Conservative Political Action Conference
According to the American Conservative Union website, "since 1973, the ACU Foundation has hosted the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, where thousands of conservative activists and leaders from across the country join together for a three-day event to discuss current issues and policies and to set the agenda for the future of the conservative movement. CPAC is open to the general public and offers a distinguished cast of participants, speakers and panelists. Among the most notable guests: Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush; Vice Presidents Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney; former Senate GOP leader Bob Dole; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Senators Zell Miller, Rick Santorum and George Allen; as well as numerous other congressional members, Cabinet officers, media correspondents, international celebrities and key political figures."
2010 CPAC Conference
The 2010 CPAC Conference will be held February 18-20 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Sponsors
Sponsors of the 2010 conference include: (for a full list, please refer to [1])
- American Conservative Union
- 60 Plus Association
- Accuracy in Media
- Alliance Defense Fund
- American Center for Law and Justice
- American Civil Rights Union
- Americans for Prosperity
- American Future Fund
- American Petroleum Institute
- Americans for Tax Reform
- Citizens United
- College Republican National Committee
- Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Concerned Women for America
- David Horowitz Freedom Center
- Eagle Forum
- FreedomWorks
- Freedom Alliance
- Heritage Foundation
- Human Events
- Intercollegiate Studies Institute
- John Birch Society
- Judicial Watch
- JunkScience.com
- Keep America Safe
- The Leadership Institute
- Let Freedom Ring
- Manhattan Institute
- Media Research Center
- National Organization for Marriage
- National Tax Limitation Committee
- National Taxpayers Union
- National Rifle Association
- Susan B. Anthony List
- United States Justice Foundation
- Young Americans for Freedom
- Young America's Foundation
According to Lisa DePasquale, CPAC director, to become a co-sponsor, an organization has to agree with the core principles of the American Conservative Union Foundation, outlined in articles on its website, and buy an ad in the Conference's program. Co-sponsors receive an exhibition booth as well as the right to participate in meetings and to plan the event.[2]
Liberty University Law School is no longer co-sponsoring the conference because a Republican homosexual activist group, GOProud, is being allowed to co-sponsor the event. GOProud advocates same sex marriage, a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and expanding access to domestic partner benefits for homosexuals.[3] Liberty University chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Liberty Law School Dean Mat Staver wrote a letter to CPAC requesting that they disallow GOProud from co-sponsoring the conference. Staver claimed that he never received a formal response to the complaint, and withdrew co-sponsorship as a result. The letter was also signed by other evangelical Christian leaders, including Gary Bauer of American Values.[4]
