2012 GOP hopefuls set to address Abramoff associate Ralph Reed's conference

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Pictured: Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, David Safavian and former Congressman Bob Ney enjoy a leisurely golf outing in Scotland.

They just keep coming back. After a few years in obscurity following a scandal, it looks like Pat Robertson's boy wonder is back at it:

Add another pre-campaign stump to GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann's schedule. Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, tweeted news Monday of Bachmann's confirmed attendance at the group's conference and strategy briefing to be held in D.C. on June 3-4.
Bachmann will address the conference, billed as a "top destination for conservative activists who want to learn how to beat the Left," according to the Faith and Freedom Coalition website. The third-term congresswoman is expected to announce a presidential exploratory committee in June, the first official step toward a presidential candidacy.

FFC is described as an organization committed to "mobilizing people of faith and like-minded individuals to be effective citizens." Five presidential candidates have also confirmed attendance for the conference, according to JoAnne Reed, Director of Operations for the group and wife of Ralph Reed. An announcement for the final speaker's list and program, including the mystery attendees, is expected in the next two weeks.
Invited speakers include a who's who of potential GOP presidential candidates like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Breakout sessions cover topics from "The Future of the Tea Party Movement" and "Keys to Victory in 2012," to "Combating Liberal Media Bias."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/29/bachmann-too-address-ralph-reeds-faith/

And for those who don't remember Casino Ralph:

To recap, Ralph Reed worked for team Abramoff by mobilizing Christians opposed to gambling to shutter casinos. The only hitch: Reed was usually paid by other casinos who had a financial interest in eliminating their competitors. Therefore, Abramoff needed to find a way to make Reed comfortable, and to protect him against critics and the likely fury of his own Christian followers--who might have been upset if they had discovered that Reed was being paid by gamblers to do their bidding. The solution: Abramoff laundered the Indian casino payoffs to Reed by routing them through other organizations, including Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and a phony "think tank" in Rehoboth Beach, MD, run by a life guard and a yoga instructor who were friends of Abramoff's pal, Mike Scanlon.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/09/the-deceptions-of-ralph-reed/63568/