Allied In Pride President Michael Komo Responds to the Meghan McCain Controversy

It was supposed to have been a Meghan McCain speaking event sponsored by Allied In Pride, College Republicans and the Graduate School of Political Management.  However, controversy was ignited this week as the GW College Republicans have accused Allied In Pride President Michael Komo of misleading them by not mentioning McCain would be speaking in favor of gay marriage.

This ignited a firestorm in which McCain posted on her twitter page that she had been "uninvited" by GW. However, only the CR's pulled their sponsorship of the event, and it is still scheduled for February 9th.

The following is a press release Michael Komo sent WRGW News, who wanted a chance to clarify his version of the events:

This past week the facts about the preparation for the upcoming Meghan McCain event at The George Washington University have been misrepresented.

Three GW organizations, Allied in Pride, The Graduate School of Political Management Student Association, and Program Board, have been planning Ms. McCain's appearance since summer 2009.  All three organizations are non-partisan and are elated for the opportunity to have Ms. McCain speak at GW.

Ms. McCain frequently speaks at colleges and universities across the country in her program “Redefining Republican: No Labels. No Boxes. No Stereotypes.”  In her program, Ms. McCain discusses several different topics including: Her view on the current state of the Republican Party, her experience on the campaign trail, how her values affect her political beliefs, marriage equality, women's issues, and the future of the GOP.

The GW Hatchet alleged that when the GW College Republicans were approached to co-sponsor the event, it was not “…explicitly clear that [Ms.] McCain would be speaking in favor of marriage equality.”  This assertion is false.

In my meeting with the GW College Republicans, the details of Ms. McCain's speech, including marriage equality, were explicitly discussed.  Receptive, the College Republicans decided to fund $100 of the program's cost.  The remaining expenses were to be covered by The GW Graduate School of Political Management Student Association, Allied in Pride, Program Board, and the Student Association.

Confusion arose because the timing of Marriage Equality Week and Ms. McCain’s appearance at GW overlapped, leading the GW College Republicans to withdraw their co-sponsorship of the event.  However, despite any misunderstanding relating to the timing of the event, the theme of her planned speech at GW remains the same: “Redefining Republican.” 

I am disappointed that the GW College Republicans will not be joining us as a co-sponsor for this event.  In the past, Allied in Pride has successfully worked with the GW College Republicans.  Last year, we partnered with them to co-sponsor an event at GW featuring several speakers from the Washington, DC Chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans.

Upon hearing that the GW College Republicans revoked their co-sponsorship, the Log Cabin Republicans generously contributed over $1,000 for the event.

We look forward to an extremely successful event with Ms. McCain on February 9, 2010.