Where the 90s had our party caricatured as one focused on the “3 Gs” – “God, Guns, and Gays” the next decade is shaping up to be one that sees a party shift towards the “3 Es” — “Exceptionalism, Economics, and Empowerment.” For those in attendance, it was no surprise to see the results to the “personal core beliefs” CPAC straw poll.

The response “My most important goal is to promote individual freedom” dwarfed all other priorities combined, including a focus on gay marriage, abortion, the military, second amendment rights, and terrorism. Naysayers are likely to point out the obvious—that the convention was over 55% under the age of 25, and that there has always been a traditional slant away from social issues among younger voters.

The fact is, however, that anyone who was on the ground was able to see just how broadly the sentiment was shared—across virtually all geographic, socioeconomic and age ranges represented at CPAC.

I’m a Ron Paul supporter. His libertarian infusion to the GOP is welcome relief from theocracy and autocratic overtones in vogue. As an individualist I welcome his commentary in forums like CPAC and elsewhere.

Klan hats? Confederate flags? Tom Tancredo-like ignorance? Nope. All of the above were thankfully NOT a part of my CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) experience.

At its best CPAC 2010 was nothing more than a partisan playground. There wasn’t anything of substance said. Republicans talked about taking back Congress in November and the White House in ’12 and their extreme dislike of President Obama and his policies and that was about it.

As an American, political scholar and Republican I was was utterly disappointed in the event. Instead of using CPAC as a partisan pulpit, Republican Leaders should have used this opportunity to share with the American people their ideas to fix the problems America faces.

This was a perfect time to speak about the importance of limited government, transparency and accountability.

A review of HHR Blogs attendance of the 37th Annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) recently held in beautiful Washington, DC

Ryan Sorba of California Young Americans for Freedom condemns CPAC for allowing gay Republican group GOProud to attend.