Al Cardenas announced his plan to distance the American Conservative Union from GOProud, a gay conservative organization. In an interview with FrumForum, Cardenas stated that “it [would] be difficult to continue the relationship” citing benign reasons behind the parting of ways.
“I have been disappointed with their website and their quotes in the media,” says Cardenas. “[They’re] taunting organizations that are respected in our movement and part of our movement, and that’s not acceptable.”
The ACU organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference annually, but has faced criticism for GOProud’s second-year sponsorship of the event. Several socially-conservative organizations have denounced the move, even citing GOProud’s sponsorship as the main reason for opting-out of the event.
Cardenas was selected as chairman of the American Conservative Union on Wednesday, replacing David Keene, the former outgoing chairman of the board.
“It’s going to be difficult to continue the relationship [with GOProud] because of their behavior and attitude,” Cardenas told FrumForum.
In the interview, Cardenas was asked about whether or not he values a big tent approach to conservatism. While Cardenas said he did, he told FrumForum that his vision is applied principally, reaching out to different minorities and ethnic groups.
Cardenas says his priorities as the new chairman will focus on “making sure that our true friends never leave the table.”
Asked about his opinion on gay marriage, Cardenas replied, “Not a Ronald Reagan conservative… I will say this: we adopted a resolution unanimously at ACU advocating traditional marriage between a man and a woman, so that answers how we feel on the issue.”
