Conservatives address socialism fears at Washington County conference

Conservative politicians and media personalities drew battle lines Saturday at an airplane hangar in Washington County.

“Donald Trump is the only thing standing in the way of socialism in this country,” said Sean Parnell, a Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb for the 17th Congressional District. “He fights for us, so it’s our turn to fight for him.”

Parnell was speaking to a crowd of more than 200 people at a Conservative Political Action Conference event at the Washington County Airport. The theme of the event was America vs. Socialism.

“The Democratic Party has strayed very far from its roots and embraced some very radical agenda items,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC.

Though best known for its yearly convention in Maryland, which this year featured President Trump as the guest of honor, CPAC also holds smaller regional events throughout the year.

“We put together a very ambitious schedule for 2020 because it was an election year, then covid happened,” ACU communications director Ian Walters said.

As a result, many tour stops were canceled or postponed. Saturday’s event was the second CPAC tour event this year, following a stop in Green Bay, Wis.

Southwestern Pennsylvania was an obvious choice, Walters said.

“Western Pennsylvania voters understand the impact they could have,” he said. “This whole election could come down to a handful of voters in this part of the state.”

Speakers included U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland, and “Diamond and Silk,” who make popular videos online supporting Trump.

Several speakers discussed the covid-19 pandemic.

Gordon Chang, a conservative columnist who has written extensively on China, accused the Chinese government of deliberately spreading the disease to other countries.

“This was not just murder. This was mass murder,” he said, citing coronavirus death statistics to the crowd, very few of whom were wearing masks.

Chang led the crowd in chants of “Defend America” and “Four more years.”

Washington County Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman got a standing ovation for condemning Gov. Tom Wolf’s coronavirus shutdown orders.

Parnell criticized Lamb for voting with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi about 90% of the time, and for receiving an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association.

Lamb’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment Saturday afternoon.

Parnell said a Democratic victory in 2020 would lead to “total government control.”

“I believe that this country stands on a very thin line between hope and darkness,” he said.