It was a bipartisan bashing that brought the rowdy crowd to its feet repeatedly. The former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate referred to herself as a “hockey mom from Wasilla” and she let her own political party have it, targeting renowned GOP consultant Karl Rove, who is considered the architect of President George W. Bush’s many political victories.

Rove recently said Republicans need to choose candidates who are more “electable” and less ideologically contentious. Palin fired back in front of the CPAC crowd, which consisted largely of young college students: “The last thing we need is Washington, D.C., vetting our candidates. The architects can head on back to the great Lone Star state and put their names on some ballot.”

She did save the best for President Obama, however, saying that true leadership means “ending the poisonous practice of treating members of different social, ethnic and religious groups as different electorates, pandered to with different promises.” If all men are created equal, as the Declaration of Independence states, Palin said, then there are “no Hispanic issues or African-American issues or women’s issues — there are only American issues.”

Palin said that calling Obama a good politician is like describing convicted Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernard Madoff as “a good salesman.” The difference is “the president is using our money.” She also attacked the president’s failed promise to have the most open administration in history. “Barack Obama promised the most transparent administration ever. Barack Obama, you lied,” Palin said.

When Palin ducked under the podium to retrieve a Big Gulp cup filled with soda the crowd went wild. She sucked on the straw then said: “Oh, Bloomberg’s not around, our Big Gulp’s safe.” Then she said; “Shoot, it’s just pop with low-cal ice cubes in it. I hope that’s OK.” The skit was meant to poke fun at New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s call to ban oversized sodas.

It was a fun way to end the three-day conference that mostly featured the typically boring speeches by a variety of politicians, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Texas Governor Rick Perry and Texas’s new Cuban-American Senator Ted Cruz. At a gala dinner on Friday night, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush delivered a mostly uneventful speech after the Oak Ridge Boys rocked the place with their most popular hits.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, best known for taking on the unions and beating a union-driven recall campaign, also delivered a fiery speech on the last day of CPAC, though Palin was by far the most entertaining. Entitlement reform, Walker said, should be cast as “moving people from government dependence to true independence.”

An afternoon panel featuring a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and renowned conservative journalists addressed the Benghazi terrorist attack in which a group of heavily armed Islamist militia members assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi Libya. Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were murdered in the eight-hour assault, marking the first time since 1979 that a U.S. ambassador is killed in the line of duty.

“Maybe someone, someday will come up with the right questions to ask about Benghazi, and maybe we will get the right answers,” said the moderator of Thursday’s panel at CPAC, former Congressman Ernest Istook.

While the discussion was certainly interesting, it didn’t begin to cover what Judicial Watch has already exposed. JW is far and away the leading organization investigating Benghazi and the Obama administration’s actions before, during, and after the assault, as well as the State Department’s commitment to protect overseas diplomats.

Judicial Watch has filed a dozen public-records requests with various federal agencies involving the tragedy and JW lawyers are in court to compel the government to produce records. Back in January, JW published a special report featuring an in-depth analysis of Benghazi conducted by former State Department Security Special Agent Raymond Fournier.

The report examines the critical time period leading up to the Benghazi attack, when repeated requests for increased security were shunned by top State Department officials. It also looks at the Obama administration’s official claim that “an obscure Internet video” triggered the attacks, as well as apparently false claims that four top State Department officials had resigned in response to the Department’s December 18 Accountability Review Board report on the attack. It also raises questions as to the internal problems within the Department that may continue to leave overseas diplomats without adequate security.

In short, Judicial Watch’s special Benghazi report concludes that the attack resulted from a wide range of strategic and tactical failures by State Department officials. Chief among them was the fateful decision to circumvent established security regulations by designating the diplomatic post in Benghazi a ‘Special Mission Compound,’ ignoring repeated requests for additional security resources by Diplomatic Security personnel on the ground and entrusting the security of the SMC [Special Mission Compound] to a local militia group with suspected ties to radical Islamists.

As Special Agent Fournier notes in his assessment of the tragedy, there were also long-standing cultural problems within the Department of State that hinder the ability of Diplomatic Security agents to adequately protect our diplomats overseas.

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announces its participation as a major sponsor of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), March 14-16, 2013, at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD.  Judicial Watch is, for the second year in a row, sponsoring the conference’s main event, the Ronald Reagan Dinner on Friday evening, which will feature a presentation by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and remarks by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.  Other major Judicial Watch CPAC activities include the Washington, DC, premier of the Judicial Watch documentary “District of Corruption” and an educational panel focused upon today’s “Hot Issues.”

The following are details of Judicial Watch’s CPAC 2013 activities:

• Thursday, March 14, 12 noon – 2 pm, National Harbor 5: the Washington, DC, premier of the Judicial Watch documentary “District of Corruption.” A brief panel discussion featuring the film’s director, Stephen K. Bannon; Peter Schweizer, William J. Casey Fellow of the Hoover Institution; David Webb, Radio Host; Matthew Boyle and Kerry Picket, Investigative Reporters for Breitbart.com; and Katie Pavlich, News Editor at TownHall.com will commence directly after the screening.

• Thursday, March 14, 3:45 pm, Potomac Ballroom:  Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton will address the CPAC gathering.

• Thursday, March 14, 4:30 – 5 pm, CPAC 2013 Bookstore: Tom Fitton will be signing copies of his New York Times best-seller “The Corruption Chronicles.”

• Friday, March 15, 10:30 am – 12 noon, National Harbor 2:  a “Hot Issues” panel discussion regarding election integrity; immigration and the rule of law; Washington, DC, corruption; and the perils to the Constitution from an imperial presidency. Moderated by Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, speakers for this event include J. Christian Adams, Founder, Election Law Center; Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies; Joel Pollak, Editor in Chief for Breitbart.com; and Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute.

• Friday, March 15, 7:30 pm, Potomac Ballroom:  Judicial Watch sponsors the premiere event at CPAC:  the Ronald Reagan Dinner.  Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is the scheduled keynoter for this special evening.

“Judicial Watch is proud to stand with thousands of other conservatives at CPAC seeking to expose and stop government corruption.  Judicial Watch is the largest and most active government watchdog in the nation.  Through our major sponsorship of CPAC, we look forward to educating American grassroots about the bipartisan corruption enveloping our nation’s capital.  Judicial Watch’s message of reform and accountability has added resonance in this age of increasing government corruption and lawlessness,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

About CPAC: Taking place each year, CPAC brings together nearly 10,000 attendees and all of the leading conservative organizations and speakers impacting conservative thought in the nation. Regularly seen on C-SPAN and other national news networks, CPAC has been the premiere event for any major elected official or public personality seeking to discuss issues of the day with conservatives. From presidents of the United States to college student leaders, CPAC has become the place to find our nation’s current and future leaders.

About Judicial Watch Inc.: Judicial Watch is a conservative, nonpartisan educational foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. Through its educational endeavors, Judicial Watch advocates high standards of ethics and morality in our nation’s public life and seeks to ensure that political and judicial officials do not abuse the powers entrusted to them by the American people. The motto of Judicial Watch is “Because no one is above the law!” To this end, Judicial Watch uses the open records or freedom of information laws and other tools to investigate and uncover misconduct by government officials and litigation to hold to account politicians and public officials who engage in corrupt activities.  Judicial Watch does not endorse or oppose candidates for public office.

They all took turns bashing President Barack Obama and, like good politicians, vowed to make huge changes if they get elected to the White House. Attendees at the three-day conference heard from Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Their respective messages, delivered in the main ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, were not all that different.

Bolton’s was. On Saturday morning the former George W. Bush diplomat distinguished himself by focusing on foreign policy and emphasizing that Obama’s attempt to court the Muslim Brotherhood could lead to an Islamic dictatorship in Egypt. The president’s approach is “hesitant, inconsistent, confused and just plain wrong,” Bolton said.

He added that National Intelligence Director James Clapper’s recent statement that the Muslim Brotherhood is “largely secular” was the “single most foolish statement any American Intelligence official has ever made.” This earned loud applause, chuckles and sporadic whistling. So did this comment: “I don’t think the president cares much about foreign affairs. We need focused attention on these critical national security issues.”

Bolton also criticized defense cuts, the administration’s policies towards China, Czechoslovakia and Iran. He emphasized that American strength is not provocative to its enemies, but rather American weakness is provocative to its enemies. “This administration specializes in this,” Bolton said, adding that “our desire to protect ourselves is not provocative.” He emphasized that this is especially true when it comes to terrorism.

One comment in particular brought the house down before Bolton left the stage. “Obama claims he killed Osama bin Laden when it was ten years in the making. Obama just got out of the way.”

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Florida Governor Rick Scott also took the stage on Saturday and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivered the keynote address after strolling through the lobby with an entourage. It was a crazy scene in which security had to create a path so Palin could get through the mobs of people that quickly surrounded her. The former vice presidential candidate bailed on CPAC at the last minute in 2011 and was abruptly replaced by Florida Congressman Allen West.

Security was extra tight at this year’s event, with a strong Secret Service and local police presence. Outside the conference headquarters Occupy D.C. activists, community groups and union supporters staged boisterous protests. On Saturday they braved the snow to demonstrate and hold signs. Some admitted they were paid as much as $60 to storm the conference and disrupt certain key presentations.

Joined on stage by his wife and children, the former Pennsylvania senator earned various standing ovations from the pumped-up, capacity crowd at the event’s main ballroom. He presented himself as the true conservative in the race and, like the other two candidates who spoke at CPAC on Friday, trashed Obamacare, saying a mission to overturn it motivated him to run for president.

A few hours later Mitt Romney received his biggest applause about half way into his 25-minute speech, when he got around to trashing Obamacare. Otherwise, the former Massachusetts governor received a much colder reception from the crowd than Santorum or Newt Gingrich, who took the stage last. “I will eliminate Obamacare,” Romney said. It’s the only time the crowd cheered loudly and stood up in approval.

About an hour later Gingrich earned waves of applause with many of his witty one-liners, mostly trashing the Obama Administration. The boisterous crowd often broke out chanting “Newt, Newt, Newt” as he revealed his plans for fixing a broken government. “My first executive order is to abolish all White House czars,” he said over thunderous clapping. Gingrich also said that among his first goals as commander-in-chief is to repeal Obamacare.

Speaking of Obama’s hostile takeover of the nation’s healthcare system, Judicial Watch held an informative panel on the subject in the main ballroom following Romney’s speech. “Obamacare is an unprecedented power grab,” said JW President Tom Fitton before introducing the panel of experts that discussed how the measure is unconstitutional.

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, who bailed on CPAC at the last minute in 2011, will wrap the conference up with a Saturday afternoon speech. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Florida Governor Rick Scott will also speak at different times throughout the day. Among the more interesting seminars on the final day appears to be one that addresses state versus federal law involving illegal immigration.

“Unlike any leader in modern American history, we are led today by a president that has decided to pit Americans against each other,” Rubio said. “The basic argument he is making to our nation is that the reason why some of us are worse off than we used to be is because other people are doing too well. That the only way for some of us to do better is for some people to do worse.”

The popular Cuban-American lawmaker avoided the hot-button political topic of immigration, though an anonymous flyer circulated around the conference insinuating that Rubio is soft on illegal immigration. It read: “Senator Marco Rubio, elected to the Senate with strong conservative support, gave a keynote speech at the Hispanic Leadership Network Conference in Miami on 1/27/2012, in which he made a number of statements, raising questions about whether he’s distancing himself from his previous opposition to amnesty for illegals.”

Three one-time Republican presidential candidates—Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain—also delivered speeches on the first day. Perry, the governor of Texas, said his presidential campaign just ran out of time. Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, said running for president is “one series of humiliations after another.” Cain, a businessman, said “gutter politics” and putting “family first” led him to drop out of the race. On Friday three presidential candidates—Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich—will headline the conference.

Among the more interesting CPAC seminars Thursday was a panel dedicated to the dangerous resurgence of socialism in Latin America. Otto Reich, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, warned that the type of socialism spreading throughout Latin America is a more pernicious Marxist style than in Europe.

“Latin America is the soft underbelly of the United States,” said Reich, who also served as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela. He noted that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has granted Iran access to the hemisphere while also supporting Marxist guerillas. “I’m concerned about the covert actions and alliance between Iran and Chavez,” Reich said.

Security is heightened at the three-day conference in the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, with a strong Secret Service presence and special canine units throughout the premises. Judicial Watch will hold a special panel in the main ballroom Friday afternoon on the unconstitutionality of Obamacare.