Politics

Challenge Accepted: Conservative gay organization head agrees to debate WorldNetDaily editor

Chris Moody Chris Moody is a reporter for The Daily Caller.
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In the wake of a dispute between WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah and conservative author Ann Coulter over her decision to headline an event sponsored by GOProud, a gay conservative organization, Farah and GOProud Chairman Christopher Barron will square off in a debate later this month at WND’s convention.

Barron told The Daily Caller that Farah challenged him to debate over whether GOProud can be considered “conservative” after Farah argued on his site that there is no place within conservatism for an organization like GOProud, a group that promotes itself as “the only national organization representing gay conservatives and their allies.” TheDC is waiting for confirmation from WND about the debate’s details.

Farah dropped Coulter from a speaking engagement at WND’s annual “Taking America Back” convention in Miami for agreeing to speak at GOProud’s “Homocon” party in New York. (Coulter later said that Farah had never actually booked her for a speech, calling him a “swine” and a “publicity whore.”)

Farah contends that groups like GOProud are trying to commit a “coup” to unroot the conservative movement with an “agenda…to take the homosexual agenda inside the conservative tent.”

Barron insists that his group is genuinely conservative and said he looks forward taking on Farah in front of a WND crowd.

“Since we announced that conservative author and columnist Ann Coulter would be headlining our Homocon 2010 in New York City, Farah has attacked GOProud, attacked Ann, and challenged our work almost every single day,” Barron said in a statement to The Daily Caller. “I look forward to standing on the stage with Mr. Farah to defend GOProud, to debunk the misinformation he has spread, and to make the case for GOProud’s conservative mission.”

Barron added that conservatism stands at a major crossroads in its acceptance of gays into the movement. A number of high profile conservatives, including Lisa De Pasquale of the Conservative Political Action Conference, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and former General Counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee Craig Engle, have signed on as official sponsors of GOProud’s event.

The debate will be held on September 17 at 7:30 PM at the Doral Golf and Spa Resort in Miami, Florida.

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