The Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to the Majority conference is underway in Florida.
A number of speakers have already taken the stage. Most noted was Former Vice President Mike Pence. And if it was a litmus test for how the former vice president is received by the party's base, it certainly was not a pass with flying colors.
Some 3,000 people were expected at the conference and though the majority of the audience seemed receptive, there are obviously Trump loyalists who are holding a grudge against Pence dating back to when he presided over the certification of the presidential election.
Though an atmosphere of praise and worship was set at the beginning of the day on Friday, when Pence took to the stage it shifted. A few hecklers were escorted out as the former Vice President continued with his speech in which he touched on a number of issues including the highly controversial critical race theory Republicans are rallying against.
"Critical race theory teaches children as young as kindergarten to be ashamed of their skin color," Pence said. "Critical race theory is racism and it should be rejected by Americans of every race."
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Pence also addressed the problem at the southern border.
"And yes it's past time for our current Vice President to go to the border, put our policies back into effect and end the Biden border crisis today," Pence said.
The former VP decried America's stance in the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"President Biden replaced strength with weakness, moral clarity with confusion and loyalty with betrayal," Pence said. "If the world knows nothing else, let the world know this: America stands with Israel."
Former President Trump will not appear at the conference, something Faith and Freedom Coalition head Ralph Reed talked about on CBN News's Faith Nation program this week.
"Former President Trump has spoken six times at 'Road To The Majority," Reed said. "Three times as a private citizen or candidate and three times as president. We look forward to having him in the future and he was invited and he's always welcome."
Some hardly considered Pence to be a consolation. Beyond the heckling, there are comments like this one on Faith and Freedom's Facebook page:
"Pence speaking. Seriously!!! Most Christ Believing Patriots consider him a Benedict Arnold to our party and the cause of Righteousness and Justice in this land. You surprise me."
Still, Pence pushed on trying to galvanize the base looking forward to midterm elections and ultimately 2024.
"The time is now for freedom-loving patriots here and across the nation to stand together and unite behind our proven agenda and win America back."
Pence also said we don't need to defund the police but defend the police.
Other notables who appeared on Friday included Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Rick Scott and Lindsey Graham.
On Saturday, the conference will hear from Florida Governor Rick DeSantis who is widely considered to be a rock star in the Republican Party.
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