Southern GOP faithful meet in Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS, April 8 (UPI) -- Republican Party activists and donors from the South met in New Orleans Thursday for four days of strategy sessions on reclaiming Congress.

The Southern Republican Leadership Conference, an event held every four years, is the party's first major GOP gathering since President Barack Obama signed into law a healthcare reform bill that earned congressional approval without any Republican votes.

About 3,500 people are expected to attend the gathering that features some of the party's biggest names, including 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, embattled Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and possible future national candidates such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Thursday.

"What I would like to hear is that we're going to work to take our country back, and that we're going to be moving to elect conservative Republicans," Louisiana Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere said.

Political scientists suggested speakers use the event to test-drive the viability of party messages, particularly calls for repealing the healthcare law.

"It will be a good sounding board to test how strongly the movement to repeal the healthcare law really is," William Stewart, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama, told The Times-Picayune.