The Conservative Political Action Conference made a mistake by inviting controversial Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos to speak, the editors of National Review say.
"Despite the fact that Yiannopoulos holds a number of noxious opinions, we have defended his right to air them against those who would shout him down or worse," they write.
The editors note that they oppose Yiannopoulos' invitation not because they wish to silence him, but because he isn't a conservative.
"CPAC is different. The annual event helps to define and broadcast the priorities of grassroots conservatives. Whatever Yiannopoulos's politics, they are not conservative in any meaningful sense. Indeed, Yiannopoulos has said so himself. Appearing on HBO's Bill Maher show just last week, Yiannopoulos said that he was not sure he would call himself conservative."
CPAC rescinded its invitation after an outcry over Yiannopoulos' statements about relationships between men and boys, which also lost him a book deal with Simon & Schuster.
Fox News reports that Breitbart News is considering terminating their relationship with Yiannopoulos. Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow said on the site's SiriusXM radio show that Yiannopoulos' comments are "indefensible" and "appalling," and that Yiannopoulos would address his future with the site in a press conference on Tuesday.
"It has become fashionable in conservative circles to cheer every apparently right-leaning gadfly," the editors of the National Review write about Yiannopoulos. "But 'trolling' is not conservatism, and there is no virtue merely in upsetting campus Democrats.
"There are many conservatives who do regular battle with left-wing agitators — but who also are of high character, and advance conservative arguments and defend conservative principles with poise, wit, and good cheer. If CPAC wants to highlight the challenges for conservatives on campus, there are dozens of respectable options."
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