ORLANDO, Fla. — A slate of more than a dozen prominent conservatives lambasted Democrats as pushing America toward socialism, blasted “The Squad,” and called on evangelical voters to deliver Republicans back into majorities in Congress in 2022.
They found a mostly friendly audience at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference, a meeting of evangelicals and conservative activists, in hopes of beginning momentum toward electoral wins next year.
But the rifts in the Republican Party following the tumultuous Trump era couldn’t entirely be papered over, with former Vice President Mike Pence being greeted with some boos and getting heckled as a “traitor” from at least one woman toward the back of the room. She was quickly removed by security.
The conference at the Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee featured speeches from politicians like Sens. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn, in the lead up to a lunchtime talk with Pence.
“The time has come for every American dedicated to faith and freedom to stand up and be heard and turn back the agenda of the radical democrats,” Pence said Friday to a crowded ballroom. “The Road to Majority starts right here and right now.”
Pence, who was a target of a pro-Trump mob’s ire during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol for his refusal to overturn the election results, was a notable no-show at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando in February that concluded with former President Donald Trump’s first speech since leaving office.
But Pence, who could be one of many Republicans seeking the 2024 presidential nomination, has since returned to making public appearances. On Friday, he only briefly mentioned the Jan. 6 insurrection, where he was inside the halls of Congress voting to certify the election for Biden when supporters of Trump breached the doors and occupied the building.
Instead, he lauded the accomplishments of the Trump administration and criticized Democrats for seemingly opposite policies.
Pence praised and reflected on his time as vice president, including his tenure overseeing the White House’s response to the coronavirus pandemic last year, and called the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” a “medical miracle.”
He said Biden has exuded “weak leadership abroad” and criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not visiting the southern border and fixing what he called a crisis there.
Like most other speakers on the docket, he said Democrats are trying to indoctrinate students by adopting curriculums that include "critical race theory," which was banned in Florida last week by the State Board of Education.
The action was pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and is part of a conservative playbook to ban it nationwide.
DeSantis told the board it would “denigrate the founding fathers” and teach “kids to hate their country.”
Defenders of the theory say it provides a more accurate depiction of American history, by exploring how racism has impacted institutions.
However, even prior to the rule, it wasn’t taught in public schools in the state.
For his part, Pence called it racist.
“Under the Biden administration, patriotic education has been replaced with indoctrination,” Pence said. “America is not a racist country. America is the most just, noble and inclusive country to ever exist on the face of the earth.”
The conference, advertised as “the nation’s premier pro-faith, pro-family event” continues through Saturday, when DeSantis — a potential rival to Pence for the 2024 nomination — is the keynote speaker for its Patriot’s Gala.
In a 10-minute speech prior to Pence, Rubio, who could face Orlando Democratic Rep. Val Demings for his U.S. Senate seat in 2022, equated calls for social justice and equity to Marxism.
“The old Marxism used economics to gain control. The new Marxism uses identity politics and the result and is something that looks nothing like America,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe that this new Marxism will result in anything different than the old Marxism.”
Scott, who as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee is tasked with fundraising and overseeing election efforts, called on grassroots supporters to deliver Republican wins in an election that “is going to determine the future of this great country.”
“We can prevent the Democratic Party from leading our country down the path of socialism and we will,” he said.
