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 Saturday, October 20, 2007
Kudos to Mike Huckabee who gave an excellent speech and was able to win the local straw poll. Congrats to Mitt for winning the overall straw poll with online savvy.
Couple of thoughts here:
(note: legend got cut off on the graphic. All you need to know is this. Huckabee is the small almost non-existent line at the bottom of the graph.  Labels: frc, huckabee, mike huckabee, mitt romney, straw polls Which of the following candidates for Presidentwould you most likely to vote for?
Onsite Straw Poll Results
Another endorsement for Romney:
DR. JOHN WILLKE, A FOUNDER OF THE PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT NATIONALLY & INTERNATIONALLY, ENDORSES GOV. ROMNEY Boston, MA – Today, Dr. John Willke, a founder of the Pro Life Movement, endorsed Governor Mitt Romney and his campaign for our nation's highest office. Dr. Willke is a leading voice within the pro-life community and will be an important surrogate for Governor Romney's pro-life and pro-family agenda. "Unlike other candidates who only speak to the importance of confronting the major social issues of the day, Governor Romney has a record of action in defending life. Every decision he made as Governor was on the side of life. I know he will be the strong pro-life President we need in the White House," said Dr. Willke. "Governor Romney is the only candidate who can lead our pro-life and pro-family conservative movement to victory in 2008." Welcoming Dr. Willke's announcement, Governor Romney said, "I am proud to have the support of a man who has meant so much to the pro-life movement in our country. He knows how important it is to have someone in Washington who will actively promote pro-life policies. Policies that include more than appointing judges who will follow the law but also opposing taxpayer funded abortion and partial birth abortion. I look forward to working with Dr. Willke and welcome him to Romney for President." Background On Dr. John Willke: Dr. John Willke, Often Referred To As The Father Of The Pro-Life Movement, Served For 10 Years As President Of The National Right To Life Committee And Helped Found The Organization. A physician by trade, Dr. Willke serves as President of the Life Issues Institute, Inc., and President of the International Right to Life Federation. Dr. Willke had a daily radio program that was carried on over 300 radio stations for 20 years. His one-minute radio comments, entitled "Life Jewels," were carried on over 750 stations in English and 300 more in Spanish. Dr. Wilkie has written eleven books, is a lecturer and a frequent television and radio show guest. His works have been published in 32 languages, and he and his wife Barbara have lectured in 76 countries. Friday, October 19, 2007
Video coming shortly.
Mitt's performance at the FRC Conference was phenomenal. The crowd was jazzed. The speech was spot on and the aftermath is very positive. But don't take my word for it. Erick at RedState: This guy sounds like he's already the nominee. It's like the other candidates were here to sell themselves and Romney has taken the difference approach -- presume he's already been sold to them and show them what they've gotten. It's not a bad approach for him. It works.Byron at the Corner: After Romney's speech, a journalist sitting nearby said that it was all very professional. And indeed it was; Romney had a bunch of issues to touch, checked them all, and said goodnight. Very professionally done. Newt is up here and kills as usual. One thing I defiantly agree with: "Americans are sick of Red vs. Blue fighting. They want Red, White and Blue."
He is by far one of the best speakers we have in the conservative movement. His only drawback is that he holds so much baggage right now. Regardless, we can't afford to ignore this man. He has the ideas. My reaction so far?
A few thoughts about the FRC, not actually being there myself:
First, the continued accumulation of prominent social-conservative leaders is impressive. As I said last week, after noting the implicit rejection of Huckabee by Gary Bauer and Tony Perkins: In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a general consensus among social conservative leaders after the Values Voter Summit next week.Sounds almost prescient now, don't you think? While I don't have the power to see the future (or any insider knowledge from the campaign), it very much seems to be playing out that way. The list of prominent social conservative leaders who have openly endorsed Romney is growing by the day. Second, Romney’s speech at the FRC tonight has been getting previewed a little. It’s topic? Families. I think this is a good topic for Romney. His record in Massachusetts is beyond reproach in fighting against re-definition of marriage. The topic also speaks to a broader array of issues than abortion alone does. Marriage and family not only serve as the social basis of society, but in our modern society, serves as the distinguishing economic difference between the poor and the wealthy. Thus, in a social sense, Romney can talk about values and problems like abortion that often stem from poor familial relationships (either between the two parents or between parents and children in the case of minor pregnancies). The topic of families also allows Romney to talk about the best way to lift people out of poverty; not by entitlement programs, but by increasing marriages and decreasing divorces. Of course highlighting the topic that distinguishes the personal lives of the candidates is not a bad one either. Third, it is also important to remember that Romney is not just the candidate of choice for social conservative leaders because of his stance on traditional values issues. Last week, the issue that turned off Bauer and Perkins from Huckabee was Huckabee’s statements about Iran. This is a far cry from abortion or gay marriage. Likewise, McCain and Thompson get downgraded because of their stance on free speech in McCain-Feingold(-Thompson?). Romney’s entire platform is what these people are endorsing. They like his stance on Iran. They like his stance on the first amendment. I wouldn’t be surprised if he also got points for his stance on immigration or economic issues. Labels: family values Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Fred Thompson, and Ron Paul have all spoken. More on this later. Well, almost all of them. Lunch is over and the crowds are starting to come in. Before we start up again I wanted to give a quick not to our fellow blogging comrades in the order I ran into them today:
This flier is making its way around the FRC conference.
 Update: No endorsement from Brownback.
First up: Mr. John "Let the chips fall where the may" McCain. McCain is earnest. Earnest but wrong. And that is his main problem. He just can't quite get it right as far as conservatives go. The crowd is attentive but suspicious in my view. Everyone here has a great respect for this American Hero... they just don't line up, eye to eye. One item of note here. Fred has gone negative. In a flier handed out at the entrance Fred attacks Rudy and Romney for their pro-life credentials.  UPDATE: here's another flier make the rounds: Quick layout at the Hilton: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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