The FFYR Convention in February is proud to present a star-studded lineup of some of the right’s biggest celebrities including: Grover Norquist, president of Americans For Tax Reform; Lt. Colonel Allen West, recent adviser to the Afghan Army; Rita Cosby, former FOX News TV anchor; George P. Bush, son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; Tucker Carlson, MSNBC’s Senior Campaign Correspondent; Pete Coors, Coors Brewing Company; and George Allen, former Virginia Governor.
Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at both the federal, state and local levels. ATR organizes the TAXPAYER PROTECTION PLEDGE, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose all tax increases. To date, President George W. Bush, 193 House members, and 41 Senators have taken the pledge. On the state level, 7 governors and 1,221 state legislators have taken the pledge.
In the words of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist is “the person who I regard as the most innovative, creative, courageous and entrepreneurial leader of the anti-tax efforts and of conservative grassroots activism in America . . . He has truly made a difference and truly changed American history.”
Mr. Norquist holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, both from Harvard University. He and his wife, Samah, live in Washington, DC.
Lt. Colonel Allen West
LTC Allen West has lived his life in service to America. In 2004, when it was time to retire from more than twenty years of service in the US Army, he brought his wife and two young daughters to Broward County, Florida, where he taught high school. He then returned to Afghanistan as an advisor to the Afghan army, an assignment he finished in November 2007.
In his Army career, Col. West has been honored many times, including a Bronze Star, three Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals (one with Valor), and a Valorous Unit Award. He received his valor award as a Captain in Desert Shield/Storm, was the US Army ROTC Instructor of the Year in 1993, and was a Distinguished Honor Graduate III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas Air Assault School.
He is currently running for US Congress. He has a wife, Angela, and two daughters, Aubrey and Austen.
Rita Cosby
Rita Cosby is a veteran TV news presenter and senior correspondent who has worked at MSNBC and Fox News.
While at FOX News she hosted both The Big Story Weekend Edition and FOX News Live with Rita Cosby. At MSNBC she hosted a daily evening news program.
She is known for her exclusive interviews with top newsmakers, including her historic back-to-back interviews with former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Cosby has also interviewed former Presidents Ford, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton.
Cosby has received three Emmy Awards, the Jack Anderson Award for investigative excellence, the Matrix Award, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
George P. Bush
George P. Bush, son of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Nephew of President George W. Bush, and Grandson of President George H.W. Bush, is a Partner of Pennybacker Capital, LLC. His primary responsibilities include preparation and negotiation of transaction documents consistent with the investment strategy, sourcing and providing analysis of potential investment opportunities, and coordinating the Fund’s investor relations functions.
Prior to joining Pennybacker Capital, LLC, Mr. Bush practiced corporate law in the Dallas office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP where he conducted legal due diligence and prepared transaction documents in connection with mergers, acquisitions, offerings, credit facilities, securities filings and divestitures for private equity clients and publicly held corporations. After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Sidney A. Fitzwater, a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas.
Mr. Bush received his undergraduate degree from Rice University and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law. He is a member of the Texas Bar Association, ICSC, CCIM, and the Real Estate Council of Austin.
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson is a political news correspondent and commentator who formerly co-hosted CNN’s Crossfire and MSNBC’s Tucker. Currently, Carlson is listed as MSNBC’s Senior Campaign Correspondent, and appeared regularly on Verdict with Dan Abrams as a panelist in political discussions.
Carlson began his journalism career as a member of the editorial staff of Policy Review, a national conservative journal then published by the Heritage Foundation (and since acquired by the Hoover Institution). He later worked as a reporter at the regionally influential Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Carlson most recently served as host of the MSNBC program Tucker. Carlson joined MSNBC in February 2005 from CNN, where he was the youngest anchor in the history of the network. While with CNN, he hosted a number of shows and specials, including the network’s political debate program, Crossfire. During the same period, Carlson also hosted a weekly public affairs program on PBS, Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered. As a magazine and newspaper journalist, Carlson has reported from around the world, most recently from Iraq and Lebanon. He has been a columnist for New York and Reader’s Digest. He currently writes for Esquire, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic and The New York Times Magazine and The Daily Beast.
Pete Coors
Pete Coors is a businessman and entrepreneur. He currently is the chairman of the Coors Brewing Company in Colorado and vice chairman of its parent company, Molson Coors Brewing Company. Coors is slated to become the first Chairman of a combined MillerCoors joint operating venture, announced October 9, 2007. Coors is also a partial owner of the Colorado Rockies, a Major League Baseball team in the National League West division. In October 2006, Coors was appointed by the University of Colorado Hospital Board of Directors as chairman of the board for the new University of Colorado Hospital Foundation.
George Allen
George F. Allen served the Commonwealth of Virginia for over twenty years, as Governor, in both bodies of the United States Congress, and as a delegate holding Thomas Jefferson’s seat in the Virginia General Assembly.
Sworn in as Governor in 1994 George Allen brought sweeping reform that made Virginia a national model in economic development, public safety, education accountability, and creative government. As a self-described “Common Sense Jeffersonian Conservative,” Allen pushed through cutting edge reform with bipartisan support in a legislature held by the opposition.
Currently, George Allen is President of George Allen Strategies, LLC, and also serves as the Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar for the Young America’s Foundation.
Joe Scarborough
Former Congressman Joe Scarborough (R-Fla.) serves as host of “Morning Joe,” weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET on MSNBC. “Morning Joe” features interviews with top newsmakers and politicians and in-depth analysis of the day’s biggest stories.
Previously, Scarborough hosted “Scarborough Country,” in primetime on MSNBC.
