During his opening remarks at CPAC 2012, American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas invoked Ronald Reagan’s first address to the 1975 conference in calling for a return to unapologetic conservatism.

Cardenas outlined a three-point strategy that he said the Republican Party must incorporate in order to have future success: “We must recruit candidates who are able to articulate the conservative message effectively” and we must “accept the changing demographics” and reach out to them in ways that they will best respond to. It was, however, his third point that makes the largest statement: “The Republican Party needs to be conservative without apology.”

Cardenas noted in his remarks that CPAC this year is hosting thousands of young conservatives who are eager to be involved and make their voices heard: “You are the next generation of conservative leaders.”

Alberto “Al” R. Cardenas (born in Cuba in 1948) is the current chair of the American Conservative Union, and a partner in the law firm of Tew Cardenas. He has been named as one of Washington D.C.’s top lobbyists by The Hill newspaper. Cardenas is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Florida A&M University.

Cardenas is active in the Republican Party, having served three terms as Vice-Chairman and two terms as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. He was also appointed to the Executive Committee of the Republican Party, the highest policy-making board at the Republican National Committee. He was the first Hispanic to lead a major state party and remains the only Hispanic Republican Party Chairman in Florida history.  Cardenas graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Cardenas received his associate’s degree from Miami Dade Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Florida Atlantic University, and his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University.[2] He is an alumnus of Florida Atlantic University’s Eta Mu chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.

President Reagan gave 12 speeches at CPAC. During his 1975 speech, regarding the huge conservative losses in 1974 that were even more devastating than the losses we suffered in 2012, President Reagan said this: “What they meant was to fuss up even more the difference between ourselves and our opponents.”

During CPAC 2011, Cardenas transitioned into the chairmanship of the succeeded of the American Conservative Union with current chairman David Keene’s retirement.