When Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin share billing with radical far-right figures, we should be concerned - 2019-08-09

When Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin share billing with radical far-right figures, we should be concerned August 9, 2019, Jason Wilson, The Guardian

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This weekend's event is a branch-office version of the reliably wacky, but troublingly influential annual US conference. Among other things, CPAC is generally credited with launching Donald Trump's career as a Republican political contender, after he was invited to speak there in 2011.

In the US, the conference offers a forum for hardline rightwing Republicans. Trump headlined again this year, but he was joined by YouTubers Diamond and Silk; former VP candidate Sarah Palin; anti-immigration Fox News host Laura Ingraham; high-profile evangelist Franklin Graham; and Turning Point USA honcho, Charlie Kirk.

But CPAC has sometimes had trouble in deciding which speakers and which ideas cross the line, as conservatives become more open to radical right ideas on race, multiculturalism and immigration. In recent years it has invited, then disinvited, groups like the conspiracist John Birch Society, and individuals like Milo Yiannopoulos.

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | first = Jason | last = Wilson | title = When Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin share billing with radical far-right figures, we should be concerned | url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/09/when-tony-abbott-and-peta-credlin-share-billing-with-radical-far-right-figures-we-should-be-concerned | work = The Guardian | date = August 9, 2019 | accessdate = August 10, 2019 }}