women of every generation".
Jonathan Lee Krohn is an American journalist and writer. He has written for The Guardian, The Atlantic, Salon, and Mother Jones, among others. In March 2013, Krohn was made the International Affairs and Politics fellow for Kurdish media company Rudaw's English language news site.
Medford Stanton Evans, better known as M. Stanton Evans, was an American journalist, author and educator. He was the author of eight books, including Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America's Enemies (2007).
Ronald Irvin Christie is an American government relations expert and Republican political strategist, who has also worked as a member of former Vice President Dick Cheney's staff. He is the author of two books, and an occasional guest on various cable news programs. He serves as an adjunct professor at Cornell University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Haverford College. He is currently the CEO of Christie Strategies, a communications and issue management firm that he founded in Alexandria, Virginia.
GOProud was an American tax exempt 527 organization supported by fiscally conservative gay men, lesbians, and their allies. GOProud advocated for free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights and worked at the federal and state levels to build strong coalitions of liberal conservative and libertarian activists, organizations and policy makers to advance their shared values and beliefs.
Jimmy LaSalvia is an American political figure. LaSalvia is the co-founder and former executive director of GOProud, a defunct U.S. political action group. He has also done work for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The American Veterans Committee was founded in 1943 as a liberal veterans organization and an alternative to groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which supported a conservative political and social agenda. The organization's roots were planted in 1942 when Sgt. Gilbert Harrison began to correspond with fellow servicemen concerning an organization that expanded beyond the needs of military men. In 1943, the University Religious Conference at UCLA became a meeting place for the military men who shared this desire for a veterans organization that also advocated peace and justice. One year later in 1944, Charles Bolte joined the UCLA group and the American Veterans Committee was born. The founding group included Donald Prell. The new organization immediately began to publish the AVC Bulletin to document the organization's advocacy issues.
Matthew Aaron Schlapp is an American political activist and lobbyist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union. He leads the lobbying firm Cove Strategies, which had strong ties to the Donald Trump administration. He is also a Fox News political contributor.
Mercedes Schlapp is an American communications specialist and political commentator for both English and Spanish media. She has served in two presidential administrations as director of specialty media under George W. Bush and as White House Director of Strategic Communications in the Trump administration from September 2017 to July 2019. She went on to work on the Trump 2020 re-election campaign as senior advisor for strategic communications.
The 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference was the annual event of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), hosted by the American Conservative Union. It was held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, Florida, from February 25 to February 28, 2021. The event was headlined by former President Donald Trump, with many speakers and panels throughout the conference.
The America First Political Action Conference is an annual white nationalist and far-right political conference. Many attendees are members of the "America First" movement and supporters of Nick Fuentes, also known as Groypers. The conference was described by The Daily Dot as a "white nationalist alternative" to CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference. The Arizona Republic and Rolling Stone have characterized it as an extremist rival of CPAC.
