年的保守派政治行动会议，共和党过去的一个代表已经转向成为党内基层组织的主要舞台将于周四全面启动。
为期四天的会议于周三正式开始，周四大型活动开始前举行。预计会议将延续相对较新的传统，大力支持前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)，反对他在共和党内外的敌人。
今年的聚会是在选举年举行的，特朗普似乎将连续第三次获得共和党提名同时承诺“惩罚”-并权衡今年11月他可能选择谁加入共和党。
与此同时，这次会议就像党一样，正在深入探讨这个国家的文化战争。
今年的CPAC有三大看点，除了特朗普本人之外，还将吸引其他知名人士。
2023年3月4日，美国前总统唐纳德·川普在CPAC会议上发表讲话。
通用电气太平洋新闻/LightRocket
共和党人想要多少“报复”?
去年，特朗普在德克萨斯州韦科的一次集会上向共和党人发誓，他将是“你的报应”——此后他一直重申这一立场试图淡化.
但他的许多支持者听起来渴望他兑现承诺，尽管尚不清楚如果特朗普再次当选，他们会在共和党内部或联邦政府内部寻求多少报复。
特朗普将于周六向人群发表讲话，日程上挤满了他的盟友。他们的言论可能有助于说明，如果特朗普今年晚些时候夺回白宫，他们和基地组织有多么希望惩罚被特朗普嘲笑为“深层国家”的民主党人或政府官僚。
这位前总统已经表示有兴趣解雇一批政府职业公务员，错误地指责他们在他任职期间广泛破坏了他的议程。他还提出要对总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)进行报复，以报复他面临的一些刑事指控。这些指控是由独立检察官提出的，但他和他的追随者声称是出于政治动机。他拒不认罪。
近年来，CPAC一直吹嘘自己没有邀请前共和党总统候选人、后成为特朗普批评者的参议员米特罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)，近年来的议长席位一直保留给与前总统结盟的人。
现在，会议是在特朗普派出一系列主要挑战者后举行的，这些挑战者中没有一个人能够在民调中取代他或成为事实上的共和党领袖。
企业家维韦克·拉马斯瓦米(Vivek Ramaswamy)在为特朗普拉拉队加油后暂停了自己的总统竞选活动，是唯一一位登台的前候选人。
一连串的副总裁试镜
随着川普在爱荷华州和内华达州等州的初步提名竞选中轻松获胜，人们越来越关注谁能和他一起成为2024年共和党候选人——许多潜在的竞争者将在未来几天在CPAC发表演讲。
南达科他州州长克里斯蒂·诺姆、纽约州众议员伊利斯·斯特凡尼克(共和党众议院领导层成员)和俄亥俄州参议员JD万斯被认为将在CPAC与副总统进行对话。
这次会议标志着多个潜在竞选伙伴参加的首次竞选活动之一，标志着CPAC成为特朗普基础核心前的一次试演。
CPAC也在至少10年来首次将副总统问题纳入其民意调查。
目前还不清楚谁将参加这项非科学调查。
在文化战争中挑事
华盛顿的共和党人正在进行一系列政策辩论，从对乌克兰的援助到政府资助，再到该国的间谍权力。但是，如果今年的CPAC反映了近年来会议的发展方式，那么文化战争问题将成为一个焦点，反映了该基地的一些优先事项。
虽然肯定会讨论外国援助和堕胎等问题，但会议也安排了小组讨论，讨论右翼对教育等问题的不满，包括关于“摩西会去哈佛吗?”、特朗普的墙与拜登的差距”和“把我们的头放在煤气炉里”，指的是经常被引用的夸张的共和党抱怨民主党人正在推动家庭使用电炉。
CPAC今年选择了拉马斯瓦米作为其吹嘘的罗纳德·里根晚宴的头条新闻——如果与拉马斯瓦米竞选总统的方式相似，那将专注于联邦政府的潜在大规模改革和他所说的美国家庭单元的解体。
3 things to what to watch at this year's CPAC gathering of Republicans in DC
This year's Conservative Political Action Conference, an erstwhile cross section of the GOP that has turnedinto a major staging ground for the party's MAGA grassroots, is set to kick off in full force on Thursday.
The four-day conference, which formally started on Wednesday before big events begin Thursday, is expected to continue its relatively new legacy of vociferous support for former President Donald Trump and opposition toward his perceived enemies, both within and outside the Republican Party.
This year's gathering is taking place in an election year when Trump looks set to coast to his third straight GOP nominationwhile promising "retribution"-- and weighing who he might pick to join him on the Republican ticket this November.
All the while, the conference, much like the party, is delving into the nation's culture wars.
Here are three things to watch at this year's CPAC, which is set to attract notable names beyond Trump himself.
How much 'retribution' do Republicans want?
Trump vowed to Republicans at a rally in Waco, Texas, last year that he would be "your retribution" -- a position he has since echoed and alsosought to downplay.
But many of his supporters have sounded eager for him to make good on his promise, though it's unclear how much revenge they're looking for, either inside the GOP or in the federal government, if Trump is elected again.
Trump will speak to the crowd on Saturday, and the schedule is packed with his allies. Their remarks could help illuminate how much they and the base want to punish Democrats or government bureaucrats whom Trump has derided as the "deep state," should Trump retake the White House later this year.
Already, the former president has expressed interest in firing swaths of the government's career civil servants, falsely accusing them of broadly undermining his agenda while he was in office. He's also floated going after President Joe Biden in retaliation for some of the criminal charges he faces, indictments that were brought by independent prosecutors but that he and his followers claim were politically motivated. He has pleaded not guilty.
CPAC in recent years has bragged about not inviting Sen. Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential nominee-turned-Trump critic, and speaker slots in recent years have been reserved for those allied with the former president.
Now, the conference is taking place after Trump dispatched with a slate of primary challengers, none of whom came particularly close to supplanting him atop the polls or as de facto GOP leader.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who suspended his own presidential campaign after running as a Trump cheerleader, is the only other former candidate taking the stage.
A spate of vice president auditions
With Trump cruising to victory in the initial nominating races in states like Iowa and Nevada, increased attention is being paid to who could join him on the 2024 GOP ticket -- and many of the would-be contenders are slated to speak at CPAC in the next few days.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik (a member of her party's House leadership) and Ohio Sen. JD Vance are among those speaking at CPAC who are thought to be in the vice-presidential conversation.
The conference marks one of the first cattle calls where multiple would-be running mates are in attendance, marking CPAC as an audition of sorts in front of the heart of Trump's base.
CPAC is also including a vice presidential question on its straw poll for the first time in at least 10 years.
It's not clear yet who will be featured in the non-scientific survey.
Picking battles in the culture war
Republicans in Washington are in the middle of a slew of policy debates, from Ukraine aid to government funding to the country's spying powers. But if this year's CPAC reflects the way the conference has gone in recent years, there will be an intense focus on culture war issues that reflect some of the base's priorities.
Though there will certainly be discussions on foreign aid and abortion, among other things, the conference is also stocked with panels addressing the right's grievance on issues like education and more, including talks on " Would Moses Go To Harvard?", Trump's Wall Vs. Biden's Gaps" and " Putting Our Heads in the Gas Stove," referencing the often-cited and hyperbolic GOP complaint that Democrats are pushing families to use electric stoves.
CPAC this year chose Ramaswamy to headline its vaunted Ronald Reagan Dinner -- which, if similar to the way Ramaswamy ran his presidential campaign, will focus on a potential wholesale revamp of the federal government and what he calls the disintegration of the family unit in America.
