The Hill News

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) said Wednesday evening she has no objection to the participation of gay Republicans at this weekend's gathering of conservatives in Washington.

Palin said she didn't see anything wrong with the participation of GOProud, a group of gay Republicans, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which runs Thursday through Saturday. 

{mosads}"I don't have a problem with different, diverse groups that are involved in political discourse," Palin said Wednesday on Fox News, when asked about GOProud.

Palin isn't participating in the conference, and she's declined previous invitations, despite CPAC's role as a cattle call for possible Republican presidential candidates.

But other prominent conservatives have said they're skipping the conference. The conservative Heritage Foundation and other socially conservative groups withdrew due to the inclusion of GOProud. And with those groups out, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) followed suit. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) also declined participation, though it's unclear if that decision is linked to GOProud.

Aside from DeMint, though, the other Republicans mulling a run for president are slated to speak or participate at the conference, hoping in part to boost their standing in the closely-watched straw poll of attendees.

Palin suggested that conservative! s had more important issues to worry about than which groups w! ere atte nding the conference.

"People are losing their jobs; they're losing homes. We're still engaged in a war," she said. "We'd better be really concentrated on what's really important."