After ruffling feathers on both sides of the political aisle, the gay Republican group GOProud has been denied the opportunity to co-sponsor the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C. in February of next year.
The Washington Blade reports that last week, the American Conservative Union voted to oust GOProud from the event’s sponsor list – a move that will prevent the group from either paying for a booth at the convention or having its name and logo printed in promotional materials for the event. According to American Conservative Union spokesperson Kristy Campbell, board member concerns and recent controversies prompted the union’s ultimate decision to exclude GOProud from continued participation in the convention.
Campbell noted that the suspension of GOProud’s sponsorship does not extend to individual member attendance at the CPAC convention, and that all attendees are “welcome and encouraged” to take part.
In response to the ACU’s decision, GOProud board members expressed “deep disappointment” and noted that, while it is within the ACU’s rights exclude sponsors, their decision to do so “will have consequences.”
The board members explained that, over the past two years, GOProud has sought only to support CPAC and the conservative political movement in the United States. “Unfortunately,” they said, “elements inside and outside of ACU have pushed their own narrow, divisive and sometimes personal agenda…at the expense of the conservative movement.”
Certain social conservative groups including the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Liberty Counsel and others have previously threatened to boycott CPAC based on GOProud’s involvement in the convention – a fact that compounded controversy stoked by select GOPRoud media comments, and prompted concern from members of the ACU board.
Despite their exclusion from next year’s CPAC event, GOProud has reiterated its determination to remain “an outspoken proponent of conservative values and conservative policy” moving forward.
