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(CNN) It's a rite of passage for most Republican presidential candidates.

On Thursday, GOP presidential hopefuls spoke at the Conservative Political Action Committee in Washington and the stakes couldn't be higher as they vie for a chance at the nominations.

It is essential for any Republican who is considering running for president to do very well on the CPAC stage.

It essentially turns into a great big interview for potential presidential contenders and that's what they came to do, to talk up and prove their conservative credentials in front of the most conservative part of the Republican Party.

All of the potential contenders who came out, they all one thing on their mind, Hillary Clinton.

Candidate after candidate came out and criticized Clinton from everything from the Clinton Foundation for accepting foreign money. Some even said her credentials on women's issues aren't' strong enough. They even criticized her for using too many hashtags on Twitter.

Here's just a taste of the Republican fire you can expect to see on the campaign trail against Clinton.

"Hillary Clinton embodies the corruption of Washington," Sen. Ted Cruz said.

"How do you beat Hillary Clinton?" Laura Ingram said.

"I think you make sure, very directly, that you talk about your different vision for the United States," NJ Gov. Chris Christie said. "Different than Obama/Clinton vision of the United States."

The rest is here:
Republican presidential hopefuls gather at CPAC

GIVE CREDIT to Joe DeFelice, the executive director of the city's Republican Party. With the blessing of the party chairman, state Rep. John Taylor, he is leading a youth movement within the GOP and has recruited a gaggle of under-40 candidates to run for City Council and mayor.

The move makes tactical sense, partly because it stands in sharp contrast to the Democratic organization's approach to recruiting candidates, which seems to require AARP membership before it will back you as a candidate. (The only bow to youth in the ruling party is when a ward leader's or elected official's son or daughter wants to run for office.)

But, this emphasis on youth also carries the scent of desperation. The Republican Party's numbers in the city have been declining for years, and something has to be done lest it totally sink from view.

In 1999, when then-Republican Sam Katz made a serious run for mayor, there were 198,000 registered Republicans in the city. Today, there are 119,000.

On the surface, those are dismal numbers. Dig a little deeper, though, and the picture is even worse.

In reality, there are only 81,000 Republicans who are active voters - meaning they have voted at least once in the past five years. The other 38,000 haven't shown up at the polls for years.

Then there is geography. In effect, the party has ceased to exist as a citywide entity. About one in four Republicans are clustered in four wards in the Far Northeast (Wards 58, 63, 64 and 66).

It's all downhill from there. Only 11 percent of active voters are Republican and there are wards - mostly in African-American areas - where the number drops to 2 percent. For instance, of the 14,779 active voters in the 10th Ward, which is centered in West Oak Lane, only 237 are Republican.

There are 15 wards in the city where active Republicans number 300 or less. (No wonder there were divisions in Philadelphia where Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney got zero votes in 2012.)

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Ferrick: Republicans an endangered species in Philly

The American Action Network's move counters a push by House conservatives to reject anything that doesn't also unravel President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions -- further elevating an internal squabble that has so far played out on Capitol Hill, and giving House Speaker John Boehner cover on his right flank.

READ: Boehner expected to allow vote on clean DHS bill

The group is targeting three conservative hard-liners -- Reps. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jim Bridenstine of Oklahoma -- with 30-second spots that feature terrorists with guns, as ominous music plays and the narrator warns of the impact of a DHS shutdown.

Jordan is the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, while Huelskamp has long criticized Boehner's tactics and Bridenstine opposed the one-week DHS funding measure that ultimately passed.

RELATED: Speakership in play? Boehner peers over DHS cliff

It's also airing radio ads this week on the shows of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, with telephone operators placing calls into 50 more congressional districts and online ads targeting nine more Republican members of Congress.

"It's important that Congress funds national security programs that keep America safe," said American Action Network's President Mike Shields. "Conservatives nationwide support keeping Homeland Security open and funding programs like enhanced cyber-security and fully enforcing the U.S.-Mexico border. It's important voters hear the facts about Homeland Security and call Congress to support crucial national security funding."

CNN's Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

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Republican group's ads target conservatives, give Boehner cover

Republican Congressman: We Must Pass A Clean Homeland Security Bill

By: SenateDemocrats

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Republican Congressman: We Must Pass A Clean Homeland Security Bill - Video

Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) The Federal Reserve will likely become a political football in the upcoming Republican presidential primary, said former U.S. Representative Barney Frank on Monday.

For the first time in a long time, the Fed is going to be an issue in a Republican nominating contest, Frank said at an event sponsored by The Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings.

Republicans are split into two camps over the Fed, he said.

The more traditional mainstream conservative business wing of the Republican Party has always championed the Fed, while the more energized Tea Party wing is profoundly skeptical about the U.S. central bank, he said.

The Fed is an issue that divides the two main factions in the Republican Party, Frank said.

Frank said Tea Party Republicans want the Fed to have a single anti-inflation mandate, dropping the focus on economic growth.

Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said at the same panel that dropping the dual mandate might impact policy.

Frank, the former chairman of the House Financial Services panel, loved to be a thorn in the side of Republicans and to some extent his comments could be viewed in that light.

But Frank was able to work with Republicans. He called former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the Republican of Texas and a chief Fed critic the most genuine man of integrity around.

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The Fed: Fed will be political football in Republican primary: Frank