CPAC still at war with itself over gay marriage

Two back-to-back panels put the tension within the conservative movement on full display

Topics: Brian Brown, National Organization for Marriage, Hans von Spakovsky, Voter ID, Gay Marriage, GOProud,

CPAC still at war with itself over gay marriage (Credit: Wikipedia/Ludovic Bertron)

Leading up to this year’s CPAC, one of the big sources of controversy was the conference’s decision to exclude GOProud, the gay Republican group, from the festivities. At a time when Republicans say they want to be more inclusive, two back-to-back panels on Thursday showed that there’s not quite a consensus on this as a path forward.

First up was “Stop THIS”: Threats, harassment, intimidation, slander & bullying from the Obama Administration,” a largely underattended panel that discussed the “vilification” of conservatives for their positions on voter ID and gay marriage, among other things. Brian Brown, of the National Organization for Marriage, told the room not to “accept that the civil libertarian position is the position that somehow we need to embrace same-sex marriage,” adding: “What we need is people standing up more than ever for marriage as between a man and a woman.”

Ben Shapiro, editor at large of Breitbart News, argued that the left has been able to push its pro-same-sex marriage message in large part because it’s used bullying to overtake powerful institutions. “The left has pushed through Hollywood through every means that gay marriage is equal in every way to straight marriage.”

“It’s really that simple. The media has to be destroyed where it stands,” he added.

In an interview with Salon after the panel, Brown, of NOM, dismissed the notion that the Republican party, and conservatives as a whole, need to be more inclusive. “What does inclusive mean? I think we need to include the majority of African-Americans who support traditional marriage, the majority of Hispanics who support traditional marriage.” He added that he supports CPAC’s decision not to include GOProud in the conference.

“Traditional marriage is not only right, it’s smart politically,” he said. “And if the party were to abandon it, it’s done. We will form another party. We are conservatives first, Republicans second.”

Brown acknowledged that “you have some people here that actually accept” same-sex marriage, “but the overwhelming majority of the people at this conference do not accept the idea that conservatism equates with redefining the fundamental unit of society.”

But, immediately after, in a small but totally packed room in the convention center, a different group of conservatives had another perspective. The panel was called “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the coalition, bringing tolerance out of the closet,” and though unofficially affiliated with CPAC, featured the exiled head of GOProud, Jimmy LaSalvia, as well as other pro-gay marriage conservatives.

“We have tolerated something in our movement for far too long: bigotry against gay people,” LaSalvia said. “There are a few in our movement who just don’t like gay people.” He added: “Bigotry has to be called out and condemned,” it’s the “same as racism.”

Jennifer Rubin, a columnist for the Washington Post, has previously condemned CPAC for its decision to exclude GOProud, and said at the panel that Republicans are seen as “harsh and screaming at people.”

“If you in this room are not doing something to grow the Republican Party, the Republican Party will die,” she said.

Jonah Goldberg, editor at large for the National Review, told the room that “there’s a lot of cannibalism going on on the right,” and that he initially declined to sit on the panel — until he heard that Donald Trump would be a speaker. Goldberg said that he felt Trump was a more harmful choice than “a Republican who happens to be gay.”

He continued: “As a society we should in some way encourage people to live in the institution of marriage when they can. Besides, it’s a free society and they should be free to form whatever associations they want.”

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

Next Article

Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • A missing poster hangs on a tree outside the Cleveland home of Amanda Berry Wednesday. Berry and two other women, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus, made a daring escape this week after being held captive for more than a decade.
    Credit: AP/Tony Dejak

  • Elvis Rafael Rodriguez and Emir Yasser Yeje offer their best impression of  Eric B. & Rakim. On Thursday, New York prosecutors identified the pair as members of an international gang that robbed $45 million in a matter of hours by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and draining ATM machines around the world.
    Credit: AP

  • New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie walks to a podium during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Technology Enhanced Accelerated Learning Center at Essex County Newark Tech in Newark, N.J., Tuesday. Christie made less flattering headlines this week after undergoing a secret stomach surgery to curb his weight.
    Credit: AP/Julio Cortez

  • Workers stand outside the Tung Hai Sweater Ltd. factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday after a fire broke out in its 11-story building. Eight people were killed in the blaze.
    Credit: AP/Ismail Ferdous

  • Workers rescue a woman trapped for 17 days in the rubble of a garment factory building in Saver, Bangladesh, Friday. The building's collapse was the worst industrial disaster in the country's history, killing more than 1,000 people.
    Credit: AP

  • Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford gives his victory speech Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., after winning back his old congressional seat in the state's first district.
    Credit: AP/Rainier Ehrhardt

  • Jodi Arias reacts in Maricopa Country Superior Court Wednesday after being found guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. Arias has subsequently said she wants the death penalty, claiming she'd "prefer to die sooner than later."
    Credit: AP/The Arizona Republic/Rob Schumacher

  • Ariel Castro stands for his mug shot Thursday at the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, where he is being held on $8 million bail. The former bus driver is accused of imprisoning three young women and beating them repeatedly over a period of 10 years.
    Credit: AP/Cuyahoga County

  • Charles Ramsey addresses the media Monday after helping rescue three women held captive in Cleveland for more than a decade. Ramsey's hero portraiture has been complicated by revelations of his own domestic violence record.
    Credit: AP/The Plain Dealer/Scott Shaw

  • Michael B. Donley, Secretary of the Air Force, testifies during a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday. The military branch was rocked this week after its chief sexual assault prevention officer was charged with sexual battery.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Comments

2 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>