Key social conservatives secretly meet to stop Romney in Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) -- Representatives for leading social
conservative groups in Iowa held a secret meeting Monday as part of an
effort with one main goal: find and support a Republican presidential
candidate who can stop Mitt Romney in Iowa.

The idea: avoid splintering the conservative vote in the state by
rallying around one GOP rival who could win Iowa's Jan. 3 caucus and
then challenge Romney in New Hampshire and the other early voting states.

Many social conservatives and other religious leaders in the state have
openly labeled the former Massachusetts governor as a "flip-flopper," a
criticism the campaign frequently beats back, while others have seen
Romney's Mormon faith as an issue. And many of them have openly hoped
for someone to emerge as a viable alternative to the former
Massachusetts governor.

One attendee at the meeting earlier this week told CNN they wanted "to
see if they could come to a consensus of who they might endorse."

But the source was skeptical about the impact of Iowa social
conservatives rallying behind one candidate.

"If you want to stop Romney you're probably going to have to have some
organization [and] some money," the source said. "Somebody who's at 5%
or 6% in the polls, and they endorse, I don't think that does any good."

Multiple sources have described to CNN details of the meeting and the
general effort.

The meeting, the group's first, took place in a private office building
in Des Moines on Monday. In attendance were representatives from the
Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, The Family Leader, the group Iowa
Right to Life, and a representative for the Iowa chapter of Concerned
Women for America. Some pastors from prominent Iowa churches also
attended the meeting.

(They should name the group "The Committee of Whores")

The effort seems limited to Iowa, with no apparent outreach to similar
groups in other states.

While the concerns have been voiced before, what appears to be new is
the meeting itself and organizers' hope for like-minded groups to come
together against Romney, at least in Iowa.

Sources say there were about 20 to 25 people present at the meeting and
that another meeting is planned for Monday of next week.

The effort is said to still be in the discussion phase. Participants
were said to have narrowed their focus down to four candidates:
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former House
Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

*(Bachmann? Perry? Santorum? Crazy losers. Gingrich? Mr. Family Values?)*



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