October 24, 2007
Column #1,365
Values Voters Choose Huckabee
by Mike McManus
WASHINGTON - Last weekend more than 2,000 people attended a Voter Values
Summit hosted by the Family Research Council. All Presidential
candidates were invited but only Republicans showed up, nine of them.
Two weeks ago FRC President Tony Perkins predicted that one or two
candidates "will emerge with a strong consensus of support from social
conservatives." In this column, I asked, "Could that propel them past
Giuliani, derailing his candidacy?" My answer: "Possibly, but if only
one emerges triumphant."
To my surprise that is exactly what happened. Of those who heard every
candidate speak, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won a decisive
51 percent of the vote - more than all other candidates combined! That
was five times the 10 percent who voted for Romney, for example. Rudy
Giuliani won a thin 6 percent, and Fred Thompson, 8 percent.
Giuliani won the respect of the group by showing up, but changed no
minds. He did pledge to appoint Supreme Court justices like John Roberts
and Antonin Scalia and noted as mayor that he increased adoptions by 133
percent while decreasing abortions by 18 percent. He avoided commenting
on marriage because he favors gay civil unions. However, in national
polls he leads Thompson and McCain by 8-11 percent.
Values Voters were not swayed by poll numbers but demonstrated "a strong
desire to stick with principles, rather than take a pragmatic view of
the candidates," said Tom Minnery, editor of Citizen magazine of Focus
on the Family. Had they been pragmatic, they would have chosen Thompson
or Romney who are second and third in the polls.
Huckabee's opening words resonated with attendees when he said he
appeared "not as one who comes to you, but as one who comes from you."
Boisterous cheering erupted.
He demonstrated toughness in the need to stand up to "Islamofascism:
This threat is one we cannot negotiate, accommodate, or placate. It is
one which we must eradicate" because it is an ideology "committed to our
destruction."
On a broader security concern, he charged, "A nation that cannot feed
itself, that cannot fuel itself, and that fight for itself with its own
weapons which it manufactures itself is a nation no longer free."
Why is America importing so many workers? "Because for the last 35
years we have aborted more than 1 million people" a year. He supported a
Constitutional Amendment to limit marriage to a man and a woman. He said
he sings from his heart, and doesn't merely lip-synch the lyrics." He
held to the "non-negotiables of life and marriage."
In a press conference I asked if he would support replacing No Fault
Divorce in cases involving children with "Mutual Consent," halting a
practice in which four of five divorces are forced by one spouse on
another. "Absolutely," he replied.
By contrast, Fred Thompson assured the Values Voters that in his first
hour as President he would pray for guidance. It sounded like
lip-synching from a man who doesn't attend church.
The FRC Straw Poll allowed anyone who paid $1 to register with FRC
Action to vote on line, even if they had not heard the candidates in
person. Of 5,775 people voting in the straw poll, most of whom were not
present, Romney won 1,595 votes or 27.6 percent, slightly edging out
Huckabee who garnered 1,565 votes, 27.1 percent.
By that measure, the process surfaced two candidates worth considering.
However, Romney supporters across the country were told how to register
and vote for their candidate. Opponents called it ballot stuffing. Of
course, any candidate could do the same. Romney used a teleprompter to
give a flawless speech, in which he pledged support for a Marriage
Amendment and said he'd be a pro-life candidate "just like I was a
pro-life governor."
That's not much of a recommendation. After his alleged conversion to a
pro-life stance, he appointed gay judges to courts. Many evangelicals
are troubled by his Mormon faith, yet are impressed with his solid
marriage to one woman (unlike Giuliani, Thompson or McCain). He sat on
the Marriott board, when it voted to pump hard-core porn into hotel
rooms, yet told delegates, he had a "one strike and you're out policy
on pornography."
More lip-synching.
To the attendees, who spent hundreds of dollars to travel to Washington
to hear every candidate, Huckabee was the clear winner. That may move
him into the top tier of candidates.
While Huckabee can claim a clear victory, it won't help unless he can
raises millions to challenge Giuliani, Romney and Thompson.
|
|
Since 1981...
2000+ Columns |
|
CURRENT ARTICLE |
|
Febrary 9,
2022: Column 2113: My Farewell Column: Happy Valentine's Week |
|
Recent Columns |
|
Writing Columns About
Marriage |
|
Will Abortion Be Made Illegal? |
|
Restore Voting Rights to Ex-Felons |
|
Progress in Black-White Relations |
|
Marriage Is
Disappearing |
|
Catholic Priest Celibacy Should Be Optional |
|
Blacks Must Consider Marriage |
|
The Need to End Catholic Priest Celibacy |
|
More Lessons For Life |
|
Lessons For Life |
|
Rebuilding Marriage in America |
|
How To Reduce Drunk Driving Deaths |
|
The Value of Couples Praying Together |
|
A Case for Pro-Life
|
|
End
The Death Penalty? |
|
Christian Choices Matter |
|
The Biblical Sexual Standard |
|
The Addictive Nature of Pornography |
|
Protecting Girls from Suicide |
|
The Worst Valentine:
Cohabitation |
|
Pornography: A Public Health Hazard |
|
Sextortion Kills Teens |
|
Cohabitation: A Risky Business |
|
Recent Searches |
|
gun control,
euthanasia,
cohabitation,
sexting,
sextortion,
alcoholism,
prayer,
guns,
same sex marriage,
abortion,
depression,
islam,
divorce,
polygamy,
religious liberty,
health care,
pornography,
teen sex,
abortion and infanticide,
Roe+v+Wade,
supreme court,
marriage,
movies,
violence,
celibacy,
living+together,
cohabitation,
ethics+and+religion,
pornography,
adultery,
divorce,
saving+marriages |
|