'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Hey. Wait a minute. Those conservative groups targeted by the IRS may be needing a little cash in the aftermath, say 26 high-profile conservatives leaders who are calling for new legislation to reimburse the grass-roots folks. The coalition — which includes Richard Viguerie, James Dobson, Ralph Reed, Phyllis Schlafly, David Bossie and Gary Bauer — have contacted House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, advising the lawmakers that oversight hearings are all well and fine. But where's the money?
Signs of waning evangelical power in the nation's culture wars and in Republican policy — and some unexpected challenges for GOP candidates — loom as the 103-year-old Boy Scouts of America gears up for a definitive vote this week on whether to welcome openly gay youths into the organization's ranks.
After South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson's embrace of gay marriage last week, activists who have made the issue a litmus test for Democratic Party officeholders are cranking up the heat on the three remaining holdouts among Democrats in the Senate.
Evangelical organizers from as far away as California have been quietly mining Ohio pastors and their pews for evangelical voters, hoping to tip the election Mitt Romney's way, just as they did for President George W. Bush in 2004.
Economic issues seem to be dominating the 2012 campaign, but a quiet electoral revolution is brewing. The "religious vote" is on the move, and it's not going leftward.
He wasn't their first, second or even third choice for president, but as pro-life leaders flocked to Tampa, Fla., this week for Mitt Romney's official Republican nomination, they insisted they had had a successful election year.
The GOP convention is a wistful time for the Republicans who failed to gain their party's presidential nomination earlier this year. Even as they pledge to play a supporting role for Mitt Romney, they try to carve out their own niche here in Tampa.
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
President Barack Obama delighted his liberal base by coming down on the side of gay marriage, but he cheered the opposition, too.
Guest lineups for the Sunday TV news shows:
He's still a force to be reckoned with as tax day looms: Herman Cain has arrived in the nation's capital for a "patriot's summit" and tax day rally Monday at the U.S. Capitol with a cast that includes Faith & Freedom Coalition Director Ralph Reed, Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips and conservative activist Alveda King.
Conservatives gathered in Washington this week are increasingly relishing the prospect that the Republican presidential nomination fight will extend for months, and could even lead to a brokered convention in Tampa this summer.
Former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed said Tuesday the flap over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Mormonism won't matter to voters in the battle to choose the Republican presidential nominee next year.
With the chorus of Republicans and conservatives condemning anti-Mormonism growing louder, the Mitt Romney campaign moved Tuesday to use the comments of a Southern Baptist leader, the Rev. Robert Jeffress, against GOP presidential rival Rick Perry.
The next three days amount to a virtual GOP-palooza in Florida.
Mr. Reed, the evangelical founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition who has been involved in Scouting for 43 years, said he took the job to build bridges between BSA officials and religious leaders who oppose changing the policy on homosexuality.
Evangelical weakness in gay Boy Scouts debate could hurt GOP →
"My role was to facilitate a dialogue based on mutual understanding and respect, including respect for the deeply-held religious views of the evangelical community," Mr. Reed, an Eagle Scout, said in a statement. "At no time have I advocated to anyone that the Scouts should change their membership policy."
Evangelical weakness in gay Boy Scouts debate could hurt GOP →
