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Mikey Swetz

NEW Intro to GOProud

GOProud is an organization made up of gay, lesbian, and transgendered individuals along with their supporters. The conservative political philosphy is shared amoung the members. GOProud has prominent conservative figures on the board of directors and the avisory council. The organization stirred controversy from its conception. Two former Log Cabin Republican leaders, Christopher Barron and Jimmy LaSaliva, joined forces to create GOProud due to unhappiness within their original group. Controversy continued at the 2010 CPAC annual meeting of the conservative political force. GOProud was an unwanted sponser of CPAC by many but they failed in their attempts to stop their presence. GOProud continues to battle unfavorable legislation and fight for the conservative agenda. Social gatherings are held to being together members and supports of GOProud Notably Homocon 2010. Ann Coulter headlined the event and was seen as an odd choice by many outside of the organization.

Rough Body Copy for Article

Below is my attempt at re writing the body of the article to help eliminate some of the issues that are presented and to fix the errors noted in the maintenance box.  

Mission:

GOProud represents the gay conservatives and their allies. GOProud is committed to a traditional conservative agenda that emphasizes limited government, individual liberty, free markets, and a confident foreign policy. GOProud promotes the traditional conservative agenda by influencing politics and policy at the federal level.

They believe that everybody should be equal under the law. The top ten issues concerning GOProud include:

• Tax Reform
• Healthcare Reform
• Social Security Reform
• Respecting proper role of the Judiciary
• Cutting Spending in Washington
• Stand against Global Extremists
• Defend the Constitution
• Encourage Community Entrepreneurship
• Revitalizing Communities
• Second Amendment Gun RIghts

History

Jimmy LaSalvia and Christopher Barron are the co-founders of GOProud. LaSalvia was the Director of Programs and Policy for the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay organization identifying with Republican ideals. Barron was the Political Director at Log Cabin Republicans before both men decided to leave with hopes of a creating a better organization that dealt with more conservative values. They wanted to focus on the issues of the conservative agenda not social issues, which Log Cabin Republicans dealt with. Barron and LaSalvia believe that same-sex marriage is a state issue and therefore wanted an organization that focussed on the real conservative agenda. Margaret Hoover, a member of the advisory council, added her opinion into the mix, "GOProud has helped force gays out of the conservative establishment-- what I would call the 'conser-va-gentsia'--to take on these self-anointed leaders of social conservatism."

Board of Directors and Advisory Council

Board of Directors

• Christopher Barron - Co-founder
• Jimmy LaSalvis - Co-founder
• Bruce Carroll - Purveyor of http://www.gaypatriot.net
• Jessica Lee - Gay rights activist

Advisory Board

• Andrew Breitbart - Media Mogul and owner of breitbart.com, biggovernment.com, bighollywood.com, bigjournalism.com, and bigpeace.com
• Bob Carlstrom - VP of The National Cable Communications media company
• Ann Coulter - A nationally syndicated radio host, political commentator and author of the books High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, and Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
• Lisa De Pasquale - Writer and former Director of CPAC
• Margaret Hoover - FOX News Contributor, television and radio commentator
• Andrew Langer - President of The Institute for Liberty
• Liz Mair - Online communications expert, new media adviser, political consultant and blogger
• Chuck Muth -President and CEO Citizen Outreach and a Professional Political Communications Consultant
• Grover Norquist - Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform
• Kathryn Serkes - Founder of Take Back Washington and founder of Doctor Patient Medical Association
• Roger Stone - Political consultant and lobbyist

CPAC 2010

CPAC Is the annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. Controversy struck GOProud in 2010 at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The New organization was planning on attending the convention of conservative minds. The Family Research Council was the first to start an uproar and boycott CPAC over the GOProud invite. Groups that followed the Family Research Council in boycotting included Concerned Women of America, American Principles Project, Center for Military Readiness, Liberty Council, and National Organization for Marriage. These conservative groups worry that adding gays will weaken the movement.

Ryan Sorba, chairman of the Young Americans for Freedom and author of, The "Born Gay" Hoax, attempted to derail support for GOProud at CPAC. During his speech at the convention, he condemned GOProud for entering the conference but was eventually booed by the audience.

Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential Candidate, and Sharron Angle, 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate seat in Nevada, joined the fight in support of GOProud. Palin commended CPAC by saying she is "always in favor of freedom" and that GOProud is included in the "different, diverse groups … involved in political discourse.” Sharron Angle told Huffington Post, “We need to be very careful when we get to talk about our opinions and be inclusive.” http://0-go.galegroup.com.www.consuls.org/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=GRGM&userGroupName=a30sc&tabID=T004&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA239031516&&docId=GALE%7CA239031516&docType=GALE&role=</ref>

Homocon 2010

Homocon was a meeting for GOProud members on September 25th, 2010 in New York City. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and GOProud Donor, hosted the event at his home in the city. Ann Coulter was the headline speaker at this meeting. Her appearance seemed controversial and strange to some seeing as she is an evangelical christian. Coulter declared herself as the "right-wing Judy Garland". Christopher Barron, the co-founder had said, "Among gay conservatives, she is an icon. We could not think of anyone who we would want to party with more."

Dont Ask, Don't Tell

Don't ask, don't tell is a political issue and policy enacted in 1993. This policy allowed homosexuals to serve in the military as long as their sexual orientation stayed behind bars. GOProud, was an outspoken supporter of repealing the policy and made Don't ask, don't tell a priority. In order to help destroy this piece of legislation, GOProud went after the politicians who wanted to reinstate or reverse the repeal. Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota, and former 2012 Candidate for the Republican Nomination for President, spoke out about the policy. Pawlenty wanted a reversal of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. GOProud made a public statement condemning Pawlenty. Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 candidate for the Republican Nomination for President, is another politician who would reinstate the policy if elected President. GOProud had also condemned these remarks made by the former Senator.