Occupiers and conservatives hanging out at Harry's Pub. (Photo: Hunter Walker)

For at least one evening last Friday night, Tea Partiers and other conservative activists mingled happily with members of the Occupy Wall Street movement over drinks in Harry’s Pub at Washington D.C.’s Marriott Wardman Park, where the annual Conservative Political Action Conference was being held. The Occupiers originally showed up to protest the conservative confab, but found themselves seated around a table with several CPAC attendees including Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the controversial vigilante immigration enforcement group, the Minuteman Project.

“I've always felt that there was a common thread with their grievance and the grievance of everyday Republicans, Democrats, Independents, many of us,” Mr. Gilchrist told The Politicker. “So many of us are frustrated with our federal government.”

The strange cocktail hour began after Mr. Gilchrist led some of his fellow of conservative conference-goers to visit the Occupiers protesting CPAC outside the hotel.

“I just invited a group of about six of us to go down and engage in discourse with the Occupy Wall Street and issued a warning, ‘Look, if it gets hostile, we back off and we leave. If law enforcement comes in and says, ‘Get away from them, because it’ll create conflict and riot,’ we will obey law enforcement,” Mr. Gilchrist said. “We walked down there and there was not one shred of hostility towards us. I think they were surprised that we would come into their ranks.”

Mr. Gilchrist and his band of conservative activists, which included his “bodyguard” Edwin Williams and TeaParty.org Executive Director Stephen Eichler, ended up convincing several of the Occupiers to join them at the bar for food, drinks and discourse. At the bar, they ran into a bearded, tattooed Occupier who only gave his name as “James” and said he took refuge in Harry’s Pub after hotel security threatened to kick him out for wandering the lobby. In the end, the group included about six conservatives and six Occupiers.

“At this table, there are Republican activists, the founder of the Minutemen, and there are several principled Occupiers and we are all having a peaceable, wonderful, friendly conversation about what’s wrong with this country,” James said.

Hudson Flynt, a Tea Party activist and author of a book called Reconquer America, figured he and the others at the table had “more than 70 percent of common ground.”

“Those things where we disagree, we are getting into a deeper discussion to find out where we can actually come to an agreement on our understanding,” Mr. Flynt said.

Despite these good natured assessments of the conversation, there were definitely some differences of opinion around the table at Harry’s.

“The disagreements are not about what the issues are or the problems are, it’s about how to fix the problems,” said Johnny Mandracchia, an Occupy protestor from Northern Virginia.

Jeffrey Gayner, Chairman of Americans for Sovereignty, concurred.

“There’s the commonality of the distrust of authority and government, I think there’s a huge commonality there, but it’s just a matter of, our distrust is more of the government screwing up the situation rather than the corporations,” Mr. Gayner said.

Occupiers and Tea Partiers are often linked together by the media, but in the past, members of both groups have aggressively disavowed any similarities. At CPAC, the collision between the groups was hardly harmonious. Occupy protesters disrupted several events, including Ms. Palin’s keynote speech and one of the panels was a discussion entitled “Taking Back Wall Street: The Tea Party Vs. Occupy Wall Street” where conservative pundit Kevin Jackson criticized the Occupiers as “irrelevant” and “nutjobs” and other panelists accused them of being unsanitary plants from sinister left wing organizations.

However, for those at Harry’s, who spent over four hours drinking together, they left the convention with a greater understanding of their rivals from the opposite side of the political spectrum.

“Build a bridge and you’d be amazed at how their grievances are the same as our grievances,” Mr. Gilchrist said.

Sarah Palin (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- A group of protesters to attempted to "mic check" former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's keynote speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference at the Washington Wardman Park Mariott today. Audience members drowned out the occupiers with boos, chants of "U.S.A." and "Sarah!" before they were escorted from the hotel ballroom.

Ms. Palin briefly interrupted her speech, which was mostly an indictment of the Obama administration to join the CPAC audience in their "USA!" chants.

"See? You just won. You see how easy that is?" Ms. Palin asked as the protesters were removed from the room.

Witnesses in the hotel lobby told The Politicker the protesters were escorted out by police surrounded by a crowd of reporters. They did not believe any arrests were made. As of this writing, Ms. Palin's speech is still in progress.

Update (5:29 pm): A police officer at the D.C. Metropolitan Police's 2nd District station, which includes the Washington Wardman Park Mariott, said he was not aware of any arrests.

Kristy Campbell, a spokeswoman for the American Conservative Union, which organized CPAC, told us there was a plan in place to deal with potential protesters.

"We have a policy in place that people who are disrupted should be removed," Ms. Campbell said. "It's happened before."

Update (5:47 pm): Protesters affiliated with American University's chapter of the Occupy movement claimed responsibility for "mic checking" Ms. Palin's speech on Twitter. They apparently carried a banner with a defaced picture of Ms. Palin.

(Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney stopped Rick Santorum's primary winning streak with a victory in the straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference today. Mr. Santorum came in second. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul brought up the rear.

Mr. Romney won 38 percent of the vote compared to Mr. Santorum's 31 percent. Mr. Gingrich received 15 percent of the vote. Ron Paul, who won the CPAC straw polls in 2011 and 2010, earned 12 percent, but he did not participate in this year's conference. A total of 3,408 people participated in the poll.

Though the CPAC straw poll has no bearing on the GOP nomination process, Mr. Romney's victory should help to slow Mr. Santorum's momentum after his wins in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri last week. The win also dents Mr. Santorum's status as the choice of the Republican Party's conservative wing. Mr. Romney has had trouble connecting with more conservative voters during the campaign so far, but he made a major push to win the CPAC straw poll, busing in large numbers of supporters.

Sarah Palin (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is making the keynote speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference today, but it won't include an endorsement in the race for the GOP nomination.

"Not today," Mr. Palin said when The Politicker asked if she would announce her pick at CPAC. 

Ms. Palin's endorsement is expected to be one of the most influential in the Republican race. Though she has stayed mum about her choice so far, her husband, Todd, came out and endorsed Newt Gingrich last month.

Mary Anne, Abby and Liddy Huntsman (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- Jon Hunstman's telegenic trio of daughters; Mary Anne, Abby and Liddy, claimed they were shunned by the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on their Twitter page yesterday.

"For everyone wondering if we made it to CPAC this year, the answer is no. We didn't quite make the list. #CPACdidntwantourcommentary," they wrote. 

In a press conference today, Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, said his organization never received a request from the Huntsman girls to take part in the conference.

"We've never received a request from any of them to participate at CPAC," Mr. Cardenas said in response to a question from The Politicker.

Mr. Cardenas went on to say he'd be happy to "contemplate" letting the Huntsman daughters join in on CPAC if they get in touch with him.

"Have them contact us, we'll be happy to contemplate the possibility."

The Huntsman daughters became media darlings and enjoyed a starring role in this year's presidential campaign prior to their dad's decision to drop out of the race last month.

As of this writing the Huntsman daughters have not responded to a request for comment on this story. See their original Tweet below.

Joe The Plumber (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- As demonstrators affiliated with Occupy Wall Street protested on the street outside the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, The Politicker spotted 2008 election star, Tea Party activist and Ohio Congressional candidate Samuel "Joe The Plumber" Wurzelbacher standing in front of the Mariott Wardman Park hotel where the conference is being held.

"This is America and they're allowed to protest, everybody is," Mr. Wurzelbacher said.

Mr. Wurzelbacher said he didn't step outside the hotel to see the demonstrators.

"I just came out just to catch a breath of fresh air real quick and head back in."

Though Mr. Wurzelbacher supports the Occupiers right to protest, he said they should follow the example of the Tea Party movement and stay within the limits of the law.

"I do believe, you know, like the Tea Parties and whatnot, they definitely should exercise getting the permits that are required, following the laws that are in place," Mr. Wurzelbacher said. "I don't think anybody gets any special treatment."

The controversial Hanukkah card from "S.C. Team Santorum." (Photo: Facebook)

WASHINGTON -- Rick Santorum's campaign manager, Michael Biundo, responded to the growing controversy over a Hanukkah card signed by "S.C. Team Santorum" inscribed with a New Testament bible verse that implies non-Christians will "walk in darkness."

"It certainly wasn't an authorized graphic that they sent out. I'm not even sure who did it, you know, the South Carolina office is not even--you know, not together at this point," Mr. Biundo told The Politicker at the Conservative Political Action Conference today.

Mr. Santorum's Hanukkah hassle started Wednesday after this reporter found an image of the controversial card online and Tweeted a picture of it. The card featured a verse from the Gospel of John where Jesus says, "He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life."

Several media outlets subsequently picked up on the story and attributed the card directly to Mr. Santorum.

"Rick didn't say it and I'm not sure who did say it," Mr. Biundo said "I'm not even sure it actually did come from the campaign, to be honest with you."

The card was posted on Facebook last December 21 by a man named Joe St. John, who ran Mr. Santorum's campaign office in Rock Hill, South Carolina and has been described by news outlets as both a Santorum "campaign staffer" and "a district field representative with Santorum's campaign." Mr. Biundo said there were "four or five people" working on Mr. Santorum's South Carolina team in December.

"I come from Pennsylvania, we're doing a little bit of that in Pennsylvania, thank God," Mr. Santorum said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is currently working with the Department of Environmental Conservation to come up with rules to regulate and allow hydrofracking in New York after lifting a statewide ban on the controversial natural gas drilling technique last summer.

Mr. Santorum went on to accuse the Obama administration is "going after" the controversial natural gas drilling technique by trying to paint it as "a bogeyman." Mr. Santorum didn't explain exactly how President Obama, who expressed support for the procedure in his State of the Union address last month, is attacking hydrofracking.

"One of the favorite things of the left is to use your sentimentality, your proper understanding and belief that we are stewards of this Earth and that we have a responsibility to hand off a beautiful Earth to the next generation," Mr. Santorum said. "And so, they used that and they've used it in the past to try to scare you into supporting radical ideas on the environment. They tried it with this idea, this politicization of science called 'man-made global warming.'"

Mr. Santorum accused President Obama of using "this facade of man-made global warming" to try to pass cap and trade emissions regulations and to attempt to "get control" of the energy and manufacturing industries.

"I stood up and fought against those things. Why? Because they will destroy the very foundation of prosperity in our country. You look at any country in the world, you look at their energy consumption. their cost of energy and their quality of life, the standard of living," Mr. Santorum said. "The more energy consumption, the higher the standard of living. That's just the bottom line. ... If we're going to fuel a great and vibrant economy, we need affordable energy."

After strong Republican opposition scuttled the cap and trade plan, Mr. Santorum said the Obama administration targeted hydrofracking.

"This administration has gone out and, not only has attacked us with cap and trade and global warming, but now that that has been thrown in the dustbin of history, now they're going after hydrofracking," Mr. Santorum said. "Of course, now that we're doing hydrofracking near the population centers the bogeyman comes out, 'Ooh look at what it's going to do to you.' You know how many wells have been hydrofracked in the United States? Oh, about 700 or 800,000. Where's been all the noise ladies and gentlemen? They scare you, they intimidate you to trust them and to give them more power."

Hydrofracking, which is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, involves extracting gas from underground rock layers by creating fissures with a cocktail of pressurized water and chemicals. Environment activists argue the procedure is dangerous and want it banned outright. Proponents of hydrofracking, including the natural gas industry, which has spent millions lobbying for the procedure, promise fracking is safe and will create jobs. Proposed DEC regulations would permit the procedure in the state apart from the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, which would be free from fracking and surrounded by a 4,000 foot buffer zone.

Rick Santorum (Photo: Wikimedia)

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum addressed a small rally held by the pro-life group Students For Life at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference today. Mr. Santorum praised the young activists for their work and explained why he believes they must fight to end abortion in this country.

"We need to go out and challenge the left, which is constantly telling the public that conservatives are anti-science," Mr. Santorum said. "Well, if there's one group of folks that's anti-science it is, in fact, those who call themselves pro-choice, because the choice that they're choosing is to kill an innocent human life, without question an innocent human being."

Mr. Santorum has no doubt human life begins at conception.

"We're a voice of reason who understands that when people say, 'Well, I don't believe that life begins at conception,' and then someone else says, 'Well, I do believe life begins at conception,' obviously everybody's entitled to their beliefs, but they're not entitled to their facts," Mr. Santorum said. "See, I don't believe life begins at conception, I know life begins at conception."

Mr. Santorum said he believes pro-choice advocates are far too "cavalier" about abortion.

"We have 1.2 million of them every year in America," Mr. Santorum said. "When I hear the left and the pro-choice folks saying abortion should be rare. Oh, really, 1.2 million, almost 25 percent of all children conceived in America. That's not rare by any stretch of the imagination."

According to Mr. Santorum, pro-choice activists oppose anything that might decrease the number of abortions in the country.

"They don't want to do anything to try to make it, in fact, rare," Mr. Santorum said. "In fact, they fight every attempt to give women informed consent, to give women the opportunities to make the choices that, in any healthcare procedure, they would demand other than this one."

To combat the effect of the pro-choice movement, Mr. Santorum said pro-lifers "need to go out and use reason, use facts, use love and compassion." He also advocated volunteering with crisis pregnancy centers that advise pregnant women against having abortions.

"I like to go out and speak to pro-life groups, particularly crisis pregnancy centers. I do a lot of crisis pregnancy centers, Carenet Pregnancy Center, all these different groups that are out there, because they are the front line of the pro-life movement. They are the front line of caring, compassionate love."

He encouraged the Students For Life to be "active" and work with crisis pregnancy centers around the country.

"Not only do these organizations save lives, but they present what is the best about what pro-lifers are about here in this country," Mr. Santorum said.

After his appeal to the audience to work with the crisis pregnancy centers, Mr. Santorum thanked them for their work.

"As young people, I know that being a conservative, much less a pro-lifer, in high school and college is not an easy thing to do. But I suspect it's not as hard as it maybe once was."

Mr. Santorum concluded by saying he believes more young people are joining the pro-life movement because they are a "visual generation" and are more affected by the images they see on sonograms and ultrasounds than older Americans.

"If you look at the polling numbers, young people are increasingly understanding the reality. You're a visual generation. I know, I've got seven kids. You're a visual generation, you know, it's everything is interactive on a screen of some sort," Mr. Santorum said. "The reality is that children your age look at the reality of that child in the womb and see what they see. No one of your generation is not seeing that little child kicking around in the womb and not recognizing exactly what that is. And you can deny it, you can rationalize it, but the truth is staring at you on that screen."

Mr. Santorum wrapped up his speech by encouraging the Students For Life to continue to fight for "all God's truth."

"That is the greatest gift that we have. We have the truth and we have evidence of that truth," Mr. Santorum said. "You keep standing for the truth, not just when it comes to life, but for all God's truth and the truth that made this country great."

Herman Cain on stage at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. (Photo: Getty)

WASHINGTON -- Herman Cain is exporting his "9-9-9 Plan" to the Land of the Rising Sun, but the Japanese version of Mr. Cain's tax plan won't be based on the number nine.

"It's going to be 7-7-7 in Japan, because it's revenue neutral," Mr. Cain's chief of staff, Mark Block, told The Politicker yesterday at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

In Japanese, "7-7-7" would be translated as either "Shichi-Shichi-Shichi" or "Nana-Nana-Nana."

Mr. Cain met with a group of Japanese businessmen at CPAC yesterday to work out the details for his journey to Japan. He will officially announce the Asian incarnation of "9-9-9" in a column on his website next Monday trumpeting the Japanese Tea Party's support for the plan. The Japanese Tea Party movement has grown in recent months as a response rising taxes in that country.

After he dropped out of the presidential race in December, Mr. Cain launched the "Cain Connections" initiative to promote a series of proposals he dubbed the "Cain Solutions Revolution." His "9-9-9 Plan" is the centerpiece of the "Cain Connections" platform.