Gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans
(LCR) announced Monday that it will participate in a panel discussion
at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
The news comes after the group alleged
in a statement that it has been rejected from sponsoring the
conference for the last three years.
During an appearance on Fox
News' Red
Eye, former Mitt Romney adviser Richard Grenell said that the
event's organizer, the American Conservative Union (ACU), had
“uninvited” him from speaking on a panel. The ACU has denied
Grenell's claims, saying it has no record of inviting or uninviting
Grenell to speak at this year's conference.
In 2012, Grenell abruptly quit his post
as foreign policy spokesman for the Romney campaign and blamed the
uproar over his sexual orientation for the separation.
LCR National Executive Director Gregory
Angelo said in a statement that he was invited to speak on a panel at
the conference following “fruitful conversations” with the ACU.
“It will be an honor to represent Log
Cabin Republicans at CPAC 2015 as part of the panel Putin's
Russia: A New Cold War? with Seth Cropsey, Carly Fiorina, Cliff
May and Amanda Brickell Bellows,” Angelo said.
“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, speakers, or panelists,” he
added. “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.”