This year's CPAC promises to be a wild ride of off-the-wall bonkers

The annual Conservative Political Action Conference, known as  CPAC, kicked off Thursday outside Washington, D.C. Here is a sampling of the many speakers on tap at this year’s gathering of right-wing operatives and officials: 

• Embarrassment to brain surgeons everywhere Ben Carson will be there.

• Willfully ignorant Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.

• Right-wing troll Tulsi Gabbard.

• The transparently corrupt former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

• MyPillow guy Mike Lindell is still hanging around.

• Ethical nightmare Rep. Matt Gaetz will be speaking.

• And Republican Party standard-bearer Donald Trump will close out the festivities on Saturday.

Whether it's giving the GOP faithful access to far-right nationalist Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and his race-purity politics or right-wingers telling audiences that Democrats threatened to steal their grandparents' insulin, CPAC has always been a safe space for extremists. Even before the official events began Thursday, a very unsurprising video of Jan. 6 insurrection deniers chanting about “J6” political prisoners inside the conference halls circulated on social media. 

How unsurprising is this tomfoolery? Here’s a Jan 6.-themed pinball machine on display at the conference this year.