On MSNBC’s Up with Chris Hayes this Saturday morning, host Chris Hayes provided some commentary on an invitation he received to speak at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC. Hayes stated that he would appear at the conference only if the gay Republican group GOProud would be included among the conference’s co-sponsors.
On Wednesday, GOProud and another gay conservative group known as Log Cabin Republicans made an announcement that neither group would be welcomed at CPAC 2013.
In regards to Hayes appearance, he was invited to participate in a panel discussion with former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed called “CSI: Washington, D.C., a November 2012 Autopsy.”
“The form letter I received even paid me the slightly odd compliment of calling me ‘one of America’s leading conservative voices,’” Hayes said. Aside from the bizarre salutation, Hayes expressed that he was excited to go.
He said that he was then reminded “by a bunch of conservatives in my Twitter feed,” that CPAC had the “rather gross episode” in 2011 of banning GOProud from co-sponsoring the 2012 conference. The committee in charge of the conference returned GOProud’s donation money, which they had accepted both in 2009 and 2010. The religious right had apparently applied enough pressure on the committee to have gay conservative groups banned from donating.
Hayes said he wrote CPAC back, asking whether the policy banning GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans is still in effect.
“If it isn’t,” he said, “then I’m psyched to go. If it is, then I’ll wait until it changes, which is really just a matter of time.”
Watch the Up With Chris Hayes segment in the video below.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Leave a Reply