Al Cardenas, the new director of the American Conservative Union, the organizing body behind the annual CPAC conference, said Thursday that "it's going to be difficult to continue the relationship" that they've had with the gay Republican group GOProud for the past two years.
In an interview with FrumForum, Cardenas expressed concern over a recent incident in which GOProud director Chris Barron referred to ACU chair Cleta Mitchell as a "nasty bigot."
"I have been disappointed with their website and their quotes in the media, taunting organizations that are respected in our movement and part of our movement, and that's not acceptable. And that puts them in a difficult light in terms of how I view things," Cardenas told Frum Forum.
It's just the latest disturbance between GOProud and CPAC, whose partnership has been strained at best. A number of organizations have joined a boycott of the conference due to the ACU's decision to include a group that they argue runs counter to the principles of social conservatism.
While Barron has since apologized for the insult, Cardenas remained unwilling to commit to inviting GOProud back next year, telling CNN Friday that Barron's mea culpa was a "good start," but that the schedule for next year's event was already looking full.
"We had a significant waiting list this year for people, for organizations that wanted to be participating organizations. I met quite a few who gave me their card and who didn't want to miss out next year. So actually that is a good problem to have," Cardenas told CNN. "Where we go from here. We are going to start thinking about that after CPAC, not during CPAC."