For over thirty years, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has been the most important conservative gathering in Washington. In 1974, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan addressed the first large CPAC gathering. Every year, the conference honors the Gipper with a Ronald Reagan banquet.
Organized by the American Conservative Union (ACU), the conference attracts leading conservative activists and policy makers from across the nation. This year, speakers included the Vice President, presidential advisor Karl Rove, Virginia Senator George Allen and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. And this year for the “first time”, according to ABC NEWS, “a gay rights group has been officially recognized by the nation’s annual gathering of conservative activists.” The Log Cabin Republicans paid $3,000 to co-sponsor the event.
Finally, a sign that this organization is attempting to make its case to the conservative movement. Good job, Log Cabin.
It seems that the election knocked some sense into Log Cabin leaders. According to ABC:
“Now the election of 2004 is over,” said Christopher Barron, the Log Cabin Republicans’ political director. “And we think there are opportunities to work with this president. The fact is the gay and lesbian community has to realize that the president won.”
At CPAC, Barron was a featured speaker on a panel promoting personal retirement accounts for Social Security.
Barron said the Log Cabin members are “incredibly conservative” about taxes, national defense, and Social Security. The group’s Washington office keeps in close contact with the White House and the Republican National Committee . . . .
Barron said that the American Conservative Union, which coordinated CPAC, was very accommodating and was eager to put the group’s willingness to participate to use. The ACU wanted to schedule a debate between Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero and Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, a leading socially conservative public policy organization.
Although the Family Research Council refused to participate in the debate, the ACU did accommodate Guerriero, putting him on a “panel about disagreements within the conservative movement about marriage [where he] debated Kevin Blier of the Center for American Cultural Renewal.” Looks like LCR is finally beginning to act like Republicans.
-Dan (aka GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com