Every February, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) fourishes in Washington D.C. — it is the right-wing event of the year, and heavy hitters from the conservative movement and the Republican Party are anxious to be a part of it.  You name it; they are there. Limbaugh, Beck, Palin, Cheney, etc.

And with their gains in the Senate and House this past election to 2011 CPAC was expected to be a real hootenanny.

But there's a cloud on the horizon.  Huge and notable sponsors are dropping out.  And why?  Because this year, CPAC is letting in the gays:

Two of the nation's premier moral issues organizations, the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, are refusing to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in February because a homosexual activist group, GOProud, has been invited.

"We've been very involved in CPAC for over a decade and have managed a couple of popular sessions. However, we will no longer be involved with CPAC because of the organization's financial mismanagement and movement away from conservative principles," said Tom McClusky, senior vice president for FRCAction.

"CWA has decided not to participate in part because of GOProud," CWA President Penny Nance told WND.

FRC and CWA join the American Principles Project, American Values, Capital Research Center, the Center for Military Readiness, Liberty Counsel, and the National Organization for Marriage in withdrawing from CPAC.

There's long been an ideological spectrum of modern conservative thought, including subsets like libertarians, neocons, paleocons, Birchers, and theocrats. But for these religious right groups boycotting CPAC, there's apparently a rule: if you're gay, you can't be conservative.