Romney Entering Conservatives Lion's Den at CPAC

Mitt Romney ventures into conservative lion's den at CPAC

By Josh Lederman, The Hill - 02/09/12 05:15 AM ET

Mitt Romney is headed into the conservative lion’s den just as concerns about his appeal to the Republican Party’s right flank are reaching a fever pitch.

Romney’s address on Friday before the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) comes days after a triple-whammy defeat by Rick Santorum, a self-described “conservative firebrand” who speaks fluently the language of the GOP’s evangelical base.

When Romney speaks at CPAC — two hours after Santorum addresses the same crowd — he faces a tough task: He must assuage doubts that he’s a bona fide conservative with broad appeal among the Republican base, without tacking so far to the right that he appears disingenuous or hands President Obama attack lines to use against him in a general election.

In the audience will be a high-octane crowd of party insiders, many of whom are deeply suspicious of the former governor of Massachusetts, whose state has legalized gay marriage, and passed healthcare reform strikingly similar to that of Obama while Romney was governor. And, as his GOP rivals love to point out, he was for abortion rights before he was against them.

Former presidential candidate Michele Bachmann gives her take on CPAC: