Day Two at CPAC: Top Talkers

News from the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Keeping It Real - Republicans brought out the boldest names on day two of the Conservative Action Political Conference. The topics were varied, from gun control to where the party went wrong in 2012. Here are the day's highlights from lawmakers and analysts. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Keeping It Real - Republicans brought out the boldest names on day two of the Conservative Action Political Conference. The topics were varied, from gun control to where the party went wrong in 2012. Here are the day's highlights from lawmakers and analysts. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Man Up - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks his party's soul search needs to come to an end. "I’m a little tired of the hand-wringing — conservatives were never meant to be the party of the crybaby caucus," he told his CPAC audience. "If you get your tail whipped, you don't whine about it — you stand up and you punch back." (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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Man Up - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell thinks his party's soul search needs to come to an end. "I’m a little tired of the hand-wringing — conservatives were never meant to be the party of the crybaby caucus," he told his CPAC audience. "If you get your tail whipped, you don't whine about it — you stand up and you punch back." (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Blowing Smoke - House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan avoided his failed bid for vice president and stuck to what he likes best — the federal budget. He defended his economic blueprint in remarks delivered at the conservative summit and accused Democrats of "blowing smoke" on the budget and creating hardship for Americans. "By living beyond our means, the government is sending a message. It's saying, 'If you plan ahead - if you make sacrifices for your kids, if you save, you're a sucker.' It is brazenly stealing from our children and from young adults. And it has to stop." (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Blowing Smoke - House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Paul Ryan avoided his failed bid for vice president and stuck to what he likes best — the federal budget. He defended his economic blueprint in remarks delivered at the conservative summit and accused Democrats of "blowing smoke" on the budget and creating hardship for Americans. "By living beyond our means, the government is sending a message. It's saying, 'If you plan ahead - if you make sacrifices for your kids, if you save, you're a sucker.' It is brazenly stealing from our children and from young adults. And it has to stop." (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hired Gun - National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre denounced background check system for gun buyers. "There are only two reasons to compile a list of gun owners: to tax them or to take them," LaPierre said. He also warned that newspapers might use the information to print names of gun owners that gangs could access and do real harm.   (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Hired Gun - National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre denounced background check system for gun buyers. "There are only two reasons to compile a list of gun owners: to tax them or to take them," LaPierre said. He also warned that newspapers might use the information to print names of gun owners that gangs could access and do real harm.   (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Tread Carefully - Business mogul Donald Trump issued a warning about immigration reform at the conservative confab. "Every one of those 11 million people will be voting Democratic. It's just the way it works," he said. "And you have to be very, very careful, because you could say that to a certain extent, the odds aren’t looking so great right now for Republicans, that you’re on a suicide mission, you’re not going to get those votes." (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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Tread Carefully - Business mogul Donald Trump issued a warning about immigration reform at the conservative confab. "Every one of those 11 million people will be voting Democratic. It's just the way it works," he said. "And you have to be very, very careful, because you could say that to a certain extent, the odds aren’t looking so great right now for Republicans, that you’re on a suicide mission, you’re not going to get those votes." (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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Has There Been Any Backlash About the Closings? - Former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum called attention to the Benghazi attack on Meet the Press, voicing many conservatives’ recurring claims of an Obama administration cover-up. “I’m sure if you’re looking at it from a terrorist perspective, you say here is an administration that’s pulling back — that’s timid — and an opportunity to go after additional embassies,” said Santorum.(Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

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Don't Go Changing - Former Pennsylvania senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is in the GOP wing that likes the party just the way it is. "For those in our movement who want to abandon our country's moral underpinnings to win, permit me to paraphrase a great teacher and ask: What does it profit a movement to gain a country and lose its own soul?" he told conservatives to applause.  (Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

Regrets: He's Got a Few - Regrets: He's Got a Few: "It is up to us to make sure that we learn from my mistakes, and from our mistakes, so that we can win the victories those people and this nation depend upon," said Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. "I am sorry that I will not be your president — but I will be your co-worker and I will work shoulder to shoulder alongside you. In the end, we will win for the same reason we won before: because our cause is right and just."  (Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Regrets: He's Got a Few - Regrets: He's Got a Few: "It is up to us to make sure that we learn from my mistakes, and from our mistakes, so that we can win the victories those people and this nation depend upon," said Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. "I am sorry that I will not be your president — but I will be your co-worker and I will work shoulder to shoulder alongside you. In the end, we will win for the same reason we won before: because our cause is right and just."  (Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)