The Log Cabin Republicans, the conservative gay rights organization, will have a speaking role at this week’s gathering of conservatives after all.
Gregory Angelo, the group’s executive director, will be part of a Saturday afternoon panel on “Putin’s Russia: A New Cold War.” He’ll appear with other leading conservative activists.
His appearance at the CPAC conference is a breakthrough. Last week, Angelo blasted the American Conservative Union, which sponsors the CPAC conference, for not allowing it a sponsorship.
“The only conclusion that can be made is that the organizers of CPAC do not feel gay people can be conservative,” he said Thursday, “a position opposed by the thousands of Millennial CPAC attendees who have been asking Log Cabin Republicans for months if we would be participating at this year’s event.”
But talks since then led to a compromise, and Monday, Angelo was pleased.
“There has been a great deal of confusion over the last 48 hours regarding the Log Cabin Republicans role in CPAC 2015,” he said. “After some very fruitful conversations with the leadership of the American Conservative Union, we would like to express regret if anyone associated with the American Conservative Union felt unfairly maligned. That was never our intention.
“For years, all we have wanted is for Log Cabin Republicans to be able to provide a meaningful contribution to CPAC, be it as sponsors, speaker or panelists,” Angelo said.
“Now is not the time to make the perfect the enemy of the good. Log Cabin Republicans will continue working toward full sponsorship of future CPACs. In the meantime, I look forward to bringing the gay conservative perspective to CPAC 2015 on behalf of Log Cabin Republicans, as well as the message that when conservatives focus on unity rather than division, we win.”