Our national debut at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March was a huge success. Thank you to all who were part of it.
Our CPAC booth was the busiest in our row. Hundreds of supporters visited us and expressed their support. Many asked, “Where have you been for so long? I thought I was the only conservative that supports repealing the death penalty.”
Jay Sekulow, one of our national supporters, said the same thing in the U.S. News and World Report story that covered our launch.
One visitor dropped the bags and materials he was carrying as soon as he saw us, expressing his emotion and gratitude for our presence.
The warm welcome we got at CPAC confirmed what we already knew: uniform conservative support for the death penalty is a myth.
That’s why we formed Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty: to shatter that myth and talk about the death penalty from a conservative perspective. A number of proponents of the death penalty who visited our booth walked away our newest allies. We talked to them about the real risk of executing innocent people, its high cost and inefficiency as a government program, and the program’s other across-the-board failures. Most said they had no idea.
The overwhelming support and interest was not limited to the grassroots but also the press. We were featured on talk radio shows in Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia, television appearances including the Tea Party Network, videos and stories in conservative blogs, and feature articles in national publications like the New Republic and news services like Religion News Service.
Being at CPAC revealed several truths. There is incredible support and hunger for repealing the death penalty from conservatives, but many of them believe they are the only ones who feel this way.
Together we are building a new conservative movement to spread awareness about the concerns and failures of the death penalty. Thank you for being a part of it.
