Day One at CPAC: The Highlights Reel

Headlines from the opening day of the conservative summit.

What a Start - Day one at CPAC didn't disappoint, and there were strong indicators that the GOP's identity crisis isn't going to end anytime soon. Despite efforts to appear less ideologically stunted, several speakers — including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — suggested the Republican Party is fine just the way it is. In fact, some of the inevitable attacks on President Obama were softballs in comparison to a few conservatives' digs at each other. Here are some  highlights. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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What a Start - Day one at CPAC didn't disappoint, and there were strong indicators that the GOP's identity crisis isn't going to end anytime soon. Despite efforts to appear less ideologically stunted, several speakers — including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott — suggested the Republican Party is fine just the way it is. In fact, some of the inevitable attacks on President Obama were softballs in comparison to a few conservatives' digs at each other. Here are some  highlights. — Joyce Jones (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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He's Back! - Allen West may have lost his congressional seat but he has held onto every bit of his fire. In remarks delivered at CPAC on March 14, West pooh-poohed the desire of some Republicans to moderate its views to appeal to a broader audience, calling it "malarkey." He also took a shot at the left. “There is nothing on this green earth that a liberal progressive fears more than a Black American who wants a better life," the former lawmaker said.  (Photo: Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times /Landov)

Not Conservative Enough - Texas Gov. Rick Perry took digs at the past two Republican presidential nominees Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, suggesting they lost because they're too moderate. "The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections,” he said. “That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012.” (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Not Conservative Enough - Texas Gov. Rick Perry took digs at the past two Republican presidential nominees Sen. John McCain and Mitt Romney, suggesting they lost because they're too moderate. "The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections,” he said. “That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012.” (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Out With the Old - Hundreds of supporters sporting "Stand With Rand" stickers flooded a ballroom to hear Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spin the values of libertarianism, calling for a smaller role for government at home and overseas. “The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered — I don’t think we need to name any names, do we?” said Rand, which many viewed as yet another dig at McCain. (Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Out With the Old - Hundreds of supporters sporting "Stand With Rand" stickers flooded a ballroom to hear Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spin the values of libertarianism, calling for a smaller role for government at home and overseas. “The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered — I don’t think we need to name any names, do we?” said Rand, which many viewed as yet another dig at McCain. (Photo: AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Barbed Wire - In a pre-Martin Luther King holiday speech, Rev. William Barber, who heads the North Carolina NAACP, denounced U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) as a puppet who articulates the Tea Party agenda. “A ventriloquist can always find a good dummy,” Barber said at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Tim Scott - South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott praised his mentor, John Moniz, the late Chick-fil-A franchise owner, for leading him in the right direction — pun intended. “Because of John, my mentor, I’m sure that was a part of my path to becoming a red-blooded conservative, because he taught me how to think my way out of poverty.” (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

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Generation X/Y - Francesca Chambers, editor of the conservative blog Red Alert, participated in a panel discussion on winning Generation X/Y. She told BET.com that if the GOP went to college campuses and other places that young adults frequent, like Obama did, used conservatives like OutKast's Big Boi to help engage with them, and took less of a hard line on social issues, focusing instead on fiscal policy, "they would take the youth vote by storm." (Photo: BET)

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Generation X/Y - Francesca Chambers, editor of the conservative blog Red Alert, participated in a panel discussion on winning Generation X/Y. She told BET.com that if the GOP went to college campuses and other places that young adults frequent, like Obama did, used conservatives like OutKast's Big Boi to help engage with them, and took less of a hard line on social issues, focusing instead on fiscal policy, "they would take the youth vote by storm." (Photo: BET)

If It Ain't Broke - Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is another Republican who doesn't think the GOP needs to change its ideology to win elections. "We don't need a new idea. The idea is America and it still works," he said, earning a standing ovation.  (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

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If It Ain't Broke - Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is another Republican who doesn't think the GOP needs to change its ideology to win elections. "We don't need a new idea. The idea is America and it still works," he said, earning a standing ovation.  (Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Davis' Take - Artur Davis may be new to the party, but in a panel discussion on inclusion and broadening the GOP tent, he had this advice: "If we're serious about taking this country in the direction we want, our dominant enterprise ought to be figuring out how we get people who don't on first blush think like us to walk with us and to join our path." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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Davis' Take - Artur Davis may be new to the party, but in a panel discussion on inclusion and broadening the GOP tent, he had this advice: "If we're serious about taking this country in the direction we want, our dominant enterprise ought to be figuring out how we get people who don't on first blush think like us to walk with us and to join our path." (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)