Hi, I can authoritatively state that the Gang of Five was (is) Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Clint Bolick, David McIntosh, and Bill Kristol. See "Gang of Five" by Nina J. Easton.
I was reading the book on election night of 2000, the first phase of Algore's six week campaign to steal the Presidency. It led me to pick my handle when I stopped being a lurker on FreeRepublic.com a month later.
Heh! :-)
I'm farmiliar with the book.
With all due respect, Nina Easton is an idiot.
Her profile of Ralph Reed was almost amusing, it was like she had mood shifts when she profiled (and also did amatuer psychoanalysis) him.
She came up with the number 5 first, and then worked backwards. Its more then 5 people (Norquist who hosts the "wednesday meetings" where "coalitions are made" can honestly say that, and name the major players, including Stephen Moore who is somewhat a friend and competitor).
Granted the book came out in 2000, but it would have been better served if it had had an author who actually understood conservatism better and knew the major players better then assuming its naturally these guys.