2023 Conservative Action and Policy Summit

  

2023 Conservative Action and Policy Summit

Date	March 10–14, 2023
Venue	Fort Worth Convention Center
Location	Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria
Type	Political conference
Theme	Conservative electoral successes in Europe and Anglo-America Opposing Landonism and the United Commonwealth Opposing woke ideology and left-wing political extremism Returning civility to modern politics and political discourse
Organised by	Anglo-American Conservative Union (Brazorian branch)

The 2023 Conservative Action and Policy Summit was a political conference and the annual event of the Conservative Action and Policy Summit (CAPS), hosted by the Brazorian branch of the Anglo-American Conservative Union. It was held at the Forth Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Leon Province in Brazoria between March 10 and 14, 2023. The event featured and was headlined by several prominent conservative political leaders and elected heads of state and government. It is the second CAPS summit to be held in Brazoria after 2012.

The theme for CAPS 2023 was on conservative electoral successes in the Western world, mainly Anglo-America and Europe, in recent years and the idea of conservative governance. Opposing the United Commonwealth and its allies along with wider opposition towards Landonism as a whole was also a major theme as well in the wake of the Ba'athist victory in the Syrian Civil War in late 2022 and the ongoing Caribbean diplomatic crisis in the Americas. Other notable themes including opposing Leftist political radicalism, conserving Western culture and values against alleged woke ideology, and restoring civility to modern politics and political discourse.

The summit featured four incumbent heads of state and government, the most of any previous CAPS summit, as well as several conservative governors, politicians, party officials, and other prominent individuals. The summit was subject to controversy, mainly accusations of being informal rallies for the People's Party for the 2023 Brazorian general election and the re-election bid of Arian Lawrence in the Antilles. The inclusion of speakers who are accused of promoting far-right political views and conspiracy theories also caused controversy as well, both in Brazoria and abroad.

Background

CAPS 2023 was announced on September 17, 2022, by the Anglo-American Conservative Union, the main organization that organizes the yearly event. A vetting process was held throughout the rest of 2022 and ended in January 2023 in order to select a location for the event with Fort Worth in Leon, Brazoria ultimately winning as the main location for CAPS 2023 with the Fort Worth Convention Center being selected as the main venue. This would be the second time that Brazoria would be selected as a host location for CAPS after 2012. Forth Worth was chosen mainly for its large convention center as well as its status as the largest city in Brazoria with a conservative party mayor, Dianna Parker of the People's Party. Other possible locations included Duluth, Arrowhead in Superior, Salt Lake City in the Deseret, Kingdom of Sierra, and Boise in Pocatello, Astoria. Various political organizations and parties lobbied for the summit to be hosted in Brazoria in order to show solidarity with the country against the United Commonwealth and its allies and to support its conservative movement for the upcoming general election schedueled for August 8.

Conservative governance and electoral successes was selected as the first theme of the summit and was announced in December 2022. The theme was chosen due to conservative parties and politicians finding political success both in 2022 and in recent years with the victory of the Conservative Coalition of Superior in the federal election on January 2 and the re-election of Brendan Shepard of the National Democratic Party on September 3 being one of the main reasons. Solidarity with the Antilles against the United Commonwealth and Chattanooga Pact was also made a theme, albiet as part of the wider topic of anti-Landonism and opposing the United Commonwealth, as part of growing support for the Antilles within Anglo-American and European conservative movements including support for the country's president, Arian Lawrence.

Format

Panel hosts

Host		Position/notability	Location	Subject/theme
	David Blaire	Speaker of the Diet of Brazoria	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Conservative governance and electoralism
	Kristie Goh	Governor of Kings	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Limited government and civil governance
	William Sawyer	Chair of the Superian Conservative Union	Duluth, Arrowhead, Superior (livestreamed over Zoom)	Opposing Landonism, authoritarianism, and political radicalism
	Elaine Goodwin	Member of the House of Delegates of Superior from Nebraska	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Restoring civility to political discourse

Straw polls

In accordance with convention tradition, straw polls were conducted for CAPS 2023 in regards to the thoughts and views of Anglo-American conservatives in regards to certain issues and topics that were focused on at the conference. For 2023, the straw polls focused on what model of conservatism in Anglo-America is the most effective and should be replicated for other national movements, the best conservative head of state or government in Anglo-America and Europe, and top issues for conservatives to focus on. European conservatism was included for the first time due to the recent interest by the Anglo-American Conservative Union to host CAPS summits in Europe and gain support there.

The results of the straw polls were announced on the final day which showed Arian Lawrence of the Antilles winning as the best conservative head of state/government and the best conservative political leader with Brendan Shephard of Astoria coming in second place and Kenneth O'Conner of the Kingdom of Sierra coming in third place. Antillean conservatism won the straw poll on the most effective and best regional variant of Anglo-American conservatism while British conservatism won as the most effective form of conservatism in Europe. Straw polls on what the top issues for conservatives should be opposing wokeness topped as the number one main issue alongside opposing the United Commonwealth and its allies. Other issues included lowering taxes, stopping critical race theory and alleged discrimination against conservatives in education, opposing alleged "gender ideology", and immigration were other issues coming from second to fifth place respectively. The results of the straw polls garnered controversy and criticism in the media and online after being published.

Speakers

Day 1

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Topic
	Maxwell Goodman	Chair of the Anglo-American Conservative Union	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Opening statements and conservative electoral and political victories
	Ed Gonzales	Chancellor of Brazoria	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Accomplishments as chancellor and the need for common ground in politics
	Kenneth O'Conner	Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Royalist Party electoral victories and role in government
	Isaac Dillon	President of Superior	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Regaining power after a decade and political achievements
	Brendan Shepard	President of Astoria	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Governing under a divided government and opposing partisan gridlock
	Nicolas McCarty	President of Alaska	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Conservative achievements with bipartisanship despite a divided legislature
	Matthew McCarthy	Prime Minister of Manitoba	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Using your governing majority and providing refuge to political exiles
	Arian Lawrence	President of the United Commonwealth of America (Antilles)	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Antillean conservatism and opposing the United Commonwealth and its allies
	Clive Spencer	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom	London, England, United Kingdom (delivered video message)	Conservative ideology and successes in the United Kingdom and Europe
	Alexander Harper	Former President of Superior	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Closing statements and conservatism worldwide

Day 2

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Topic
	Carlitos Pacheco	Governor of the Inland Empire	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Opening statements and the role of governors
	Ben Loren	Governor of Nebraska	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	The importance of state/provincial rights
	Maria Salazar	Governor of Hispaniola	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	The benefits of federalism over unitary/central political authority
	Cory Grumann	Governor of Maricopa	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Provincial government and resisting interference from the federal government
File:Nemesis Heartwell official Prime Minister portrait.png	Nemesis Heartwell	Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sierra	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Preserving federalism and devolution in Sierra as prime minister
	Adam Cosgrove	Governor of Willamette	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Negative effects of centralized government and abuse of power
	Joe Brady	Co-President of the Constitutional Alliance in the Deseret	St. George, Iron, Deseret, Kingdom of Sierra (delivered video message)	Dangers of secularism and forced secularization in the Deseret
	Jeremy Cox	Minority Leader of the Astorian House of Representatives	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Conservative legislation and opposing leftist legislation
	Matthew DeSantis	K.S. Minister of Finance	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Fiscal conservatism and responsible fiscal policies
	Brian Walker	Secretary of Public Health and Welfare	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brezoria	Closing statements and the role of civility in proper and functioning governance

Day 3

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Topic
	Katherine Parker	Mayor of Fort Worth, Leon	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Opening statements and the dangers of Landonism, socialism, and other forms of communism
	Antonio Suarez	Former K.S. Senator from the Inland Empire	Fort Worth Convention Center, Forth Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Dangers of the United Commonwealth and Continental interference in Sierran elections
	Garrett Meade	Member of the K.S. House of Commons from the Inland Empire	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Threats to religious liberty and religious persecution under Landonist governments
	Donald Hartford	Secretary of the Treasury from Superior	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	How socialism and leftist policies cause economic failure
	Alejandro Carlo	Leader of the Spanish National Union	Madrid, Madrid Capital Community, Spain (delivered video message)	Oppression by the Spanish People's Republic during Landonist rule
	Francisco Ventura	Leader of the National League of Portugal	Lisbon, Lisbon Region, Portugal (delivered video message)	Anti-Landonism in Europe and the importance of the Lisbon Charter
	Alex Grisham	U.C. (Antillean) Senator from Hispaniola	Columbia City, Hispaniola, Antilles (delivered video message)	How left-wing radicalism spreads in modern and civil society
	Alexander Skarlatos	Astorian Army veteran of the Syrian Civil War	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	The dangers of a world order under non-Western and Landonist influence
	John W. Young	Mayor of Colorado Springs, Colorado	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Victims of Crimsonification under the Brazorian Confederation
	Miguel Inácio Dino	Leader of the Opposition in Brazil	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Closing statements and opposing Andean and Continental influence in the Caribbean and Latin America

Day 4

Speaker		Position/notability	Location	Topic
	Lauren Byrd	Former Astorian Senator from South Columbia	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Opening statements and the importance of civility in politics and discourse
	Henry Guilford	CEO of the Unchained Network	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Dangers of cancel culture and its effects on society and civil liberties
	George Barton	Former Governor of the Inland Empire	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	How modern leftist ideology and activism fuels division in society
	Chuck Stitt	Governor of Oklahoma	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Judeo-Christian values and faith in politics
	Preston Barton	Commissioned senator from the Inland Empire	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Ideological bias and discrimination against conservatives
	George Fontanelle	Conservative political commenator	Lisbon, Lisbon Region, Portugal (delivered video message)	Covert Landonist influence among contemporary politics and discourse
	Olivia Avery	President of the National Federation of Federalist Women	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	How modern feminism promotes political division among women and intolerance towards female conservatives
	Isabelle Huynh	K.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	How to respectfully disagree and make health relationships with people of opposing political beliefs
	Anna Cooper	Governor of Arrowhead	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Governing with respect for all sides of the political aisles
	Maxwell Goodman	Chair of the Anglo-American Conservative Union	Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Leon, Brazoria	Closing statements and straw poll results

Viewership and attendance

Protests and demonstrations

Like previous CAPS events, there were several protests and demonstrations against the convention in Fort Worth, the largest of which was held on the first day of the convention a few blocks away from the Fort Worth Convention Center and was organized by the Defend Democracy Project. Various left-leaning politicians in the Fort Worth area criticized the event and the Anglo-American Conservative Union, with Fort Worth mayor Fernando Ayala Schultz condemning the event as a "gathering of far-right extremists" and "anti-democratic forces". Schultz and other left-leaning members of the Fort Worth City Council also participated in the demonstration organized by the Defend Democracy Project.

On the third day of the event, members of the environmental group Mother Earth Initiative snuck into the convention center and attempted to organize a blockade of the center's main entrance. According to a statement on the group's Bubbler page, the blockade was organized in an attempt to prevent attendees from being exposed to "corporatist talking points" and condemned the Fort Worth city government for allowing the "anti-climate and pro-oil" Anglo-American Conservative Union to hold the convention in the city. The attempted blockade ultimately was unsuccessful; a secondary entrance was opened to allow attendees to enter without issues and security quickly dispersed and arrested the protestors.

Controversies

Inclusion of far-right activists and controversial figures

The 2023 CAPS event garnered significant criticism for the inclusion of various figures and activists considered controversial and extreme. According to the Alternative Report, a number of far-right activists and controversial figures attended the event, either through invitation or otherwise. The inclusion of Joe Brady, a Sierran anti-government activist with reported ties to various Sierran militia and domestic terrorist groups, as a keynote speaker attracted significant criticism, both from outsiders and attendees. Deputy Prime Minister Kenneth O'Conner publicly criticized the CAPS organizers for allowing a "domestic terrorist" a platform, while other Sierran conservatives at the event also criticized his attendance.

Italian-Antillean far-right political activist and strategist George Fontanelle, who has received international criticism for his involvement in various right wing movements across the globe, was originally slated to be a co-host of a panel on global conservatism. However, it was announced on March 1 that Fontanelle would not attend the convention due to scheduling conflicts and instead gave a pre-recorded video address, however it has been alleged by leaks that internal pushback by event organizers and invited guests and his participation in the 2023 Global Populist Conference was the primary reason for Fontanelle's absence.

The inclusion of various far-right activists and controversial figures prompted some center-right conservatives to organize a boycott of the event. This boycott, led by retired Antillean lieutenant general and 2024 Federalist presidential primary candidate William Ainsworth, called on the event organizers to disinvited "figures that damage the conservative movement" and Ainsworth alleged that he and other center-right conservatives were blacklisted from attending the event. In a statement made on February 28, AACU president Maxwell Goodman criticized the boycott and alleged that Ainsworth and "others like him" were pawns of the "liberal elite".

Booing and heckling

Like previous events, there were various instances of booing and heckling directed towards guests and speakers throughout the event. While booing and heckling is common at political events, particularly when unpopular figures are addressing crowds of an opposite viewpoint, the 2023 CAPS event had a record number of interruptions, according to RBS News.

During his address to the convention on the first day, Sierran Deputy Prime Minister Kenneth O'Conner was subjected to booing and heckling. When mentioning his success in negotiating the Cornflower coalition, O'Conner was faced with booing from the crowd. O'Conner responded by stressing the need for compromise in order to advance conservative ideals, but was again met with boos. Alaskan President Nicolas McCarty also experienced booing and heckling, though responded with a quip claiming it was tradition to boo him at CAPS, citing previous instances of heckling directed towards him at previous events. Controversial anti-government activist Joe Brady also experienced booing during his address.

Maxwell Goodwin, chair of the Anglo-American Conservative Union, denounced the booing and heckling on his social media accounts and threatened repeat hecklers with a permanent ban from attending future CAPS events.

See also

• 2023 Democratic Action Conference