Free Republic

A gay conservative group and some Tea Party leaders are campaigning to keep social issues off the Republican agenda. In a letter to be released Monday, the group GOProud and leaders from groups like the Tea Party Patriots and the New American Patriots, will urge Republicans in the House and Senate to keep their focus on shrinking the government. "On behalf of limited-government conservatives everywhere, we write to urge you and your colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects the principles of the Tea Party movement," they write to presumptive House Speaker...

Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican. Two days after failing to secure another term, Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee considers leaving the Republican Party. Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat. "I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference....