It seems like the magic of CPAC has surprised us. Having fully expected a Trump show, I was pleasantly surprised to find that….the GOP hates Trump, the ACU hates Trump, CPAC hates Trump. About 95%b of those present at CPAC hate Trump.

What a CPAC, from an unfinished itinerary to metal detectors, and cancellations, it was a wild ride all around. Having never gone to the Conservative Political Action Conference before I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The convention proved without a shadow of a doubt that Donald Trump is not a GOP candidate and that he would not be supported if he is the nominee. The entire party in fact seemed perfectly happy with ditching him completely. Only a handful of Trump supporters were at the convention in the first place and the debate watch party had the entire Potomac Ballroom of the Gaylord booing anytime the businessman opened his mouth.

Then to top it all off, Donald Trump changed his mind and chose not to come to the convention, all attendees were all too happy to have a Trump free convention. As it turned out Mr. Trump was not happy at the fact that he would have to do a Q&A during his time at the event. Because actual conservatives, and not the mainstream media, asking him tough questions was scary for the life-long democrat.

Most people there supported Cruz and Rubio, as shown by the CPAC straw poll. Trump came in third, with Rubio getting 30 and Cruz 40 in the Presidential straw poll. Rubio seemed to be most people’s second choice.  A truly interesting poll. Continuing on the majority of those who voted in the poll identified as a Classic Reagan Conservative, while populist Conservatives barely made the board. For Vice President Nikky Haley and John Kasich were the top two pics, with Carly Fiorina coming in second behind them by a matter of one point/vote. As such most of those polled would prefer a Rubio/Haley ticket. Full StawPoll results can be found here.

Donald Trump was pushed on mostly by the likes of CNN who insisted that everyone had to care about him even though no one liked him or batted an eyelash when he didn’t come. Young Conservatives seemed to be almost exclusively Cruz or Rubio. The college students tended to lean more towards Rubio compared to Cruz.

The political atmosphere of CPAC among the general population of media, general attendees and students, was incredible, classy, gracious, and brilliant, with lots of people freely exchanging ideas and discussing the issues in a rational manner. There was even an interesting conversation about Atheist conservatives that was both mature and mutually courteous. Shockingly enough to liberals, there were tons of women there, and I met several people who identified as LGBT and were proudly standing by conservative principles. If you worry about millennials  voting left, fear not, hope exists and the slew of young conservatives I met. There is a spot in the GOP for all types of conservatives and a several events discussed appealing to the young and the minorities. This was a CPAC worth talking about.