Last week, Liberty University Law School announced that it was withdrawing its sponsorship of the upcoming CPAC conference because event organizers refused to cave to their demands that the conservative gay group GOProud be dropped from the list of co-sponsors.
So far, only Liberty Law School has backed out (even the affiliated Liberty Counsel, which is run by Liberty Law School’s Dean, Mat Staver, is still participating) and LU doesn’t seem to be picking up much support in its effort to boycott the event, with Focus on the Family announcing that it will remain a co-sponsor of the event, if only to counter GOProud’s agenda:
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus on the Family Action, says he has no problem with the fact that several of the other CPAC co-sponsors disagree with Focus on the Family, including GOProud.
“We think we’ve got to engage the broader conservative movement and to be salt and light in that environment,” he explains. “We believe that social conservatism, biblical Christianity has a lot to say to the political culture — and we want to be where the action is, so that’s why we’re engaging it.”
Minnery believes boycotting the event is the wrong strategy for social conservatives.
“I dearly hope that Liberty University continues to have its booth and will rethink its co-sponsorship for next year because that group is very important — and we need all the help we can get to inculcate that conference with conservative Christian values,” says the Focus spokesman.
According to Minnery, if all social conservative groups “charge off in a huff, pick up our marbles and go home,” there will be no one at CPAC to counter the agenda of GOProud.
