Values Voters Summit

The “Dark Horses” Of The Republican Presidential Race: Ron Paul And Herman Cain

It is still nearly three months to the first voting in the Iowa Caucuses on January 3, followed by the vote in the New Hampshire Primary, the Nevada Caucuses, the South Carolina Primary, and the Florida Primary, all within the month of January!

The Republican Presidential race has gone from one favored candidate to another, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and Mitt Romney, with three other well known candidates floundering–Jon Huntsman, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich.

Meanwhile, two other candidates–Ron Paul and Herman Cain–ignored by the mainstream media and many political experts–are suddenly surging and drawing attention, and makes one wonder could either of them actually win the GOP Presidential nomination to oppose President Barack Obama in November 2012?

Paul has certainly been gaining more support, and his views on social and foreign policy issues resonate with many more voters than when he ran four years ago.

Herman Cain, who is African American and the CEO of Godfather Pizza, has been an even bigger surprise to many, and seems to arouse support in an emotional manner.

Today, at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC, a group of social conservatives, Ron Paul won 37 percent of the straw vote, with Cain second with 23 percent, way ahead of the other candidates.

Can this really happen–either one being the next nominee of the Republican Party? It seems highly unlikely, but after Barack Obama winning the Democratic nomination and the Presidency in 2008, who can be so sure that it could not happen in the Republican Party, and in the right (or wrong) circumstances lead to one of them in the White House in 2012?

Here We Go Again: New Hatred By Evangelical Christian Pastors!

It is a sad reality that many Evangelical Christian pastors have made a career out of promoting divisiveness and hate, in the name of their conservative values and the almighty dollar!

How else to explain why many of these pastors have continued to promote hatred toward President Barack Obama, including that he is a Muslim, born in Kenya, a Socialist, and out to undermine American values?

How else to explain a so called “unifying” pastor, Joel Osteen, who runs the largest megachurch in America in Houston Texas, on nationwide TV on CNN advocating homophobia, knowing full well that it is a major crisis in America, particularly for young gay men and women who are committing suicide because of bullying, and has no problem continuing to quote the Bible on this matter, in a distorted way? And then to learn that Joel Osteen, who inherited his father’s leadership of their church, dropped out of college and has NO ministerial training at a seminary, so therefore is, technically, a phony minister, who is very wealthy because of the contributions of his congregants, and of course, like all religious leaders, avoids personal income taxes?

How else to explain another Evangelical Christian pastor at the Values Voters Summit In Washington, DC, supposedly asked to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry, declaring that Mormons are not Christians, but instead are a “cult”, an attack directed against former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the frontrunner in the GOP Presidential race, and indirectly against the other Mormon in the race, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman?

It should not matter whether a candidate for President is a “good Christian”, as we have a belief in separation of church and state, and religion should no more be a barrier now than it was in 1960 when John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic to win the White House, after Al Smith, the earlier Catholic nominee in the 1928 Presidential Election, was soundly defeated because of his Catholicism. Of course, who were the leading critics of Smith and Kennedy? Evangelical Christians, who claim to be holier than thou!

It is clear that the same anti Mormon sentiments would be visited against a serious Jewish nominee in the future. These “good Christians” are excellent at promoting hate and division!

Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman should be judged for everything except their Mormon faith. Neither is out to promote or advocate their faith, anymore than Smith or Kennedy were, or a future Jewish nominee would! Why do Evangelical Christian pastors however feel they have the right to force their congregants to think their narrow minded way?

It is time for all of the non Mormon Presidential nominees to condemn this pastor and make it clear that religious bigotry of any kind is not acceptable, and will not be part of the GOP Presidential race from this day forward! But don’t bet on that happening!

The Values Voters Summit: Mike Pence Of Indiana The Winner Of The Presidential Straw Poll!

The 5th Values Voters Summit was held in Washington, DC over this weekend, sponsored by the Family Research Council, a socially conservative organization linked with the Republican party!

As in past years, all of the ambitious Presidential possibilities usually give a speech at the conference, and the highlight of the gathering is the straw poll as to who is favored for the Presidency in 2012!

Since there are so many competitors, the winner of the straw poll usually wins only 20-25 percent of the total votes, and that was the case again!

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won this straw poll twice in the past, but yesterday, in a bit of a surprise, Indiana Congressman Mike Pence won over Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Sarah Palin!

Pence, being a Congressman, has not been paid much attention to by observers, but he is a very attractive person in his appearance and his rhetoric, and has backed the Tea Party Movement, so should not be seen as a fluke, but rather as a serious Presidential possibility, although he denied any interest when asked about that! But is not that par for the course at this point of the Presidential cycle to deny interest? 🙂

IF Pence was to become a serious contender for the Presidential nomination, and IF by some chance he won the nomination and defeated President Obama, he would be only the SECOND Congressman to be elected President!

Unfortunately, the history of the first Congressman to go directly to the Presidency is not a good one! 🙁 Republican James Garfield of Ohio was elected in 1880, took the oath of office on March 4, 1881, faced the issue of patronage and the spoils system which overwhelmed his time in office, and was assassinated by an office seeker, Charles Guiteau!

Garfield was shot on July 2, 1881, at the Union Railroad Station in Washington, DC! Doctors probed for the bullet with unsanitary equipment, were unable to locate it, and he suffered through 79 days of pain and discomfort, and finally passed away on this day, September 19, 1881, at the age of 49, the youngest President at his death, except for the later tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy at the age of 46 in 1963! 🙁

So the possible future story of Mike Pence would, hopefully, not be as sad as that of Congressman James Garfield was in 1880-1881! 🙁

Mike Huckabee The Winner In Straw Poll at Values Voters Summit

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is the winner of the straw poll taken at the Values Voter Summit in Washington DC taking place this weekend.

With 29 percent of the vote, he beat out four other candidates who each had about 12 percent of the vote–Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin, and Mike Pence. The other four candidates–Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum–received single digits in the poll.

While this is a nice moment for Huckabee, it is clear that it is no bellweather as to what will happen at the GOP National Convention in 2012. The race for the White House has barely begun!

The Values Voters Summit In Washington, DC

This weekend, we are seeing the Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC, a followup on the FreedomWorks/Tea Party protests of last weekend.

This group of social conservatives has welcomed various presidential possibilities to speak before their organization, but only four have done so–Tim Pawlenty, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and Mike Pence. Each, of course, is trying to outdo the other in appealing to this group, which is having discussions on such issues as: The Global Warming Hysteria; The Pro Death Agenda; Rationing Your Life Away with Obamacare; and Fighting the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy.

It is hard to read this list of areas of discussion without guffawing like a hyena LOL 🙂 Does this group really believe that it is to be regarded as anything more than a group of right wing whackos with such titles and topics being employed, and no hint of any solutions to the many problems this nation faces?

The most interesting thing to come out of this series of meetings will be the straw poll of who is favored by this group, with the choices being the four mentioned above, plus Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Rick Santorum, and Bobby Jindal.

As one looks at this group of contenders, all nine of them, it is hard to avoid big smiles and knowing looks, that ALL of them, with again the exception of Romney, would seem to the observer to have not a chance of seriously challenging President Obama in 2012. That does not mean that Romney does not have major weaknesses, but none of the others would seem to have any strength or backing that could possibly make them competitive.

Then again, however, it could be, as many are starting to observe, that the GOP nominee for 2012 might very well not come from this group, and may be someone that nobody has been taking seriously yet or even thought of up to this point. After all, at this stage in September 2005, who was thinking about Barack Obama?

So, as always, American politics is a stimulating and exciting sport, with the impossibility this far ahead of imagining what the final game in 2012 will be like!