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Alex rounds up the news from CPAC, the conservative activists conference this past week:

This week saw the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the largest annual gathering of conservative activists in the US, and as you might expect it was full of absolutely nutty behavior. If ever you wanted an encapsulation of everything that has gone wrong with the modern Republican Party, this is it. Some examples: 

Gov. Mike Huckabee, the man I continue to believe will be the GOP nominee in 2012, invoked Lenin and Stalin in warning the crowd about the dangers of health care reform. Cliff Kincaid drew a standing ovationwhen he declared Obama a "communist" who had most likely been born in Kenya. Joe The Plumber took on the issue of reparations for slavery (a hot topic if ever there was one!) by explaining that "Jews were slaves, but they're not asking for compensation from Egypt." Tucker Carlson got booed for suggesting that conservative media operatives ought to be more professional in their approach to facts. Activists handed out "It's OK to be Ex Gay" and "Obama bin Lyin" bumper stickers and dressed up as Klondike Bar loving polar bears. And Sen. Rick Santorum went on camera to proudly proclaim that he he hopes Obama's policies will fail. [Videos@TPM for those who can stomach it]

In that last sentiment, Santorum echoed Rush Limbaugh, who recently said on his show that it is a “dirty little secret” that “every Republican in this country wants Obama to fail, but none of them have the guts to say so.” Later tonight, CPAC will award Rush their Defender of the Constitution Award.