Posted on 08/04/2007 9:11:03 PM PDT by monomaniac
A week ahead of the Republican straw poll, evangelicals in Iowa find themselves with no sure presidential pick.
Some believe the GOP presidential candidates have strayed from the moral issues that are essential to the Republican party platform, including abortion and same-sex marriage.
"The whole faith and values conversation is falling by the wayside," said the Rev. Mike Rose, senior pastor of First Federated Church in Des Moines, according to The Des Moines Register. "The country as a whole feels there are issues more pressing at this time. The war with Iraq is on everybody's mind. Right to life and gay marriage, which are important to Christian conservatives, aren't as big with the general public."
According to a poll by Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of all registered voters marked abortion as very important in their vote for president. Abortion was also a low priority among Republican-leaning voters (43 percent).
The top-tier issues American voters ranked are the economy and the war in Iraq.
Nevertheless, Americans are less likely to support a candidate who is pro-abortion rights (39 percent) or pro-gay rights (40 percent), a Time magazine poll found.
Congregants at Central Assembly of God Church in Des Moines are turned off by candidates who are ignoring abortion and same-sex marriage issues and are concerned that Republicans, who all describe themselves as Christian, will be distracted by Iraq and national-security issues.
"Morality is the No. 1 issue with me," said Ken Rogers, 62, of Central Assembly of God Church, according to the Register.
As more conservative Christians raise questions, GOP candidates will be forced to go into detail about how they feel about moral issues, Mary Tiffany, communications director for the Republican Party of Iowa, told the local newspaper.
"[T]hese issues are the heart and soul of the Republican Party platform, so we can't stray away," she said.
So far, evangelicals in Iowa are not rallying around top-tier GOP presidential hopefuls, citing "bad decisions" made by several candidates, including Rudolph Giuliani's three marriages.
While the evangelicals believe in God's ability to transform a person's life, the Rev. Jeff Bradley, pastor of Central Assembly of God Church, said, "we can't discount the decisions a person has made all through his life. Decisions made that aren't made in line with God's laws are bad decisions."
In a recent AP poll, Americans were given the choice to back any of the leading Republican front-runners currently up for the presidential bid, but nearly one quarter were not confident with the current list of candidates.
The recent poll reflects the strong evangelical constituency inside the party, and how the current hopefuls are not necessarily meeting their expectations. The poll may reveal an opening for current underdogs such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback to move forward.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is expected to finish strong in the Aug. 11 straw poll. He's the one top-tier GOP candidate that best aligns with conservative Christian values, some evangelicals say. But they have not overlooked his affiliation with Mormonism, which is a problem for some.
Lesser known GOP candidates, including Brownback and Huckabee, recently made serious efforts to reach out to Christians in Iowa. Aware of many undecided voters, they campaigned to pull in more of the evangelical and Christian vote before the straw poll, which could help boost their campaigns.
Brownback expressed confidence, saying his "pro-life/whole-life message" is resonating with evangelicals in the state.
Both Brownback and Huckabee oppose abortion and same-sex "marriage."
Some evangelicals, however, are wary of backing a second-tier candidate.
"People place their money on the horse they think will win," said Chuck Hurley, director of the Iowa Family Policy Center, told The Des Moines Register. "So the (straw poll) and primary are the places for people to stand on principle and work hard for a second- or third-tier candidate. They may become a first-tier candidate when their campaign catches fire."
In the meantime, Rose of First Federated Church reminds evangelical voters, "People need to remember we're not trying to elect a pastor, we're trying to elect a president."
Anyone who would sell out their religious principles because they think someone “could win” or believer the Murdoch media that a certain metrosexual greasy politician with a whore for a wife is “tough” deserves to be called out as a sap.
What is this...a little common sense?
Senator Fred Thompson is by far the most conservative of the top three GOP candidates (Romney and Giuliani being the other two). John McCain is finished, kaput, toast, yesterday’s newspaper. Conservatives (including Evangelicals) should back Fred Thompson, or get used to the term “Madam President” IMHO.
When the poll shows 43% of voters are looking at moral values, perhaps common sense needs to be defined correctly...
Is Ron Paul in line with moral values?
Perhaps, i think Fred is as well.
I agree, and Fred is just fine with both his values and his common sense.
Let me ask you Rudder, is divorce a factor in your opinion of Fred?
For me, Rudy’s litany of divorces doesn’t speak well of the man, Fred had one so I can’t just say “It’s fine” but he does seem very principled in his positions.
Fred’s the most conservative? NOT! Family values? Definitely NOT! Fred will NOT get my vote (and keep the Evangelicals out of it. They’re a cult).
A cult...very nice.
“keep the Evangelicals out of it”...spoken like a true liberal.
Fred’s one divorce and the on-going good relation speaks well for him, far better than Rudy’s record. My personal opinion is that faulting a candidate for one divorce is expecting perfection. How many Presidents have had one divorce?
Please fill me in on why Fred Thompson doesn’t meet your standards. I really am curious.
As if anyone else did.
This is sure breathtaking information.
Hmmm... doesn't look like the Dems have a sure pick either. Who would a thunk it?
How many Presidents have had one divorce?
Only one. It seems Republicans divorce alot. I guess it is just one of our parties negatives. One divorce will not kill Fred if everything else is good.
Gods in charge.
It worked with Reagan.
God will vote for Fred.
“I agree, and Fred is just fine with both his values and his common sense.”
I think if Fred officially enters the race, he’ll run away with both the Southern vote, and the evangelical vote at large.
Though most people overlook him, I believe that Duncan Hunter best represents my faith as a Christian. Of the candidates, he probably has done the most supporting Christianity and Christian valves. Not only has he introduced the Right to Life Act which would provide protection to all human life from the moment of conception but also he has introduced amendments which have prevented the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross from being taken down by the ACLU and have supported military chaplains in their ability to pray in Jesus’ name. In addition, he is the only candidate who has promised as President to nominate only pro-life judges. Duncan Hunter also claims to be born-again and attends a Southern Baptist church regularly.
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