it's ralph reed and gary bower and all the rest of them. this social conservative ring wing of the republican party comes to a sensitive time in our politics when it comes to the issues nearest and dearest to the hearts of these folks. particularly when it comes to gay politics. by which i mean anti-gay politics which has been a central thing at the christian coalition and the organized christian conservative movement has always stood for. and the sensitive issue for them right now is not just the general american public opinion shift to be in favor of gay rights. the latest abc news/"washington post" poll this week found 57% of americans now support legalized equal marriage rights. it's beyond that, though. it's not just that sentiment, that broad feeling in the country that makes their position against it seem awkward. it is that the question is being called. there are policy positions coming up, policy decisions coming up on this where republicans are going to have to make their feelings known not just to each other, but to the majority

but today at ralph reed's faith and freedom conference, it was clear that their talk of change was just talk. now that paul ryan himself didn't try, he took center stage to say the party is not so extreme. really is not. just trust him on this. >> the left likes to think that we are the fringe. guess what? you, us, we are the mainstream. when you take a look at what is happening, the goal we have in front of us is to reclaim the center of our politics. >> the mainstream? really? even by wrongway ryan standards, that's off base. just listen to the parade of speakers at this big republican meeting. >> big government is undermining our religious liberty. it undermines all of our liberties. >> pray every day that god speaks to them and preserves and enables them to preserve traditional marriage. >> why are you getting engaged in the political discourse simply when you disagree with someone on what the definition of marriage is you're called a bigot or hater. >> college camps for the abortion industry. >> when i hear talk about restoring faith in government, no, no, no, no, no. that is the s

ralph reed is associated very largely. he's the chairman of this group, the faith and freedom coalition. he's associated with the social cause. - conservatism but this was really -- they talked about everything. full spectrum conservative issues. i think frankly, the big story though is the immigration debate. maybe secondly, if you want to look at the dichotomy of ran paul and marco rubio on foreign olicy. you can say we want more people, the hamse -- hispanics, specially are christian. maybe conservative means about you're conserving western values and you have to have a strong border. and that you have to honor the rule of law. and so conservatives are really fighting over the heart and soul over what that means. foreign policy is the same time. you have marco rubio and ran paul both elected in 2010 amid this tea party despite guys, both defeated republican candidates in 2010 and, you know, ran paul essentially wants more modest foreign policy. so they're both conservative but which will be the 21st century brand of con

i appreciate it. >> thank you. >> ralph reed, quick reaction on the political point. you have said this week, this is going to energize republicans not only to fight gay marriage at the state level, but this has implications for the midterm race as well. >> no question about it. i mean, i think that, first of all, it's far better for this to be resolved at the state level than by a federal decision. second of all, it's better resolved in the political and legislative process at the ballot box than it is by an active judicial fiat. i think if we find the silver lining at all, and it's hard to do in these decisions, that's it. so what you're going to see in states like iowa where the supreme court imposed same-sex marriage on the state, we're going to be -- >> the state supreme court. >> the state supreme court. we're going to be attempting to elect legislators who will pass a constitutional amendment to ratify that marriage should be between a man and a woman. >> three main election efforts, electing mitt romney, getting that iowa state supreme court justice thrown out

ralph reed the founder of faith and freedom, he responded yesterday -- >> schedulewise it just didn'tork, but we invited him. in fact, i think we've invited him to previous conferences. we have a strong organization in new jersey. they are big fans of him, they worked hard to get him elected, they'll work hard to get him re-elected. >> notice how ralph reed treated chris christie treated chris christie not to come versus how cpac did. rand paul is playing it a lot differently than his dad did, showing up to events that his dad wasn't showing up to and he's made a careful play for social conservatives. yesterday he did so using foreign policy as a way to talk to his audience. >> these days christians i think are unified, or seem to be, in our defense of the not yet born, but i exhort you to remember the 19-year-olds sent to nevada. i can't imagine jesus at the head of an army of soldiers and i think as christians we need to be wary of this doctrine of preemptive war. >> meanwhile marco rubio made a moral argument for immigration reform stressing that compassion is at the heart of this

and the conservative leader ralph reed makes a similar argument. >> because somebody wants to affirm the institution of marriage that they are intolerant, by that argument, barack obama was intolerant 14 months ago. by that argument, 342 members of the house, 85 members of the senate, including by the way, joe biden, harry reid, pat leahy who all voted for this law, and bill clinton who signed it into law were intolerant and motivated by an animus and hatred for guys. >> are laws banning same-sex marriage motivated to harm guys and lesbian? >> i think they are motivated by a desire to protect something that the conservatives and others who believe that guys and lebs should not have the right to be married in the same way that a man and woman do, i think these laws were designed to protect, and again i don't think it's correct, but to protect what they believe is sacrosanct between a man and a woman. now, to me that gets to the religious aspect of this. from a civil rights perspective, this is why i think that the decision was correct. because i do think by giving them the protection

your idea of what a card should be. >>> we were talking about ralph reed's comparison of gay marriageal rights amendment. another comparison i've heard from a more credible source is comparing public opinion on gay marriage with public opinion on abortion. ruth bader ginsburg made public opinions about the effect of the roe v. wade opinion on abortion. what you've seen for the last 30-plus years has been that -- is very stable. public opinion on abortion is very stable. she seemed to be saying the court made a broad national ruling. could have made a limited ruling like just for texas. instead made a broad, national ruling. she said that created a backlash and locked in polarization on abortion. this is how she said it. i'll let measure explain it instead of me. >> my judgment is court ruled -- not that the judgment was wrong, it certainly was not. but it moved too far. my thinking and maybe we'll never know qul i'm right or wrong. >> a lot of people have connected that to the gay marriage question and they say the same thing -- we're on course for the same thing to happen with gay ma

you know, interestingly, rachel, i got that information not from the hill but from the stage of a ralph reed event that took place last week where we were promised that there would be all these amazing republican women on the floor, marsha blackburn would marshal the bill, and that gosnell presented a moment for the anti-choice movement such as they had never seen before and people better seize the day. >> did they believe -- when you are hearing them talk about it and strategize amongst themselves like at the faith and freedom, whatever that thing is called, the christian coalition event. >> right. >> i know you're not supposed to call it that anymore, but it will always be that to me. >> kind of the -- >> exactly. is the idea that there's nothing wrong with antiabortion policies or the prioritization of antiabortion above all other forms of policymaking on the republican side, rather the problem and the reason it's alienating to women is because too many men talk while they to that? and if they just do the same thing with republican women being out in front of it, this will suddenly become

anyway, perry, herman cain and the cast of the gop all-stars turned out for ralph reed's faith & freedomcounterclockwise this weekend. at times it looked like a rerun of the 2012 gop primaries. sarah palin was there in full force with her own foreign policy advice for the president in syria. >> we're talking now more new interventions. i say until we know what we're doing, until we have a commander in chief who knows what he's doing, well, chief, in these radical islamic countries aren't even respecting basic human rights with both sides are slaughtering each other as they scream over an arbitrary red line allahu akbar i say until we have someone who knows what they're doing, i say let allah sort it out. >> red line. allahu akbar. former florida governor and potential 2016 contender jeb bush tried to use reason to make his case for republican action on immigration reform. >> -- is destiny. and if that's the case, if that's the case, then we're going to have fewer workers taking care of a larger number of people that have -- the country has a social contract with to be able to allow them

i'll be there along with nbc's pete williams and michael eric dyson and ralph reed from the christianon and my estranged but beloved uncle, jim demint, former republican senator and now the head of the heritage noun dagfoundation. i wonder what we'll talk about. sunday morning "meet the press." tonight on msnbc at 10:00 p.m. eastern, check out our live special we're doing on the george zimmerman trial. if you missed the trial coverage today or the rest of this week on msnbc, tonight this special is your chance to catch up on it. it has been an absolutely riveting trial. we'll be right back. with the spark miles card from capital one, bjorn earns unlimited rewards for his small business. take these bags to room 12 please. [ garth ] bjorn's small business earns double miles on every purchase every day. produce delivery. [ bjorn ] just put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? ahh, oh! [ garth ] great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. here's your wake up call. [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose double miles

but today at ralph reed's faith and freedom conference, it was clear that their talk of change was just not so extreme. really is not. just trust him on this. >> the left likes to think that we are the fringe. guess what? you, us, we are the mainstream. when you take a look at what is happening, the goal we have in front of us i

ralph reed. doing a fantastic job. standing for our values.his morning and let you know that we come from all over the country. you are a breath of fresh air in barack obama's washington, d.c. let me tell you. by the way, do not make any mistake about this. it still is barack obama's washington, d.c. he has been cut down a notch and wrestling with some scandals, but he still controls the u.s. senate and has the compliance of the media in his back pocket. he is one appointment away from the u.s. supreme court. everycausing us to lose issue that we care about are -- not for a year or five years, but probably a generation or more. he has got tremendous political skills. this is a guy in which the battle is not over. he has thousands of ideologues like lois lerner and the irs to get up and rush in to work because they cannot get -- way to get onto business of restricting our liberty. american to our european socialism. quite frankly, my intention was to come here and spend my 10 minutes giving you more lousy news like that. [laughter] but i began

breath with the words "2016 republican hopeful" have been speaking to religious conservatives at ralph reed'snce. take a listen. >> the left likes to think that we are the fringe. guess what? you, us, we are the mainstream. >> we're facing a crisis on the family front in this country. the last census numbers depict that fact. 42% of the babies brought into the world today will be brought into the world out of wedlock. it is a breathtaking statistic that describes family life in america today. >> today we have a culture that accepts the wanton disposal of millions of innocent children and sends aid to countries that persecute christians. i for one will not rest until this injustice ends. >> i for one will rely on my faith, the christian faith for guidance on things that i've often looked at both at times when discouraged and at times when i wonder why do i spend these days away from our family? why do you run for office when everything you know about politics tells you you can't win. why do you get engaged in political discourse because you disagree with someone on the definition of marriage,

i'm so thankful to be at the faith and freedom coalition to knowand so proud that ralph reed and other leaders have told us all together. folks, there is no freedom without faith. that is how our founders designed this nation. arefaith and our freedom under attack like never before in the history of this country. freedom is the ability to fulfill one's god-given gifts and talents and to allow them to take you to the highest place that you can go without irrational discrimination and without the government unduly and interfering -- unduly interfering your ability to make progress. you are now witnessing an effort to redefine freedom. folks, freedom and liberty are not licensed. our founding fathers did not create a nation in which freedom meant, just do whatever you want to do. because whatever you want to do is ok. no, they created a nation in which the pursuit of happiness and the pursuit -- meant the pursuit of one's very best, the pursuit of character, the pursuit of integrity, the pursuit of decency and honor. now we are being told that freedom is licensed. no, it is not. the more

it's put on by ralph reed.f those folks who spoke and our potential candidates in 2016 want to tap into the base. there's a lot of uncertainty in the republican party about how to go forward. a lot of new ideas. republican chairman says republicans have to change the way they talk about minorities and social issues. at this convention there's a lot of red meat served up and not a necessarily new messaging going on. as much as they are laughing at themselves the way rick perry did this still the heart of the party and the messages are delivered to that. >> interesting message on immigration. lauren i want to talk about what marco rubio did. is this the kind of faith based crowd that may be a little more supportive on what he is trying to do? >> that's interesting. that's one of the hallmarks is how involved some of the christian community has been in this. there are a lot of baptist minister who is have formed coalitions to get folks in the pulpit on board with immigration reform. i think marco was trying to do

this includes ron thompson of wisconsin and the coalition is chaired by ralph reed, who opened the events is an hour and 15 minutes. >> the fantasy surrounded by a sea of reality introduces some reality to washington dc today as many of the activists in this room head to capitol hill to meet with their members and senators on irs reform which i think you will agree we are in desperate need of after these recent scandals. the institution of marriage and immigration reform as well. our first speaker at today's launch is a man who you do not need to lobby on your convictions because he already has them in his heart. there is nobody in washington today who stands more firmly with our principles in our next speaker. he is the third of five children. he grew up in lake jackson, texas. he attended baylor university where he received his bachelor of arts degree and his m.d. at duke medical school was earned. i believe he is the only ophthalmologists serving in the congress. certainly the only one serving in the u.s. senate. i do not know about you. but i look forward to the day when there are mo

i want to thank my friend, ralph reed, for the opportunity to speak and all of you for being here. ,now following up on a good no breakfast is a halt -- of hard act to follow but i am going to do the best i can this morning. i know we have some texans in the audience this morning. [applause] it is good to see you. the temperature is cooler here than in texas today, but we're glad you all here. i like to spend a couple of minutes with you to talk about something i believe that lies at the very heart of our nation's greatness and that is the american family. as a senator, i have the honor of serving 26 million people in the united states senate, but as a husband and father, i know that the strength i derive from my constituents comes from my family. my two daughters and my wife of 33 years. families have been a source of perpetual strength for all of us. they provide the love in the social cohesion which absolutely is necessary to produce the next generation of american leaders, and in the maintaining america as an exceptional nation on the world stage. families create strong citizens