CPAC: Conservatives vs. gay conservatives

The various flavors of conservatives at CPAC 2011 are fighting over how big the GOP tent should be. Can just anyone call himself a conservative?

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and several socially conservative groupsa are boycotting this year's CPAC because of GOProud's presence.
(Image credit: Getty)

The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is battling more than just the Democrats this year. Prominent conservative groups, including the Heritage Foundation, and stalwarts like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) are boycotting CPAC 2011 because of the participation of GOProud, an advocacy group for gay conservatives that's co-sponsoring the conference. And GOProud leaders have hit back, "taunting" the social conservatives. Can either faction win this fight? (See GOProud leaders discuss their cause)

GOProud deserves a seat at the table: Conservatives have the right to be wary of these gay advocates, says B. Daniel Blatt in Gay Patriot. After all, their predecessors, the pioneering gay group Log Cabin, were given to uneven conservatism and had a penchant for "attacking fellow Republicans." But GOProud is different. It vocally "agrees with conservatives at least 80 percent of the time," and holds "near identical positions" on gay issues as featured CPAC speaker Dick Cheney.

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