On CNN's Early Start with Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin, GOProud co-founders Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron came on to discuss their rejection from CPAC and why they're devoted to a party and movement that rejects them because they're gay.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…
The rest of the conversation, which gets cut off, went like this:
BANFIELD: Here's the thing that gets confusing to some people who might be watching right now. And that is, I mean, I don't want to be so foolish to say, gee, how can a gay group be conservative since there seems to be competing messages?
But I will tell you this, I got a release from you guys back in January 27 saying after last night's Republican debate one thing is clear, any one of the four remaining GOP presidential candidates would be a dramatic improvement over the failed presidency of Barack Obama.
So any one of the four would include Rick Santorum and wow, I think a lot of gay people who don't belong to your group would be astounded by that comment because here's one of the comments that in 2003, Rick Santorum made about gay people and gay rights, et cetera. And I’ll read directly, "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual gay sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have to right to adultery, you have the right to anything." I remember when that blew up big for the senator and I think that led to the inability to Google Rick Santorum's name without seeing a lot of really gross stuff. How do you guys reconcile this? How do you say he's better than Barack Obama when he says this specifically about you?
BARRON: Well, let's be clear. First off, we strongly disagree with what Rick Santorum said there. Those comments are absolutely outrageous. Secondly, Rick Santorum is not going to be the nominee of this party. I know that the mainstream media and some in the party want to continue the charade that there is a horse race going on here. Rick Santorum is not even on the ballot.
BANFIELD: He's won three states. He swept them with huge numbers.
BARRON: John McCain lost 19 states, 17 of those after he won in South Carolina and Florida and his nomination was never in question. The bottom line is the only candidate who has a national organization that can win this primary is Mitt Romney. I mean, we can continue to pretend that there's a horse race and I know that the media wants to pretend like there's a horse race.
BANFIELD: Let me give you that. Let me give you that one, guys. That's Rick Santorum. Now the other candidates as well that you're supporting also support the idea that gays shouldn't serve in the military. And they also support the idea that there should be a constitutional amendment to prevent gay marriage in this country. That doesn't seem like it's in sync with what you would want in your candidate?
LASALVIA: That's not exactly true. Ron Paul doesn't support the constitutional amendment and even Mitt Romney went so far so say it's not likely. That particular proposal has lost support ever since it first failed in Congress in 2004. The reality is, we're all living in this Obama economy. Gay people are living in the Obama economy, too. And we've got to come together. Gay and straight, liberal and conservative, and fire the president. That's what we have to do as is a country. We have to look at who is best positioned and best able to do that. And to fix the problems that everyone, including gay people care about, those kitchen table issues that everyone is worried about right now.
BARRON: And the left would have you believe that the only thing that gay people care about is military service and marriage. And while those are important issues, the fact is, is that gay people care about things like the economy and jobs and retirement security.
BANFIELD: I appreciate it. Jimmy LaSalvia and Chris Barron, I could go on for a whole lot longer and I do appreciate you guys coming to talk to us today.
