Connect with us

So, CPAC Had A Gay Rights Panel. How Did That Go?

Published

on

CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, tonight (shockingly) held a gay rights panel titled “A Rainbow on the Right: Growing the Coalition, Bringing Tolerance Out of the Closet.” The panel’s existence was thanks to the libertarian group, Competitive Enterprise Institute, which sponsored the event after it was confirmed gay Tea Party group GOProud would be banned this year, again.

How did it go?

Among the speakers were Jimmy LaSalvia, GOProud‘s co-founder, who said, “We have tolerated something in out movement for far too long: bigotry against gay people,” according to Alex Seitz-Wald at Salon:

LaSalvia, deploying stronger language than he’s used in the past, said “bigotry has to be called out and condemned.” It’s the “same as racism,” he said. He continued: “If we don’t stand up to it, everyone will think we agree with it.”

He also said that he thinks homophobia “contributes more to conservatives’ image problem than anything else,” because there are gay people in every community and demographic group and almost every family in the country. Opposition to marriage equality alone, however, is not bigotry, he added.

Slated to appear on the panel, in addition to LaSalvia were Fred Smith of CEI, Liz Mair, Jonah Goldberg, Margaret Hoover, and Jennifer Rubin.

Here’s a Storify story of tweets about tonight’s event and how it went:

 
[View the story “So, CPAC Had A Gay Rights Panel… How Did That Go?” on Storify]

So, CPAC Had A Gay Rights Panel… How Did That Go?

CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, is rabidly anti-gay — at least the old guard of CPAC, including its founders, the ACU are. But there’s a rising tide for LGBT people, it seems…

Storified by David Badash· Thu, Mar 14 2013 16:35:58

Looks like the LGBT rights panel was VERY popular: 
CPAC bars @GOProud for 2nd consecutive year. CEI invites @GOPROUD to panel. Result: http://pic.twitter.com/AfahbKeAx3daveweigel
MUCH more popular than the anti-gay NOM panel, with National Organization For Marriage president Brian Brown, Breitbart editor at large Ben Shapiro, and long-term veteran anti-gay activist Cleta Mitchell
Lot of empty seats for Cleta Mitchell, Hans von Spakovsky, Ben Shapiro & Brian Brown’s #cpac2013 panel.chrisgeidner
Off to the side at CPAC: GOProud cofounder Jimmy LaSalvia sits on a panel. One of the smallest rooms at CPAC, but it’s packed.Kasie Hunt
Applause as @JonahNRO takes CPAC to task for not inviting GOProud but inviting TrumpZeke Miller
From @JRubinBlogger on gay rights: ‘debate has already taken place in America and [conservatives] cannot be at war with America’ #CPACTom Rogan
Listening to @JimmyLaSalvia at #CPAC #CEI making a speech about gay rights in the conservative movement. He’s right, Freedom must be for allTom Rogan
‘Millions of Americans will join us if we ask them’ @JimmyLaSalvia at #CPAC #CEITom Rogan
Rubin also thinks gay marriage will not be a political issue in 10 years #cpacBen Jacobs
Packed house for the gay marriage panel. #CPAC2013 http://pic.twitter.com/Yfia76fZPJJonathan Krohn
The fact that @GOProud still aren’t allowed to have a booth at #CPAC of course slightly slows momentum of gay rights in GOPMartin Gelin
Actual sweet moment when Jimmy from @GOProud says, voice trembling, “this room is the future of the GOP” at pro gay rights panel at #CPACMartin Gelin
.@JonahNRO says Donald Trump is more of a questionable choice for #cpac2013 than “a Republican who happens to be gay.”Chris Geidner
Standing room only crowd at the gay rights panel at #CPAC2013 http://pic.twitter.com/PI33YkNsNkGuy Benson
Gay Americans were the only minority group where #gop made gains in 2012 election. #CPAC2013Heather Long
@LizMair whats the one minority vote that INCREASED from 2008 to 2012: Gay Americans #tcot #CPAC2013Kevin McKeever
Stop the #HeteroH8, Gay-wing supremacists!!! #CPAC2013El SOOPer!!
Argument at pro-gay #CPAC2013 panel ostensibly boils down to: We should get everyone to marry & grow old & become more conservativeSally Kohn
.@JonahNRO is knocking it out of the park in the @GOPROUD panel. #CPAC2013Chuck Clothier (I)
So @JonahNRO says: “I was called RINO for wanting Chris Christie to be invited and @goproud to have booth, but #CPAC2013 let Trump speakHeather Long
Gotta love #CPAC2013. Run into @GOPROUD’s @JimmyLaSalvia. Take an escalator, walk 10 paces, run to the prez of @NOMtweetsdaveweigel
Damn good speech by @jimmylasalvia of @goproud making the case for GOP outreach to gays #CPAC2013 “will you join the movement?”Heather Long
@daveweigel From the pic, I see mostly men there at the @GOPROUD / CEI thing. Accurate assessment? #CPAC2013Sister Toldjah
Completely packed room for #cpac2013 unofficial panel on including #LGBT inclusion in the conservative movement. http://pic.twitter.com/4kdjgSRiH5Andrew Eilts

 

Image, top, by Dave Weigel via Twitter

Related:

CPAC Bans Gay Republican Group — But Gets A Gay Rights Panel In Return

CPAC Urged To Hold Panel On Why ‘Homosexual Movement Prone To Violence, Terror, And Treason’

In Policy Flip, Gay GOP Group Now Officially Supports Same-Sex Marriage

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

‘Indictment Anytime’: Experts Explain Significance of Trump’s Attorneys Meeting With DOJ – Warn Plea Deal Possible

Published

on

Legal experts responding to news Donald Trump‘s legal team Monday morning walked into the U.S. Dept. of Justice agree it likely means Special Counsel Jack Smith is nearing a charging decision, but warn it could also mean the ex-president, under criminal investigation for unlawful handling of classified documents, among other possibly unlawful acts, might be offered a plea deal to avoid serving time in prison.

Trump’s attorneys being at DOJ “suggests indictment anytime. This would be the last step, and if neither side offers something worth thinking about, then DOJ would pull the trigger,” says former Dept. of Justice official Harry Litman.

“Plenty of possible angles they might choose to play including guilty plea for noncustodial sentence,” he adds, referring to any possible plea bargain with no sentence behind bars. “But unless Trump side leaks, discussions will stay confidential.”

READ MORE: ‘No Longer the Lord’s Chicken’: ‘Christian Woman’ Says She’s ‘Grieving’ Over ‘Woke’ Chick-fil-A Hiring a Diversity Officer

CBS News’ Robert Costa and Rob Legare broke the news that Trump’s attorneys had gone into DOJ. Responding to that, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance offers up a few possible scenarios.

“The smart move here for Trump is a guilty plea to a misdemeanor if DOJ will offer one & a felony with no jail time if they won’t,” she says, pointing to her Substack newsletter where she discussed this very subject Sunday night.

“For those who dislike these possible outcomes (I would number myself in that group), it’s nonetheless important to understand the prior precedent that will shape DOJ’s charging decisions & any plea offers in this matter. This is Trump’s best possible outcome, not the country’s,” says Vance.

READ MORE: Classified Pentagon ‘War Plans’ Document Trump Bragged About in Audio Recording Is Missing: Report

She adds, “Trump seems incapable of saying he’s done anything wrong. To plead, he’d have to say under oath in open court that he was guilty. It’ll be interesting to see if he can do that, or would rather run the risk of being convicted of felonies that carry up to 20 years in custody.”

“Good sign,” says former federal prosecutor of 30 years, Glenn Kirschner, observing, “if Jack Smith had decided against charging Trump, there would be no need for this meeting. The last federal prosecutors often do before indicting is meet with the target’s defense team & give them an opportunity to present any evidence or arguments they want to offer.”

Dave Aronberg, Palm Beach County, Florida state’s attorney on MSNBC Monday morning said he believes Trump will be indicted this week.

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

Continue Reading

BREAKING NEWS

Trump’s Attorneys Just Walked Into DOJ – Special Counsel Expected to Reach Charging Decision Soon: Report

Published

on

Attorneys for Donald Trump Monday morning entered the U.S. Dept. of Justice, as expectations grow the ex-president could soon be charged in his unlawful removal, retention, and refusal to return hundreds of classified and top secret documents.

CBS News chief election and campaign correspondent Robert Costa reports sources say Special Counsel Jack Smith is expected to reach a decision on charging Trump in the case soon.

“Trump’s lawyers just spotted by @CBSNews entering the Justice Department, per @RobLegare who is on site,” Costa tweeted at 10:09 AM ET. He says that “comes as sources tell me the special counsel is moving toward a charging decision in the classified documents case.”

Citing sources, Costa adds, “Trump’s lawyers are expected to raise concerns about how prosecutors have handled atty-client questions during the grand jury but there is no sign the special counsel is going to waver from how he and his team have handled the crime-fraud exception…”

READ MORE: Former DOJ Official Says Audio of Trump Admitting to Keeping ‘War Plans’ Makes it ‘Inconceivable’ He Will Not Be Charged

Trump’s attorneys being at DOJ is a possible sign the Special Counsel could be close to asking a grand jury to bring charges against the one-term, twice impeached ex-president who is currently facing 34 felonies in an unrelated New York case.

“Often defense attorneys are given the opportunity to ‘pitch’ the DOJ before a charging decision is made,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti notes. “Trump’s team visiting DOJ likely means that we won’t see charges in the next few days—as their pitch is considered—but could potentially see charges in the next 5 to 15 days.”

The Special Counsel’s grand jury is reportedly reconvening this week.

Legal experts and Trump watchers have been expecting the ex-president to be charged as soon as this week, after CNN reported Special Counsel Jack Smith had an audio recording of Trump admitting to holding on to a classified document, described by some as “war plans” against Iran. In that audio Trump reportedly also said he knew the document was classified, and said he wished he could share it, which destroys multiple claims he has made in his defense of retaining the documents.

That document is still missing, and the Pentagon appears greatly concerned about the document.

On Sunday night Trump lashed out at Smith, calling him, the DOJ, and the FBI all “Marxist,” and described the investigation into his possibly illegal handling of classified documents as the “boxes hoax.”

 

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. 

Continue Reading

News

Right-Wingers’ Latest Chick-fil-A Meltdown Proves They Have ‘Officially Jumped the Shark’: Morning Joe Panel

Published

on

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Donny Deutsch mocked conservatives for running the “woke” hysteria into the ground.

Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have screeched about the so-called “woke agenda,” which they warn will undermine American values and put children at risk from all manner of threats, but the “Morning Joe” host said most voters simply don’t care about that manufactured issue.

“Joe Biden, 350 pieces of bipartisan legislation signed, and Ron DeSantis and everybody else is talking ‘woke, woke, woke, woke, woke,'” Scarborough said. “Again, something that I said on this show and I heard a lot about from liberals, even, in 2021. You’re not hearing it, again, in part because there have been some corrections. You have the head of Berkley Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School going, ‘Hold on, hold on, we’re not going to let these woke mobs get in the way of free speech.’ They’re saying it at the most elite law schools in America, so common-sense Americans are going, ‘Okay, there may still be a problem, but they’re working on it,’ and yet these Republicans are all acting like it’s 2019, 2020 and they just keep freaking out. Well, Joe Biden is talking about job training and signing bipartisan bills.”

Conservatives have turned against Chick-fil-A for hiring a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion — which actually happened over a year ago but largely escaped notice until recently — and Deutsche said that was a nadir for “woke” hysteria.

READ MORE: ‘Cowards’: Soledad O’Brien rips former CNN colleagues for silence as Chris Licht wrecks the network

“The ‘woke’ movement officially jumped the shark,” he said. “Joe, you touched on this earlier with the Chick-fil-A move. Right-wing company, I don’t say that negatively, very family values, closed on Sundays, the head of the — [company chairman] Dan Cathy came out against same-sex marriages. They’re very conservative. Now, all of a sudden — you’re right, very conservative, obviously a great company, and they came under fire they have a DEI initiative, diversity, coming under fire from right-wing groups. That’s the official moment that ‘woke’ officially jumped the shark and put Fonzie on skis in Honolulu.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

Image by Hector Alejandro via Flickr and a CC license

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.