Free Republic

TERRORIST CONNECTIONS Not only was Mr. Norquist entangled with the criminal dealings of Jack Abramoff, but documentation shows that he has deep ties to supporters of Hamas and other terrorist organizations that are sworn enemies of the United States and our ally Israel. According to Senate lobbying disclosure records of his now defunct lobbying firm, Janus-Merritt Strategies, around the years 2000 and 2001 Mr. Norquist’s firm represented Abdurahman Alamoudi, who was convicted two years later for his role in a terrorist plot and who is presently serving a 23-year sentence in federal prison. Court documents and a October 15, 2004,...

The current leadership sounds hopeful about continuing the organization under a different name with a different mission, but, as the Advocate explains, that's probably unrealistic. Bilerico reporter Andrew Markle initially reported that GOProud was shuttering on Sunday, and following initial denials on social media from members of the group, key organizers confirmed to Bilerico founder Bil Browning Monday that the group is indeed planning to close up shop.  GOProud executive director Matthew Bechstein told Browning that the mixed messages were an attempt to calm members and stave off any problems with fundraising efforts.  Nevertheless, "We're leaving GOProud behind and re-branding...

In the midst of a re-energized campaign by Gov. Andrew...a trio of Republican consultants is...[pushing] for passage. The Gill Action Fund, a national group with an expansive donor network, has recruited lobbyist Michael Avella, a former chief counsel to ex-Senate majority leader Joe Bruno and current leader Dean Skelos, and John McArdle, a consultant who ran GOP Senate communications under Messrs. Bruno and Skelos.

Michele Bachmann, who is speaking on Thursday at CPAC, says she's still on the fence about whether she'll run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. "I haven't made a decision one way or another," the Minnesota congresswoman said on Fox News. "Right now, what I'm trying to do is make sure we continue the national dialogue on the issues that are important to us. Certainly we will be discussing the identity of who our nominee will be but that can't dominate the next two years of the election cycle." Continue Reading Bachmann largely spiked a question about former President...

GOProud has endorsed former HP CEO Carly Fiorina in her battle to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer. Via press release: Today, GOProud, the only national organization representing gay conservatives and their allies, endorsed Carly Fiorina for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in California. “Carly Fiorina is the candidate conservatives can trust,” said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud.

The young crowd at CPAC doesn't seem terribly interested in the issue of same-sex marriage, but there's been a bit of shadow boxing between the gay Republican group GOProud, which got a booth over objections from social conservatives, and the National Organization for Marriage a couple of booths away. The groups were apparently so chummy that a NOM official wandered by the GOProud booth during a CNN segment on the group to propose a friendly beer summit. Later in the day, however, NOM e-mailed a less friendly statement: Many reporters, including Politico, have asked us how we feel about the...

Take a stroll through CPAC's exhibition hall this year and between the proffered candy, bumper stickers and key rings you can't help overhearing some heated debates. At the end of the first row of exhibitors, next to the National Rifle Association, is a booth for the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property. “That's a lot of things to be worried about,” I remarked to the booth attendee. “Yes,” he said smiling, “we have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies.” These days, the group is particularly concerned with gays in the military. Beyond opposing...

An executive with Focus on the Family says the Christian ministry intends to maintain its co-sponsorship of next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) despite the inclusion of a Republican homosexual activist group at the event. ... "We think we've got to engage the broader conservative movement and to be salt and light in that environment," he explains. "We believe that social conservatism, biblical Christianity has a lot to say to the political culture -- and we want to be where the action is, so that's why we're engaging it." Minnery believes boycotting the event is the wrong strategy for...