Free Republic

Sarah Palin, the hottest name in the Republican Party, took a detour from her book-signing tour Sunday to dine with Billy Graham at his mountaintop home in Montreat."He's followed her career and likes her strong stand on faith," said son Franklin Graham, who was present for the 2 1/2-hour get-together. "Daddy feels God was using her to wake America up."The former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate told Billy Graham about how she came to faith in God as a girl in Bible camp.She quizzed him on the presidents he's known and wanted his take on what the...

A New Grassroots Political Organization Makes Its Mark by Deal W. Hudson    11/06/09 The election results of November 2 were not merely the spontaneous reaction of Republicans to the bad economy and liberal excesses of the Obama administration. The four pro-life, conservative GOP candidates in Virginia and New Jersey were elected in a groundswell of religious and social conservatives, many of them independent voters who had voted for Obama only a year ago. A new grassroots organization played a major role in getting these voters to the polls -- the Faith & Freedom Coalition was founded by Ralph...

The evangelical movement's eye-popping numbers (new megachurches are opening as mainline churches shrink), cultural power (think The Purpose Driven Life or crossover hits from Christian radio), and political success (George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, etc.) makes it easy to forget that evangelical Christianity is very much a countercultural phenomenon. Even as it adapts to the contemporary American cultural landscape—look at Rick Warren's Hawaiian shirts or the number of megachurches that now boast coffee shops—the American evangelical movement nonetheless defines itself as separate from the rest of the country. "Religions that grow are the ones that are hard-core in...

This past weekend I had the pleasure of being one of the presenters at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, where we honored Phyllis Schlafly for her lifetime of achievement. She is the person whom even liberal academics look to when they want to explain grassroots conservatism. Phyllis was hailed—rightly so—for having stopped the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Many of the battles that are being fought out now–from the defense of marriage and the fight against abortion in healthcare to the effort to protect women from being ordered into combat—would have been lost if Phyllis had not sounded her trumpet...

WASHINGTON – Former Miss California Carrie Prejean told a crowd of social conservatives Friday that she was a varsity jock in high school who got into beauty pageants just knowing that she is a strong woman with values. Her strength has carried her through the “junk” that followed after she responded during the Miss USA pageant that she believes marriage is between a man and a woman, she said. “There was something wrong with turning on the TV and seeing people mock me for my faith. For seeing people make fun of me for the answer I gave. Making fun...

Author Joel Rosenberg spoke tonight at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington D.C. Rosenberg is the author of several best-selling fiction novels about intrigue in the Middle East (I’ve read all but the last one) and several non-fiction books about the Middle East. Rush Limbaugh highly recommends Rosenberg’s works, and his first fiction book (The Last Jihad) was somewhat prescient of the Iraq War. His father is Jewish and his mother is Gentile, by the way, and by his writings he seems to be a genuine Christian…with a LOT of knowledge of Jewish history. Rosenberg said these...

Mike Huckabee may have won the straw poll at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit, but Tim Pawlenty may have done himself the most good. I saw the major contenders give their speeches and thought, like Mark Hemingway of NRO, that Pawlenty showed he had the goods. Pawlenty's presentation of his own record as a budget-balancer in MN was impressive and he sounded like the kind of conservative candidate who knows how to handle himself in a debate. The Minnesota governor came off as smart, tough, and ready for prime time. If he keeps making the rounds speaking the...

Here is a video report from the Values Voters Summit today, where Gov. Mike Huckabee was the winner in the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll. Mike Huckabee cruised to an easy victory in a presidential straw poll taken among attendees at a social conservative conference, beating a group of four other Republican contenders by an over two-to-one margin.Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a 2008 presidential candidate, won with just over 28 percent of the 597 votes cast by attendees at the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the runner-up, narrowly edging out Minnesota Gov....

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Saturday won a 2012 presidential preference straw poll of social and religious conservative activists from 49 states gathered in Washington, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said at an afternoon press briefing at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. It was sweet revenge for Mr. Huckabee, who narrowly lost a similar poll in 2007 to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Only in-person voting was permitted in this vote -- Mr. Romney had won with combined Internet and in-person voting. On Saturday Mr. Huckabee took 28.48 percent of the vote, while Mr. Romney was in a four-way...

Anyone who thought that "values voters" were still licking their wounds after the Republican Party received a drubbing at the polls might have found the atmosphere in Washington's plush Omni Shoreham Hotel rather surprising. An audience of 2,000 Christian conservatives gathered to listen to their political and media icons, condemn the Obama administation's alleged socialist agenda and plot the downfall of the Democrats at the 2010 mid-term elections. The mood was angry and defiant at the annual "Values Voters Summit", which kicked off with a rousing call to arms from Republican Congressman Mike Pence, from Indiana, a man some see...

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the preferred 2012 GOP presidential nominee among Christian conservatives, according to the results of a straw poll announced Saturday at an annual gathering of the religion (sic) right in Washington. Prominent Republican leaders, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, took to the stage at the Value Voters Summit to blast President Obama's spending policies and announce the top 2012 presidential pick among conservative voters. The summit's poll, which featured 9 presidential prospects, found that 28 percent of Christian conservatives said Huckabee would revive the Republican party and traditional conservative principles while 12.4 percent preferred...

Carrie Prejean to Values Voter Summit: 'God Chose Me' With the Gay-Marriage Question September 18, 2009 It’s easy to make fun of beauty queens -- their plastic smiles, their bottle-blond tresses, their dreams for world peace. But Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California whose declaration that marriage should be between a man and woman earned her the vilification of some in the gay rights community, provided an unanticipated emotional highlight at a conference of Christian conservatives in Washington today. In a heartfelt talk that moved some in the crowd to tears, Prejean recounted for the 1,700 activists gathered for the...

Here is video of Fox News' Bill O'Reilly speaking at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C. last night, where he was interrupted by a heckler using a megaphone. The heckler's words can't be understood, and he was escorted out of the room by security. The crowd booed the heckler, and then began to clap as he was escorted out. O'Reilly then quipped, "There goes another MSNBC host," as the crowd erupted! . . . (VIDEO)

Here is video of Fox News' Reporter James Rosen being interrupted and told to stop broadcasting at the Values Voters Summit yesterday in Washington D.C. Rosen had just said a sister network had been told to stop broadcasting while speakers were speaking, and sure enough, a man came and told Rosen to stop while he was trying to give a report. Rosen told the man he and Fox News were trying to give the event exposure and that "you are interrupting my work." But the man persisted and Rosen threw it back to the Fox Anchor saying "I guess we...

Short video that brought tears of pride early this morning....

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has planned a flurry of appearances in the Washington area this weekend, an indicator of the kind of hectic schedule he's been keeping as he looks ahead to a possible presidential bid in 2012. His D.C. itinerary will be dominated by fundraisers, but Romney has planned a pair of high-profile speeches to conservative groups that are sure to draw attention: On Saturday he is slated to address the Values Voters Summit, and on Monday he'll deliver remarks to a luncheon at the Foreign Policy Initiative, a neoconservative think tank founded by William...

If you've ever stood in a pet shop and watched Siamese fighting fish attack their reflection in a glass tank, then you know what it's like to read a fascinating new survey of more than 3,000 religious activists on the left and the right. The survey was published this week just as leaders and foot soldiers of the religious right -- the group most closely identified with religious activism in politics -- gathers for the fourth annual Values Voter Summit in Washington, a weekend of red-meat speechifying and unabashed angling among Republican candidates looking to challenge a suddenly vulnerable Barack...

NBC's Brian Mooar got quite an earful from audience members at the first day of the Values Voter Summit that started in Washington, D.C. Friday. To be fair, it seems press members were staged inside the conference hall at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. As such, as Mooar was giving his report to MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell, he was making it difficult for people in the back of the hall to hear whoever was on stage at the time.

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Republicans and black Democrats in the United States are in near agreement on the moral acceptability of homosexual relations, a Gallup Poll indicates. Only 31 percent of black Democrats said gay relations were morally acceptable while 31 percent of Republicans agreed with that position, Gallup results released Wednesday indicated. Sixty-one percent of non-black Democrats said they found same-sex relations morally acceptable. The fact that black Democrats more closely align with Republicans on this issue is significant, given that blacks overwhelmingly identify themselves as Democrats, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee insists Republicans neglected religious conservatives this year and need to maintain their support as the party regroups. “They were welcomed to the family table two days a year, and that was the primary and Election Day,” Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Baptist pastor, told reporters at a news conference in Washington, D.C. “I think there’s a point of frustration and exasperation where people are saying: ‘You know what? If you don’t want us, just say so.’” Promoting a new book, Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to...

Stay Faithful to Core Values By RICHARD LAND To regain a majority, Republicans must embrace core values with such conviction that Americans will welcome where Republicans will lead them in the future. The first core value must be a pro-life agenda. Republicans must advocate for all life from conception to natural death. This is the decent thing to do. And there were 70 million white Evangelical voters on Election Day, 74% of whom voted for John McCain. The vast majority voted pro-life, not Republican. If the GOP turns away from a pro-life agenda, they will turn away from the GOP....

< snip > Evangelicals are a small proportion of the national population - just 7% of all adults. But they tend to capture the imagination and attention of the national media and political pundits. The survey data consistently show that evangelical Christians have among the highest rates of voting turnout. . . and are strikingly different from the rest of the population - even from other born again Christians who are not evangelical. As was true in the past two presidential elections, two-thirds of all evangelicals who were registered to vote (65%) were aligned with the Republican Party. One out...

Five months and thousands of weddings after California's highest court sanctioned same-sex marriage, anxious eyes around the nation will closely follow voters Tuesday as they decide whether to turn back the clock. Given the state's size and influence, the vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has become a referendum on sexual orientation and civil rights. Both sides call it the "Gettysburg" of the power struggle between the gay rights movement and the Christian right, with the victors capturing momentum in other states. "As California goes, so goes the nation," Mayor Gavin Newsom boldly predicted at a City Hall...

... At Qualcomm Stadium, thousands were attending TheCall, which organizers said is a prayer and fasting event in support of passage of Proposition 8, which would restore the legal definition of marriage to between a man and a woman. The event was scheduled to continue until 10 p.m. ... At Qualcomm, about one one-third of the stadium was full and the playing field packed as TheCall unfolded. It was part spiritual revival, part music festival and part political rally. People of all ages dressed for the warm weather, some in T-shirts supporting Proposition 8. A giant stage was erected under...

Proposition 8 is a California ballot measure, but ripples from the high-priced, high-profile effort to ban same-sex marriage are extending way beyond its borders.Checks of $500,000 or more are arriving from places like Cleveland; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Linden, Utah; and Bryn Mawr, Pa.A Kansas City minister brings thousands of evangelical Christians to San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium for a religious/political rally.The New York Times writes an editorial endorsing a "no" vote on Prop. 8, even though Sacramento is 2,800 miles from the paper's Manhattan headquarters."Both sides agree that what happens here will have a major impact on the same-sex marriage debate across...

The most startling factor in the Presidential election of 2004 could deliver an even bigger shock in the battle for the White House in 2008, if the nation witnesses the possible repeat of the decisive impact of “values voters”. Four years ago, the media largely ignored the significance of moral and family issues until Election Day exit polls revealed their crucial role in the GOP victory. In the same way, seasoned political observers – especially those who consider an Obama victory a foregone conclusion – have ignored the very real chance that social conservatives may bring about a stunning upset...

In this year of historic firsts, it should surprise no one that political prognosticators predict Election Day turnout to exceed 60 percent of the voting age population for the first time in 40 years.  Americans have “change” on their minds.  But they’re getting decidedly different visions of it from two presidential candidates who stand diametrically opposed on almost every issue.  Despite the stakes, there remain some conservatives who see little reason to exercise that which Samuel Adams called one of the most solemn trusts in human society -- the right to vote.  So, with voter registration deadlines looming, let me...

Do you think that it's impossible for politicians to give you even less respect than they have for you now? Of course they can! And by following these steps, you can go from Joe Citizen to Joe Nobody in no time! I present to you my seven-step program for becoming totally irrelevant as a voter. Step 1: Commit unconditionally The first thing you need to do is realize that are no covenant relationships in life more sacred than marriage and political party affiliation. You have to make a decision here. What's more important to you - your undying commitment to...

New video feature will zero in on the issues and events - an online video series to keep you up to date on the election. Host Stuart Shepard gets insights on the presidential race from Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus Action. Family advocates from across the nation will appear in upcoming episodes. "This is a challenging year for Christian conservatives to sort through where the leading candidates stand on pro-family issues," Shepard said. "We'll cut through the hype and the campaign ads and shine a light on how they view the sanctity of...

Watching the two presidential candidates court "evangelicals" by way of the Saddleback Church Civil Forum Saturday night was an exercise of perplexing proportions. While both senators clearly have very distinct delivery styles and vastly different approaches to addressing the issues of our day, John McCain undoubtedly restored faith among the faithful. As eloquent and smooth as Barack Obama can be (and he had his impressive moments that left me moved), his vague and ambiguous answers to the most innocuous questions on faith and American politics were at best disappointing. The forum's audience consisted of a voting bloc Mr. Obama needs...

I started focusing on the political process in the mid-to-late 80's. For as long as I've been involved, it has been generally accepted that Ronald Reagan's success was keyed to his ability to bring the three legs of the conservative movement to stand together -- the foreign policy, economic, and social conservatives. Today, I believe the Republican and Democrat establishments would love nothing more than for the social conservatives to sit down and shut up, but they know this demographic can still really impact an election. It is harder for social conservatives to win elections by themselves these days. They...

Primary turnout and recent surveys show conservative "values" voters have abandoned the Republican Party. Illustrating a dramatic about face from past elections, a recent study shows that if the election were held today, 40% of all evangelical Christian voters would choose the Democratic candidate and just 29% would choose the Republican candidate. The remaining 28% are undecided, saying they would make their selection without respect to party affiliation. A Barna Group release titled: Born Again Voters No Longer Favor Republican Candidates cites figures that spell doom for the Republican Party, given that "in the past couple of elections, the born...

A few weeks ago, Fred Thompson exited the race for President. In the wake of that decision, the FredHeads and the members of DraftFredThompson.com engaged in a whole lot of soul-searching and vigorous discussion as to what to do next. Fred's candidacy may have come to an end, but our faith in the principles that originally drew us to Fred was as strong as ever. The product of that soul-searching and vigorous discussion is Conservatives for the Advancement of the Reagan Coalition, a new organization formed to advance the key conservative principles articulated by men like Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan...

On behalf of the Texas Credit Union League, Public Opinion Strategies and Hamilton Campaigns conducted two Texas statewide surveys... • Senator McCain garners 45% of the Republican primary vote while Governor Huckabee shores up support from 41% of the primary electorate, making this race a statistical tie within the margin of error. Texas Congressman Ron Paul claims 6% of the vote and 5% say they are undecided. • McCain’s image is 75% favorable, 22% unfavorable, while Huckabee’s is 75% favorable, 15% unfavorable. Huckabee has a 36% strong favorable rating compared to McCain’s 29%. • McCain leads 49% to 36% among...

By far, the most significant story of the 2008 Republican primaries has been the unlikely candidacy of Mike Huckabee and his_single-handed_resuscitation of Christian conservatives as a force to be reckoned with in the Republican_Party. Yet, regardless of how he fares on Super_Tuesday_and_beyond, Mr. Huckabee will perhaps be best remembered as the man who, however unintentionally, helped persuade evangelicals to vote a Democrat into the White House in 2008 – and possibly in future races, as well. Since the 1970s, conventional_wisdom has held that evangelicals are driven by a single-minded_concern with defending "moral values," while mainline Protestants focus on issues of...

Commentary by Daniel Zanoza, Executive Director It has been an amazing experience. I have watched this year's race for the Republican presidential nomination with jaw-dropping awe. The Republican Party's elite, the dominant media and supposed conservative talk radio have done everything possible to marginalize Mike Huckabee--the only true pro-family Republican in the race--while doing so with a straight face. Here's a message I hope no pro-family voter will ignore or mistake for political gamesmanship. There is a movement at hand in the GOP to marginalize the pro-family element of the Republican Party. The attack is coming from the Republican elite...

While John McCain has risen to the top of the heap among contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson remains adamant that he will not support McCain’s bid for the White House. Dobson, one of the nation’s most influential evangelical Christians, declared more than a year ago that he wouldn't support McCain under any circumstances, saying McCain didn't support traditional marriage values. A Dobson spokesman told the New York Times’ David Kirkpatrick Wednesday that he stood by that position, and as a matter of conscience could never vote for the Arizona Senator. According to...

Oh boy one has to believe that Huckabee will be getting some blow-back from this. These push polls have even brought out the South Carolina Attorney General to make this statement: “Last evening the Associated Press reported that that an out-of-state special interest group, Common Sense Issues, had launched a massive push polling effort disparaging John McCain and other candidates for president. In their push poll, Common Sense Issues makes several misleading claims regarding John McCain’s record.“Allow me to set the record straight. In the U.S. Senate, John McCain has been an unwavering voice for the rights of the unborn....

Senator Fred Thompson is far and away the best conservative candidate to represent those who live in Jesusland, according to David Jeffers, author of Understanding Evangelicals: A Guide to Jesusland. "Evangelicals are looking for a candidate who is strongly pro-life, is for traditional families, and who is an actual Reagan Conservative." Jeffers explains, "Every GOP candidate is espousing Reagan-like characteristics, but only Thompson has the record to back it up." Jeffers claims that many in Jesusland are enamored with Governor Mike Huckabee because of his Southern Baptist roots and strong social conservative values. "There are three important agendas in the...

The Economist on the grand coalition of the Republican Party: Business conservatives can never win a majority without the support of “values voters” (there just are not enough people around who look like Mr Romney). “Values voters” can never produce a viable governing coalition without the help of the business elite. The Republicans have seen revolts against their ruling coalition before—remember Pat Buchanan’s pitchfork rebellion against George Bush senior—and they have always succeeded in putting it back together again. They need to do the same now. Enough Republicans believe enough of the Reagan mantra—less government, traditional values and strong defence—to...

Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister-turned-politician who was almost unknown outside his home state of Arkansas as recently as last summer, drew the votes of thousands of self-described evangelical Christians to win the Iowa Republican caucuses. Sure. Sixty percent of those who participated in the Iowa Republican caucuses identified themselves as Evangelical Christians. Mr. Huckabee billed himself as a "Christian Leader" and is one of them. In addition, he can be amusing, entertaining and glib and he had made himself look presentable and self-controlled by losing more than 100 pounds. But Mr. Huckabee's political record is not generally known and as...

(NOTE: From FRC action E-MAIL; link is to their home page. I've broken it into paragraphs, and added emphasis): Washington is reeling from last night's Iowa caucuses. A loud and clear message was delivered, but whether it will be heard is yet to be seen. On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee's huge victory can be attributed to two primary reasons. First, he is real and his style reflects it. He is engaging and he talks with people, not at them. He is a great campaigner; he is the communicator in this presidential election cycle. Second, evangelicals, dispirited by Republican indifference...

Ok, yeah I have small children. But that’s beside the point. I think Fred Thompson has a strong shot at 2nd place in Iowa. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high because it is more likely that he will finish 3rd. But if, as I am getting from the news coverage, this McCain, Huckabee, Romney food fight on the airwaves in Iowa is souring voters to those candidates, Fred Thompson could be the beneficiary of that sentiment. Going negative in Iowa has always carried risks and Iowa is the place where dark horses rise to the top....

Choosing a person for the office of president of the United States is the most difficult decision that a citizen of America must make. The person I chose is of high quality in character, integrity, wisdom, knowledge, education, experience, and a love for our Creator, [the people] and for our nation—[some]one of obvious moral and ethical character ... including unimpaired soundness in [such] qualities as honesty, reliability, faithfulness and maturity. And, of course, wisdom. Knowledge is also a requirement, and that is acquired from tried-and-true hard work, using the tools of a fine education and experience from the trails of...

Mitt Romney said last year that it would be “akin to a nightmare” to have to fund his presidential campaign out of his personal fortune. But I can think of worse things. One would be spending $20 million of your money . . . and then losing. Forget “akin to” - that would be the politician’s ultimate nightmare. So now Mitt Romney is about to find out how much it costs to buy - or fail to buy - an election in 2008. A lot more than the $6 million it cost him to buy the Massachusetts governorship in 2002,...

David Yepsen has a horrifically bad column in the Sunday Des Moines Register. In it, he distills each candidate down to the usual cliches of the leftist/"centrist" newspaper agenda: Mike Huckabee The former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister has soared in the GOP race following his second-place finish in the Iowa Republican straw poll in August. He has rallied party social and religious conservatives as well as supporters of a big national sales tax to replace the income tax. He's a witty speaker and an affable politician whose criticisms of the nation's economic policies sound a lot like the populist...

Here's an interesting analysis by WaPo's Dan Balz of Huckabee's closing-round Iowa speech, which Balz, a veteran political reporter, says is unlike anything he's ever heard in politics. Excerpts from the Balz analysis. Boldface mine: Most candidates in the final days before a crucial election offer a vision of what their leadership would mean to the lives of ordinary people. They include lists of issue priorities of the kind Hillary Clinton offers. They can wrap policy with an inspirational frame of the type Barack Obama presents or sound a call to arms in the way John Edwards is doing. They...

It was a simple commercial, with Mike Huckabee posed in front of a set of scandalously empty white bookshelves that, when framed just right beside a Christmas tree, formed a glowing cross behind the candidate. And, lo, the former Southern Baptist pastor told the voters: "Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you've been seeing, mostly about politics? I don't blame you. At this time of year, sometimes it's nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is a celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family...

DES MOINES - With thousands of undecided voters still up for grabs in the final week before voting begins, the leading presidential contenders yesterday aimed their closing arguments at those still settling on a candidate or just tuning into the most wide-open nomination races in decades.

The Christmas ads that showed up in Iowa and New Hampshire — and here, on the Internet — are mostly just more ads, but with a new and disturbing twist. There is Barack Obama, being sensitive by letting his wife, Michelle, speak first; Rudy Giuliani, softening his image by joking with Santa, and Ron Paul grinning in the midst of family pandemonium. John McCain reminds us he was a prisoner of war, Fred Thompson offers heart-warming snapshots of the troops and John Edwards promises not to forget the poor. The hullabaloo has come over the ad for Mike Huckabee. He...