just as to the race issue. it s not our core convictions. it is unacceptable and we have to show more tolerance because this is the way the world is going. well, and alex, in terms of big tent mentality and wanting to bring people into that tent think about the cpac speech in which jeb bush said too many people see the republican party as anti-woman, anti-science, ant ant anti-gay, that might make a lot of would-be republicans feel unwelcome. what s your response to that? the key is this is absolutely about core convictions, and the core values of the republican party support traditional marriage. and the key takeaway moment i had from jeb bush s speech last night, which was a very good speech, he ended it with the rumors of the demise of the conservative party are greatly exaggerated and stop the harps. we don t need to continue to go down that road. he said the ideas of the liberals and democrats are not
what she s having to say. she s a very good motivator for the crowd and they particularly liked just a few minutes ago she bent under the podium and pulled up a big gulp of soda as a reference to mayor bloomberg and his policies but that went over pretty well here. we will excuse the loud applause and thank you for chatting with us. i want to talk to you about senator portman w. he is no republican lightweight. what did his announcement mean for the party? well, that was a personal decision he made based on his personal situation and certainly people understand that, but as far as the party we will continue to support traditional marriage and as a party we will continue to focus on the issues people at cpac are concerned with which are jobs and the economy and limiting the size of government and being fiscally responsible. that s what we re hearing folks talk about here and across the country. morris, senator portman s announcement comes on the heels
about that? reporter: i spent yesterday afternoon talking to attendees about that. there seemed to be an age divide. some of the older folks who are here who i talked to said the party really should stay on the traditional marriage sort of value front whereas this place is about half college students. i talked to a lot of college students, and they said, you know what? we really are more focused on individual liberty. this is maybe something that the government should stay out of totally. so the issue has really cooled off here. yeah. you know, every year there s that famous straw poll that will be conducted this afternoon and we ll get the results of that. i know former florida jeb bush asked to be taken out of that straw poll. he delivered a powerful speech earlier. a lot of people suggesting he may be considering a run in 2016 for the presidency, but is there anyone other than potentially jeb bush who may be up on top of this poll? any conventional wisdom on that right now? re
listening to morris give his reasons for why we are at a watershed moment, do you think it s a sustainable position for a politician to be against it? i think it s important for any person leading the party and the party in particular to continue to support our core values, and that includes traditional marriage and that s what we re going to continue to do, support traditional marriage, but look at the bigger picture as we re doing here at cpac. the key issues folks are concerned with are jobs and the economy and reigning in the size of government. that s what we ll focus on traditions change over time. that s the thing about but core convictions don t. traditions well, i disagree with that. we have the same thing with race in this country, and it changed over time. you know, it s not about core convictions. it s about what is going on and what is acceptable by society at the time. it s unacceptable now to be anti-gay, and the republican party needs to understand that ju
but the plane crashed killing all three people on board. a truck full of fireworks exploded in the middle of the street in central mexico. it happened as people were taking part in a religious procession. at least 11 are dead and dozens more injured. in today s strategy talk, a big announcement in a surprising turn of events. senator rob portman is declaring he is now in support of gay marriage. i have come to the conclusion that for me personally, i think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married and to have the joy and the stability of marriage that i have had for over 26 years. i want all three of my kids to have it, including our son who is gay. joining me now is republican strast alex stewart, former press secretary for rick santorum and democratic strategist morris reed, managing director of bgr group. welcome to the both of you. i have to ask you, alice, is sarah palin still on the stage behind you there? she s still speaking and the crowd is