WASHINGTON (Reuters) – This is a golden era for political consultants – well, except for those Republicans still smarting from the November elections.

But Americans’ political tastes tend to run in cycles, so there is always a mix of hope and wariness when consultants at both ends of the ideological spectrum gather, as they did in Washington last week, to toast the profession’s top operatives.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Republican proposal to move up the date of the party’s presidential nominating convention to early summer in 2016 – instead of the end of August – could trigger a similar move by Democrats, officials in that party said on Wednesday.

Seeking to avoid a repeat of the nasty primary race that damaged eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney last year, the Republican National Committee (RNC) said in a report this week that it might shorten its primary season for the next presidential election.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative activists picked Senator Rand Paul on Saturday as their preferred presidential nominee for 2016, in an early but often unreliable snapshot of the Republican Party’s base.

The Kentucky lawmaker, whose father, former U.S. Representative Ron Paul, ran for president three times, topped the annual straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative activists picked Senator Rand Paul on Saturday as their preferred presidential nominee for 2016, in an early but often unreliable snapshot of the Republican Party’s base.

The Kentucky lawmaker, whose father, former U.S. Representative Ron Paul, ran for president three times, topped the annual straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

OXON HILL, Maryland (Reuters) – At a gathering for conservatives to plot their future, there was a stark reminder of the past on Friday as failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney made his first public speech since election night.

“I am sorry that I won’t be your president,” Romney told the audience of the Conservative Political Action Conference, “but I will be your co-worker and I will stand shoulder to shoulder beside you.”

OXON HILL, Maryland (Reuters) – The Republican Party heard contrasting messages on Thursday about how to recover from last year’s election defeats as two possible contenders for the next presidential campaign in 2016 brandished their conservative credentials.

Addressing a high-profile conference of party activists, Florida Senator Marco Rubio laid out a traditional social conservative agenda and criticized same-sex marriage.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Four months after suffering a bruising loss in the presidential campaign, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists will meet Thursday for a three-day conclave which will lay bare the many contradictions of a party in search of its identity.

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), organized by the 49-year-old advocacy group American Conservative Union, convenes in Washington as a showcase for the Republican Party’s future and an opportunity to air grievances about the party’s past.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – On Wednesday, some of President Barack Obama’s most dedicated donors will fly to Washington and pony up $50,000 to attend a fundraiser for Organizing for Action, a progressive new kid on the block trying to counter the likes of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers.

Obama will give a speech to the group, an independent non-profit that is trying to use the data, know-how, and connections of the president’s campaign to improve the chances of passing new gun laws and immigration reform.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A new fundraising group allied with President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that it will not accept corporate donations and will release the names of donors who give more than $250.

The announcement by Organizing for Action, a nonprofit group formed by former Obama advisers, comes amid criticism from Republicans, government watchdog groups and others that the group could be used not just to advocate for Obama’s agenda, but also to sell access to the Democratic president.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The most popular Republican governor in the United States has not been invited to the country’s most important gathering for conservative activists, a source familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

As things stand, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a brash politician who clocked a 74-percent approval rating from state residents in a recent Quinnipiac poll, will not be among dozens of officeholders to address the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington next month, the source said.