Posted on 03/06/2008 9:56:03 PM PST by kingattax
Evangelicals sent a strong message in Tuesday's Republican primaries in Texas and Ohio by voting overwhelmingly for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, while almost every other Republican demographic group chose Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), exit polls show.
This was despite the fact McCain had already been dubbed the "presumptive nominee" of the Republican Party by the national media and political pundits. As predicted, Huckabee was soundly defeated in all four of Tuesday's primaries and caucuses and subsequently withdrew from the race.
Some analysts say that if McCain expects to capture evangelical vote in November, he must tailor his approach toward conservatives.
Exit polls provided by MSNBC reveal that the most devout Christians voted for Huckabee in large numbers. In Texas, for example, 60 percent of Christians who attend church more than once a week voted for Huckabee, while only 33 percent voted for McCain. In Ohio, 54 percent of church-goers voted for Huckabee compared with 45 percent who voted for McCain.
"McCain can get that vote in November but he is going to have to work for it," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council told Cybercast News Service." It would be a mistake to assume the conservative vote is just going to gravitate to the Republican nominee."
Perkins of the Family Research Council told Cybercast New Service that McCain must be more proactive in reaching out to conservatives if he expects evangelicals to come out to vote for him in November. "He already has the voting record to back up his claim to be a conservative," Perkins said, "But he has never led on evangelical issues. He is going to have to lead if he wants to get the socially conservative vote."
Perkins said McCain must convince conservatives that their issues are important to him and that he will advance them as president. "Really, it just depends on him, whether he moves towards them and communicate to conservatives that he really cares about them," said Perkins.
Keith Appel, senior vice president of Creative Response Concepts Public Relations, told Cybercast News Service that the exit poll results should tell McCain he must "actively pursue social conservatives. I have a feeling in the coming months he is going to make a substantial outreach to all types of conservatives, and if he does actively run on a commitment to conservative principles, I think he will find enthusiast evangelical support," Appel said.
Scott Skeeter, the director of survey research at the Pew Research Center, told Cybercast News Service that evangelicals will prefer McCain to the Democratic candidate. "It does not appear that McCain is unacceptable to conservative voters. When you offer him to evangelicals against the Democrats, they don't have trouble voting for him rather than Obama," said Keeter. "The real question is, how much enthusiasm is there for John McCain? He needs to stress the things that connect him to that constituency"
The MSNBC exit poll also substantiated the link between evangelical, churchgoing Christians and people who consider themselves to be "very conservative." People who considered themselves to be "very conservative" were the only other group, aside from evangelicals, who voted for Huckabee in significant numbers in Tuesday's contests.
In Texas, 50 percent Republican voters chose the former Baptist minister compared with 38 who voted for McCain; in Ohio, 51 percent of Republicans chose Huckabee compared with 41 percent who voted for McCain.
McCain has no use for Evangelicals or any conservative regardless of church affiliation. So lets just call then all social conservatives.
In addition McCain has no use tax reform conservatieves, spending conservatives, seal the border conservatives......
How in the hell did this guy win the nom?!?
I vote for Bush also.....now conservatives have a two front war. I wonder if Gore or Kerry had won, would we have a strong conservative GOP now?
It’s a tax increase that Americans don’t pay, and provides protections we benefit from. If we used the money from such a tariff to lower domestic taxes, it is effectively offshoring the tax burden.
And I say, good! They offshore our industries and factories and jobs, let them offshore the tax burden as well. It is entirely appropriate to this new global economy. Foreigners who benefit from doing business in America get to pay their fair share of the cost of running the country - who could be opposed to that?
I find it staggeringly difficult to believe that the state of New York actively prohibits you from voting for conservatives downticket, while simultaneously either voting third party (as many FReepers routinely elect to do) or else leaving the top space blank altogether.
It may very well be, of course, that you do not find either of these alternatives preferable ones, for whatever reason(s). Your call, certainly; the only individual to whom you are in any way obliged, insofar as justifying your own ballot, is yourself.
What the more stridently ugly Team Juan partisans desperately need to come to grips with, here, is this: the exact same thing applies to each and every one of we dissenters to sour, red-faced Mr. Mexico, as well.
This is, as JimRob continually reminds everyone, a conservative board; not a de facto "Republican" one. No one here is in any way obligated to vote for, support, or even speak respectfully of any candidate the likes of Juan McCain, whether he's running with a large capital "R" after his name or otherwise.
Done, and done. ;)
well, we had 8 years of clinton and we ended up with Bush, the compassionate ‘conservative.’
No true conservatives are smart enough not to like any of the three. We just like seeing a good cat fight.
1.) ... and this, mind you, is the same puffed-up addlepate of whom his partisans, hereabouts, ceaselessly chirrup the mantra of: "... but... but... national security, darn it!" God help and protect us all.
2.) Evenin'. ;)
1.) "... but... but... national security, darn it!" God help and protect us all.
You said it!
2.) Evenin'. ;)
Back at ya. ;-)
but mccain is a lot more conservative than obama so I will support McCain
Bush is a lot more conservative than gore or kerry so I supported Bush
I would even argue that mcCain is more conservative than Bush, especially when it comes to spending.
I don’t know of any 3rd party except for Ralph Nader. Besides, a 3rd party won’t win and I really don’t want Obama in the WH. If Obama was more conservative than McCain then I would go for obama. This is clearly not the case here!
I don’t believe in a strategy of allowing a democrat to ruin the country in the hope that we’d get a more conservative candidate in 4 years. That doesn’t advance the conservative cause
The only thing that group could agree on is the LOST treaty and Shamnesty. Those are the super-RINOs. The only one missing is Arlen Specter.
And Kyoto or the new version--Lieberman/McCain.
MORE GUN CONTROL: McCAIN-LIEBERMAN FR April '01
Gun Owners of America on McCain's Record.
GUNS AND SCHOOLS: THE POLITICS (McCain tries to grab guns, 1999)
Once our nation's borders have been irrevocably rendered nonexistent -- and, his mush-mouthed insincerities to the contrary aside, that most assuredly IS what Juan McCain will spend every waking moment sweating and straining to do; his word has already been conclusively proved, multiple times throughout the past, to be worth nothing and less than nothing -- no other conservative "issue" will matter any longer. Period. End of sentence. Full stop.
No nation on the face of the planet entire, at any point throughout history, has ever -- ever -- managed to survive, post the unconditional surrender of its own sovereignty... whether by refusing to adequately defend its own borders any longer; or by allowing gargantuan hordes of aliens to sweep in, unopposed, and promptly begin utilizing the ballot box to permanently change things to their own liking, in direct conflict with the desires of their hosts. An additional 40 or 50 Million Hispanic illegals will -- just as their predecessors have been doing for the past thirty years, unalterably and non-stop -- immediately commence to voting the straight leftist ticket, ten times out of every ten, by at least a seven-to-one margin.
If, as you say, you genuinely "don't believe in allowing" any given candidate to "ruin this country"... then: voting for the one visibly champing at the invisible bit to do precisely that inarguably runs contra to your own stated beliefs. I, for one, will never, ever provide even so much as the remotest scintilla of support -- cash, electorally or what-have-you -- to any candidate, of any party, at any time, as homicidally dangerous to this nation's safe, continuing future as Juan McCain.
Others, of course, need to reach their own conclusions, similarly or otherwise; and, doubtless, will do so.
I still don’t see how Obama or Hillary would be better
He's also more conservative than Vincente Fox on the border. None of which is very comforting.
he’s more conservative than Reagan on the border.
... a candidate with whom he gets along so revoltingly well, they virtually seem an old married couple...
... a candidate whose presence on the ticket will allow him to once again gleefully jam a fat, malevolent thumb directly into the eyes of the very conservatives he detests so thoroughly and openly...
... a candidate, finally, who's gonna have one holy hell of a lot of free time on her hands, by the end of next month:
Yessir. I... just... wonder occasionally, is all. ;)
Add me too. But on another thread it’s considered being unfaithful to the military to NOT vote for that lying traitor who is simply a RINO. My DH and I were discussing who to vote for then. Not Obama- if he were assassinated by some moron we would have the R. King riots on every corner. I said I would never vote for a woman president. Write in, I suppose.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.