Here at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's "Road to the Majority Conference," you know the audience agrees with a point a speaker is making if there are shouts of "amen." They're here, as the Coalition's chairman Ralph Reed says, not to learn how "to preach to the choir," but rather make the message spread. They're here to fight against the idea that the message of a shrinking faith-based coalition and acceptance of secular ideas such as gay marriage are both inevitable.

Even though there are common refrains of "we are not the fringe" not all the speakers are on the same page. Take Michele Bachmann. In her speech, she took pains to mention how giving undocumented immigrants amnesty will hurt our poorest and tax the system. Jeb Bush said just about the opposite, citing how fertility rates in the country have dropped, and that immigrants can be an engine of growth.

Here's a running thread of some ideas and positions taken at the conference. We'll keep updating as they come in:

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. at the Conservative Political Action Conference, March 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

On immigration:

This would be one thing the average illegal alien that comes into the United States, the average age is 34 years old, the average education level is about 10th grade. That's not to demean on the person coming in to the United States for a lack of education. But it isn't prudent to think that if you are 34 years of age with a 10th grade education or less, it's tough to believe that that person will be paying more in taxes than they will be receiving in benefits.

The people who will suffer the most, if we move forward, in my mind, with what is a very foolish action the people who will hurt the most are Hispanics and African Americans who already suffer very high levels of unemployment.

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Overheard at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's 'Road to Majority Conference'