Weigel

Erick Erickson and ThinkProgress, Brothers in the Foxhole

The busy trackers of ThinkProgress spent part of CPAC asking the key players in the most interesting intra-conservative fight – the proxy clash of civilizations between ACU board members Grover Norquist and Suhail Khan on one side and the “anti-Jihadists” on the other. On Thursday, ThinkProgress talked to Norquist about the contretemps:

When I was just in Florida, the talk in Florida was that Allen West was the new Alan Grayson. He’s been doing all this talk about Muslims… the danger for West is that he alienates all the independents he needs in the general.

Later, they asked Pam Geller about Norquist:

This is the problem with CPAC, that it’s been corrupted and it’s been compromised by the Muslim brotherhood.

And today, operation Poke the Hornet’s Nest succeeds, with Erick Erickson of RedState unloading on Norquist.

The source of Grover Norquist’s power comes from two things: (1) Americans for Tax Reform’s Tax Pledge, which could easily be duplicated by an organization not headed by someone who picked up checks written by a man serving 23 years in jail for financing jihad activities ; and (2) the Wednesday morning meeting in which tons of conservative groups participate… I suggest a new Wednesday morning meeting of conservatives — one that combines the fiscal conservative organizations that constantly see their legs cut out from under them when Grover sides with UPS and the unions against FedEx, the national security organizations that continue to be concerned about Grover Norquist’s ties to possible jihadists , and the social conservative organizations Grover Norquist would like to purge from the movement.

Very amusing, but I’m not sure where it goes. Erickson lives in Georgia. Norquist lives in D.C. Many, many conservatives have tried to bring down Norquist over his associations, and end up getting distracted and doing something else while Norquist keeps bringing most elements of the conservative movement to the same table.

Suhail Khan is in a different position; he’s on the ACU’s board, but he’s not as connected to every part of the movement. This helps explain why he was constantly being asked at his events about the Muslim Brotherhood. Javier Manjarres and I were at one of the meetings; here’s his video. (The hum is an overactive air conditioner that made my video even worse.)