Still Looking For Mr. Right

In the GOP battle between purists and pragmatists, an influential band of social-conservative leaders warns: Ignore our values and we'll burn this party down

Giuliani: Damian Dovarganes / AP Photo; Thompson: Ray Amati / Getty; McCain: Peter Kramer / Getty

Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, John McCain

One thing the Council for National Policy (CNP) is never supposed to do is make news. The invitation-only club, whose aggressively vague name is an invisibility cloak for some of the most influential economic and social conservatives in the country, meets three times a year to plot the vast right-wing conspiracy's next moves--and remind its members not to talk to reporters or even refer to the group by name. Those attending the three-day September meeting in Salt Lake City got to hear Vice President Dick Cheney talk about the war and Mitt Romney testify on his home turf for family values....

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