Mitt Romney | 1496 |
Mike Huckabee | 1077 |
Ron Paul | 840 |
Fred Thompson | 487 |
Sam Brownback | 271 |
Duncan Hunter | 86 |
Tom Tancredo | 68 |
John McCain | 51 |
Rudy Giuliani | 47 |
Although unscientific some things can be inferred from these and the above numbers. First, Rudy didn't make a very strong impression, at least not as the first choice, of those attending and didn't feel it worth any effort to stuff the results offsite. The same can be said for McCain. Second, Romney and Huckabee, at the least, deserve recognition for out stuffing Ron Paul on this poll. Third, there is nothing here that the Fred Heads can use for bragging points over their competition for the title of either "the social conservative" candidate or even "the southern social conservative" candidate. He was beaten on and offsite by both Romney and Huckabee. So much for Fred as an internet powerhouse; Romney tripled his take and Huckabee doubled it. A good showing at this media hyped conference would doubtless have been touted by Fred Heads as evidence their man was THE option to Rudy. Instead they'll have to listen to Romney and Huckabee both make such claims. And, since Mitt has money to spin his case and Mike doesn't, Romney's spin will win out. For better or worse, this is the most hyped straw poll since Iowa and Mitt got a lot of mileage there. This will move him up somewhat, and mainly from the undecideds and Fred leaners. Huckabee will use this to keep his hopeless campaign alive longer, again mainly at Fred's expense.
What makes you think these people are all conservative? First, these people are obviously pretentious. They are the only voters with values? Sure. Second, many of these people are theocrats not conservatives. Although some of the theocrat's positions are shared with conservatives like pro-life and pro-marriage, many are not. Many theocrats are basically socialist as long as the government is spending the money on things that support their religious values. Many theocrats' religious views cause them to support things like open borders and citizenship for illegal aliens. Many theocrats are nanny staters as long as the state is forcing people to abide by their "values".
This particular orginization obviously supports Huckabee. Good for Mike. However, supporting a big government, big spending, open borders Republican does not make them conservative.