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ABC News reports:
Some conservatives who are already upset that this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference will include a right-leaning organization that promotes gay rights grew even more concerned this weekend when Sarah Palin suggested that she, too, supports the group.
“Should conservatives not reach out to others, not participate in events or forums that perhaps arising within those forums are issues that maybe we don’t personally agree with? And I say no,” Palin told the Christian Broadcasting Network’s David Brody who asked the former Alaska governor to weigh in on the presence of GOProud, an organization that stands for conservative values and gay rights, at the CPAC conference.
Palin added, “I look at participation in an event like CPAC or any other event along kind of in that same vein as the more information that people have the better.”
Her remarks did not sit well with American Principles Project president Frank Cannon. His group was one of the first to call on supporters to boycott this year’s CPAC conference, one of the largest annual gatherings of conservatives in the country, over GOProud’s involvement.
“The concern of conservatives is over the participation of a group whose stated goals run at odds with that of core conservative principles, not over debate over those issues,” said Cannon said in a statement on Monday. “Governor Palin should clarify her comments by letting us know whether in her definition, traditional marriage is a core component of conservatism.”
“Certainly Governor Palin would not be in favor of allowing a socialist group to be a participating organization (i.e. co-sponsor of CPAC) in the name of healthy debate,” he added.
Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, emphasized in a recent interview with ABC News that “organizations across the spectrum in the conservative movement” will be represented at CPAC, which is expected to draw 10,000 activists to Washington, DC.
For the fourth year in a row, Palin declined an invitation to address the conference. CPAC organizers had hoped to book her in a coveted keynote speaking role this Saturday — the final day of the three-day event.
In this weekend’s interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Palin said her absence came down to “a matter of time.”
Much like her stance on GOProud, Palin has left her views on the broader question of gay rights open to interpretation.
Shorter Palin. I am OK with teh Ghey but I am not going to sit anywhere near them!
So I’m not going.
Yes, it’s THE point: Miss Wasilla has skipped the last 3 CPACs, turning down the key note for two of them. Aside from capturing the cult, why do conservatives care at all what she says about which groups are appropriate attendees for the conference?
So much for a Palin-free February
it sort of makes sense. the only thing that makes the est. GOP more uncomfortable than teh gays is Palin.
Whatever Palin’s flaws as a public figure– and I certainly don’t need to enumerate them for anyone on this forum– this is, clearly, not one of them. Good for her.
And how on earth does Frank Cannon conceive of GOProud as a socialist organization? Would anyone here characterize the political ideas of (say) Alex Knepper as being even remotely socialist? This is just stupid. I hope the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies Cannon’s outfit as a hate group.
WAState:
I find the lady to be laughably incompetent as a public leader, but I agree with your recognition that she’s being fair here. She hasn’t done much praise-worthy in a long time, but indeed we should honest and give her points for being open minded on this ONE issue.
It says a lot about the difference between Democrats and Republicans that it’s a big deal that a gay group is even allowed on the property at a right-wing conference. Maybe in another 20 years they’ll actually drop the gay-bashing!
Just curious…is she clear about gays marrying or not? What is her stand on this issue, since she has one on every other cultural issue.
Just listened to her harangue about Obama and Egypt. With every word, she makes herself out to be the parody that she is. She cannot articulate a clear, concise and detailed stance on ANYTHING, but has a stockpile of sound bites that sound good to her constituents who don’t demand anything from her except winks and anti-Obama insults. She just alluded to Obama having some conspiracy gathering about Egypt, which feeds her conspiracy (Obama is a terrorist) fan club which she initiated from the get-go.
She’s a big zero. Now and always.
annie,
her stand on gay marriage can’t be any more conservative than than either the president or hillary or joe…so i guess they are zeros too?
How in the heck is the issue of same-sex marriage related to POLITICAL Conservativism? Sure, its a social Conservative position . . . and not drawing to an inside straight is a tenet of poker conservativism. Doesn’t make it a core tenet of political conservativsm.
I understand Social Cons can’t distinguish between different aspects of their life and all . . . but jeez!
busboy,
the family unit is the fundamental building block of a society and a cultural. on a somewhat related note if america build a culture that supports and encourages strong families they would away without about 75% of their “fiscal” problems. a “fiscal” problem is where the state tries to take the place of the family and individuals
Funny . . . I thought it was people.
You’re thinking of soylent green.
“the family unit is the fundamental building block of a society and a cultural.”
Indeed. This is why I look to Rush Limbaugh as my inspiration when it comes to family values. My wife and I have been happily and faithfully married for 20 years, but I do hope some day to aspire to his three divorces. Maybe I can find my way to an oxycontin addiction along the way as well.
challening: I know what Obama thinks about gay marriage. I don’t know what she thinks. Do you? I’m asking. If she is going to take a stand, then take it. Either/or. I’m sick of her throwing bromides out there without actually delineating what she stands for.
It’s well and good (to my mind anyway) that she feels gays should be represented in the GOP. I have no call on that however, since I’m not a Republican and it is not an issue for me, as I support both gays as full fledged Americans with full rights and gay marriage. Yes, that means I am at odds with Obama on that issue.
Certainly all that ‘leftist’ name-calling on the right against Obama is over the top, because his beliefs do not jibe with most Democrats on this issue. But we know where he stands and he must support his belief in why or why not.
palin’s entire persona is anti-Obama. If she feels however, the gays should be represented at a conservative gathering, then she should go there and stand up for her beliefs. And it still doesn’t explain her stance on whether or not gays should marry.
Let’s not also forget that Palin, in addition to this latest pro-gay gesture, also re-tweeted a tweet from Tammy Bruce lauding the repeal of DADT.
I have no idea whether Palin’s (apparent) tolerance of gays is sincere; given her propensity to lie even about the most seemingly inconsequential things, I’d say most likely it isn’t. Recall the heat she took during the 2008 general election for her church’s involvment in the Ex-Gay Movement, and you might argue that her tolerance is simply a manouver meant to diffuse the issue and avoid it in a potential race against Obama.
But even if she’s being disingenuous here, don’t forget the near-magnetic pull she has on her cult worshippers. If they see her talking and acting in ways that suggest gays are cool, then they may very well embrace gay tolerance– especially the younger evangelicals among her fan base.
talking,
oh my goodness..are you people really this shallow..if given the choice between either falling short of an ideal or dedicating my life to to the wholesale promotion of the opposite, I think the former is the least offensive! republicans fall short but atleast they aren’t dedicated to promoting the opposite ….or as Jesus says…the worst are those that led the innocent to stray.
on a separate note….why is it that the more opinionated commenters on this website are the most likely to confuse snark with wit.
sorry…but if Pain is straining to be presidential material, we would all like to know what she thinks about the issues, and not just anti-Obama and anti-Michelle Obama insults.
Is she for or against gay marriage? Since the GOP is in a pretzel over this one, it is incumbent upon her to state her pro or con stance and why she is taking it. As usual, however, Palin stands on the edge. Much easier to stay there since it is harder for any journalist to ask her pointed questions.
Also I have read that while governor she opted to oppose gay rights . If anyone can correct that, let’s hear it. If she’s outgrown that stance, let’s hear her on it.
annie,
gop is not in a pretzel on gay marriage…in fact the country isn’t in a pretzel…every time the public has voted on creating a new marriage they have voted it down… 3o times in a row…they even voted out the iowa supreme court justices who supported it…you don’t get more reactionary than that.
americans also haven’t created a right for bisexuals to love and affirm each other and themselves by creating a third type of marriage which respects the fact that a person can be attracted to multiple partners
palin isn’t running for president…can we ask the current president pointed questions….like you’ve spent an additional 1 Trillion in fiscal policy and 2 Trillion in Monetary policy….when is unemployment going to be under 8%?
“CPAC” is kind of a misnomer anymore.
More properly, it should be RRPAC. Or SoCPAC. But, whatever.
I much prefer reading Palin’s word salads to hearing them.
This way, I can grab a cup of tea and, in my [often unsuccessful] hunt for a coherent message, re-re-re-read at my leisure.
Palin doesn’t mind GOProud because they are not, in fact, a gay rights advocacy org– they’re a hard-right conservative org of gays. They’ve a boilerplate conservative agenda:
http://www.goproud.org.php5-12.dfw1-2.websitetestlink.com/federal-legislative-priorities/
In terms of LGBT rights, their single pro-rights stance is that they are against a Constitutional marriage amendment. (That’s pretty safe ground to stand on, given the astronomical odds against any such amendment ever passing.)
Unlike Log Cabin Republicans, GOProud is not an advocate for equal LGBT rights.
There’s virtually no air between GOProud’s priorities and any other hard right con org.
I have to assume that Cannon–along with the rest of the Falwell acolytes–are aware of this. Which makes all of this drama that much more deliciously amusing: they’re simply reacting to the ickyness factor of “sinful” sex.
By the way, I could’ve sworn that GOProud is a co-sponsor of CPAC.
Yet, they’re not listed on CPAC’s Sponsors page. They are listed on the Participating Orgs page.
Speaking of CPAC’s Participating Orgs …
60 Plus Association (emphasis mine)
“Founded in 1992, the 60 Plus Association is a non-partisan seniors advocacy group with a free enterprise, less government, less taxes approach to seniors issues. 60 Plus has set ending the federal estate tax and saving Social Security for the young as its top priorities. 60 Plus is often viewed as the conservative alternative to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).”
Can’t make this s**t up.
But wait. They have competition …
AMAC – Association of Mature Americans
“For many years, there was only one senior organization.
Today, The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) is here to protect your interests, and to offer an alternative perspective on how to best solve the problems seniors face today … AMAC is not afraid to say we still believe in God and Country.”
They’ve also got insurance (sorry, no health– just home & auto), lodging, and car rental discounts. I wonder how their membership numbers compare to 60 Plus? I wonder if both, added together, come anywhere close to the bargaining and lobbying power of AARP? Free market power, baby.
American Civil Rights Union (Sounds so familiar …)
“The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) is dedicated to protecting the civil rights of all Americans by publicly advancing a Constitutional understanding of our essential rights and freedoms … The ACRU is committed to ensuring that those who believe in traditional moral values, such as the Boy Scouts of America, remain free to hold, express, teach and practice those beliefs … That it is the purpose of government to secure our God-given rights, not to restrict them, nor to invent new rights.”
Invent new rights?
Strictly speaking, all post-Constitutional civil rights that, by necessity, are specifically recognized by either amendment or legislation are “invented”. Women’s voting rights were unquestionably an invention.
Bank of Kev Productions
Evidently, Kev is unveiling itself at CPAC. I’m on the edge of my seat.
Hasan Family Foundation and Muslims for America
Unlike every other org on CPAC’s list of Participants, they’re listed sans hyperlink. Not surprising, given RedState’s hyperparanoid take: http://www.redstate.com/aglanon/2011/02/07/the-muslim-brotherhood-and-the-acu/
“This is about the influence of radical Islam over the organization that puts CPAC together, the American Conservative Union’s (ACU) board of directors. Unfortunately, it has become apparent that there are Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers, apologists, and fundamentalists sponsoring and speaking at [CPAC] this weekend.”
Grover Norquist, btw, is on the ACU Board. If this kind of ideological infighting within the GOP’s own ranks doesn’t scream insanity, I don’t know what does.
Poker Players Alliance
Because “Poker is not a crime: join the fight”
More stuff that’s impossible to make up. Or not laugh at.
ProEnglish
“[Defending] English’s historic role as America’s common, unifying language, and to persuade lawmakers to adopt English as the official language at all levels of government.”
Never heard of them. Evidently they’re doing a great job of carrying the GOP’s “limited government” torch, while forgetting that even England hasn’t legislatively mandated English as its official language.
…………………….
I would have included more links, but any more than two and my comment is automatically thrown into moderation limbo.
I certainly not opposed to homosexuals attending CPAC just as I am not opposed to people who struggle with pride, envy, gluttony, lust, avarice etc. We all have flaws. It’s whether we accept the flaws as such and work to overcome them or whether we give into them and declare them some sort of special unique gift. At the heart of conservatism is the recognition that human nature is a constant individual struggle to live a moral life. So, not knowing anything about whether GOProud is actually sponsoring or has some special seat at the speakers’ table I have nothing more to add, except this: if there is a GOProud speaker what possibly could such a speaker add to the debate that is somehow unique to the fact of the immorality of homosexual conduct other than to support efforts to protect traditional marriage?
“At the heart of conservatism is the recognition that human nature is a constant individual struggle to live a moral life.”
Well you are failing badly, as are most of the “moral majority”, “family vales” set of hypocrites.
Take you bible thumping idiocy away and bury it where the sun does not shine.
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[...] which makes DeMint’s venue and choice of co-sponsor so distasteful. After all, Sarah Palin stood up for GoPROUD at CPAC and has actually spoken out against homophobia. She’s not (yet) a GOP candidate, but was [...]
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[...] which makes DeMint’s venue and choice of co-sponsor so distasteful. After all, Sarah Palin stood up for GoPROUD at CPAC and has actually spoken out against homophobia. She’s not (yet) a GOP candidate, but was [...]