At CPAC, The Marriage Fight Is Over

Opponents of gay rights spoke to a nearly empty room, while supporters had a standing room–only crowd. “We cannot be at war with America on issues of fairness, on issues of equality,” conservative Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin says.

posted on March 17, 2013 at 11:23pm EDT

Chris Geidner BuzzFeed Staff


Image by Chris Geidner/Buzzfeed

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Cleta Mitchell, a D.C. lawyer who successfully led the charge to keep the LGBT conservative group GOProud out of the Conservative Political Action Conference for the past two years, is finding out what it means to lose a hard-fought battle.

Mitchell and the National Organization for Marriage's Brian Brown looked down from a stage at the annual, signature conservative conference whose social values they'd fought to defend to find they'd lost their troops.

"We are treated as if we are bigots," Brown complained to a largely empty room, assembled for a panel dedicated to discussing the bullying they and other conservatives say they face from the Obama administration.

An hour later, speaking to a packed room at another CPAC panel about increasing tolerance in the party, GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia basically agreed.

"We have tolerated something in our movement for far too long: anti-gay bigotry," LaSalvia said. "Let me be clear, I do not believe that just because someone opposes same-sex marriage that that automatically makes them a homophobe. But there are, however, a few. There are a few in our movement who just don't like gay people. In 2013, that just isn't OK in America anymore."

Like Brown at the earlier panel, LaSalvia appeared to view the afternoon as a key moment for this battle. Both men were on the offensive with striking vigor — and with good reason.

Far from a sole, fringe, pro-marriage equality speaker — and a day before Republican Sen. Rob Portman announced his support for marriage equality — panels both before and after Mitchell's panel had speakers encouraging the Republican Party and the conservative movement to embrace marriage equality.

They weren't always expected voices. Liz Mair and Margaret Hoover have been supportive of GOProud since the beginning, but this CPAC they were joined on a Thursday panel sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute by none other than the National Review's Jonah Goldberg. Conservative scholar and provocateur Charles Murray also pointedly backed the cause at CPAC. Jennifer Rubin, the conservative Washington Post blogger, was among those speaking most strongly about how the Republican Party needs to adjust course on gay couples' marriage rights if it wants to survive.

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http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/at-...e-fight-is-over

When does the goat ropers get their rights.

Quote: nerd wrote in post #2

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When does the goat ropers get their rights.

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Zitat

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"We have tolerated something in our movement for far too long: anti-gay bigotry,"

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No. The only bigotry I see is against those with moral and religious problems with the gay lifestyle. This is victim politics and nothing else. There is also the small issue that once the Conservative movement rolls over for this and then all the other sorts of sexual relations under the sun that need "freedom", it will not increase the GOP voting block one person. If you are going to sell out, you should at least get something for your spinelessness.

Quote: PzLdr wrote in post #3

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Quote: nerd wrote in post #2

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When does the goat ropers get their rights.

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Right after the menage a trois crowd, the consenting brother/sister, Dad/daughter, Mom/-you get the drift [both of which are in pending lawsuits].

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How stupid can you be? It's just another example of how misguided the republicans have come to be. The "leaders" think they should be more inclusive, approve gay marriage, raise the debt ceiling to 20 trillion, embrace affirmative action, increase the minimum wage to ten dollars, etc.

They stand for absolutely nothing! Giving in to the democrats will gain them nothing but they're too dumb to see it.
Look how Rand Paul stood for something he believed in, yet most of the republicans mocked him as being "out side the norm."
Most of them had rather be sucking up to Obama with a dinner engagement than doing what's right for the country.

I wish folks would take these CPAC forums with a grain of salt, they're filled with college students many of whom are bussed to the event to show support for a particular pov or politican.

They're about as useful/meaningful as the Iowa straw poll.