Posted on 09/22/2007 8:40:28 PM PDT by monomaniac
By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman
September 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) -The four top Republican presidential candidates skipped Monday's "Values Voter" debate, leaving the forum to several second-tier candidates who lag at single digit levels of poll support.
The debate, which was held at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, intended to stimulate debate over religious and moral issues, including those pertaining to human life and family.
Rudolph Giuliani, who shares front runner status with Fred Thompson, claimed he had not been present at the debate because he "didn't know about it", although he was in the Fort Lauderdale area during the debate, and was contradicting a previous statement by his campaign that his schedule wouldn't permit it. Giuliani has a history of supporting abortion and homosexual "rights" during his political career as mayor of New York City (see previous LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07051408.html).
Debate organizers left four empty lecterns to represent the four top candidates who failed to attend the debate: Rudolph Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Fred Thompson. All four have a history of varying levels of inconsistency on human life issues.
The participants included pro-life candidates Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, Alan Keyes, Tom Tancredo, and Duncan Hunter. Keyes entered the race very recently, complaining that fundamental values were not being adequately represented (see recent LifeSiteNews coverage at http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/sep/07091711.html).
The candidates generally agreed in their endorsement of a pro-life and pro-family agenda, although only four (Keyes, Huckabee, and Hunter) stated their support for an amendment banning homosexual marriage, while Ron Paul claimed that marriage should not be a legal matter at all, and should be left to churches.
Regarding abortion, Alan Keyes said that the fight against terrorism is no different than the "fight against the killing of innocents in the womb. The killing is the same. The principle is the same."
At the conclusion of the debate, Mike Huckabee won the "value voters" straw poll, provoking the New York Times to speculate "whether Christian conservative leaders and voters might be able to coalesce around him as a longshot candidate and propel him to the first tier in the Republican race." Notably, Mitt Romney, who has made a strong pitch to "value voters" in the past, received no votes, the lowest count in the poll.
Huckabee would drive away all the swing and independent voters, which is why the Slimes is salivating if he wins the nomination.
Had this debate and the sponsoring organization held any importance I'm sure the major tier candidates would have participated.
Huckabee would drive away all the swing and independent voters, which is why the Slimes is salivating if he wins the nomination.
Actually I think if the Christian conservative leaders gave their wink wink, nod nod to Huckabee you'd see his numbers go up at the expense of Thompson and Romney which would make Rudy's road to the nomination that much easier.
How many of these dog and pony shows have there been now? Mostly they are put on so's the "putter on-ers' can have their 15 minutes of fame on TV.
For the most part, they make the candidates look, as Fred alluded, like trained seals all lined up waiting for the next fish to be thrown to them.
We have new avenues for campaigning now - the Internet, the blogs, YouTube, cable, web sites....along with person appearance. People can only spread themselves in so many directions. Fred reaches more people in one talk that gets videoed and out on YouTube, for example, then in any of the kindergarten exercises of a slew of candidates all lined up on stage waiting to spill their canned 'answers' -
Fred knows he'll get short shrift from the MSM and the other regulated venues. He's end running them, using the new tools available - and it's driving them mad. They can't get a handle on him.
Fred reaches more people in one talk that gets videoed and out on YouTube, for example, then in any of the kindergarten exercises of a slew of candidates all lined up on stage waiting to spill their canned 'answers'Case in point: Fred on "HillaryCare" has over 12,000 hits in only three days.
Yes! And I love his style - like he was in a conversation with us, one on one. And he doesn’t knock Hilary - just her plan - makes it look like the insanity it is.
Somebody tell President Bush to take half of our troops and use them to guard pregnant women...his priorities are all out of whack!
Yeah, right. Amazing how Republican Huckabee won overwhemingly Democrat-controlled Arkansas if he "drives away all the swing and independent voters". Maybe a couple million broke-glass Republicans snuck into the state overnight just to vote for him and then left the following day. Sly devil.
After the corrupt Clintons and Jim Guy Tucker anybody could have been Governor of that state.
Is this the same story that has been posted several times or has there been more than one “values” debates?
Lumbering Fred, always one step ahead : )
Amen to that!
There has been another values debate, in which all the major Democratic candidates made a showing to uphold homoseuxal culture.
What an asinine position to take.
I don't believe government should be in the marriage business. Wills are written by single and married people. That wouldn't change. Shared property can still be divided by courts. Government's involvement in marriages is not necessary.
You mean like we'll always have some "state" willing to entertain and condone the practice of any form of activity (cough, cough, Massachusetts)?
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