Iowa social conservatives seek consensus on a candidate to support; Perry one of four on the list, but …
Representatives for leading social conservative groups in Iowa held a secret meeting Monday as part of an effort with one main goal: find and support a Republican presidential candidate who can stop Mitt Romney in Iowa.
The idea: avoid splintering the conservative vote in the state by rallying around one GOP rival who could win Iowa’s Jan. 3 caucus and then challenge Romney in New Hampshire and the other early voting states.
Many social conservatives and other religious leaders in the state have openly labeled the former Massachusetts governor as a “flip-flopper,” a criticism the campaign frequently beats back, while others have seen Romney’s Mormon faith as an issue. And many of them have openly hoped for someone to emerge as a viable alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.
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This may be Perry’s best–and last–chance to break through into the upper tier of candidates. Social conservatives are very strong in Iowa, and their objective is to stop Romney from winning the Iowa caucuses. Whoever gets the endorsement will have enhanced his credibility with social conservatives everywhere.
More from CNN:
One attendee at the meeting earlier this week told CNN they wanted “to see if they could come to a consensus of who they might endorse.”
But the source was skeptical about the impact of Iowa social conservatives rallying behind one candidate.
“If you want to stop Romney you’re probably going to have to have some organization [and] some money,” the source said. “Somebody who’s at 5% or 6% in the polls, and they endorse, I don’t think that does any good.”
The effort is said to still be in the discussion phase. Participants were said to have narrowed their focus down to four candidates: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
Perry does have organization and money, the two critical elements. Bachmann and Santorum have no chance to reach the top tier. That leaves Gingrich and Perry, but Perry is still polling at around 6% in Iowa to Gingrich’s 20+. Still, the opening is there, if Perry can squeeze through it.
allmaya says:
Social conservatives know very well which side of the bread the butter is on in terms of the issues they care about. They know intellectually that our governor is with them.
But he just doesn’t pass their Gut-O-Meter test. Somewhere inside, they know Obama would Swiffer Perry in a debate.
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anita says:
Nice to see the religious bigots have surfaced and are at least honest about there mullah-like anti-Mormon stance.
And Perry’s willing to pander to them? Isn’t he the candidate that’s being persecueted for his deep faith? What say you now, Mrs. Perry?
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JohnBernardBooks says:
“Nice to see the religious bigots have surfaced”
Humanists always surface around Christmas and start their anti-Christmas bigotry, its to be expected.
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anita says:
If Perry had any integrity, he’d denounce those who propose a religious litmus test, and announce that he’s not going to participate in such an effort.
But integrity was abandoned long ago by Perry.
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donuthin Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 6:47 am
OMG, what a thought Anita. But the empty suit is emptier of integrity than of substance. Some irony in Perry even make the list of possibles with his core values.
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Robert Morrow says:
Rick Perry sure is a religious guy on the surface, but he dives and takes a hide under the church pew when they pass the donation plate around. One year made over $ 1 million and gave … 90 dollars to the church.
Jason Moore:
“The best evidence comes from his federal income tax returns. In his three most recently reported filings from 2007 to 2009, Perry’s charitable giving to his church ranges from paltry to non-existent when compared to his income. In 2007, his adjusted gross income, due to a lucrative real estate deal, was $1,092,810; his donation to his church that year was $90. The next year, the governor’s earnings totaled $277.667 and his gift to his church rose to $2,850, which remains the most he has ever given during his ten-year term. He must have been unsettled by sharing that much of his money because in 2009, when he reported earning $200,370, Perry’s charitable contribution to his church was listed as $0. His cumulative adjusted gross income over nine reporting years is $2,694,253 and his sum for church giving is $14,293.”
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JohnBernardBooks Reply:
November 25th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Al Gore Gore gave nothing to charity on his millions he stole, and who doesn’t remember Hillary deducting Bill’s used underware off their tax return.
Thats why its called giving and not a tax.
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longleaf says:
Mitt Romney is polling within the margin of error, only a couple of points behind Obama right now on the poll of polls on RealClearPolitics.com.
Every other candidate on there goes down to a landslide defeat. The Bible bangers (most long ago burned their Book of Mormon after the missionaries gave them one while going door to door) who control the GOPer primary process are determined to lose this one and it’s probably a pretty smart strategy as United States Inc., after running in place over the cliff a la Wile E. Coyote since 2009, is about to plunge to the desert floor economically over the next four years.
That is unless the “owners of the country” decide it’s time for World War III FOR REAL this time to take the peons’ minds off this slow grind into permanent Third World economic status.
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Stevie F. says:
I don’t buy the argument that Perry in viable because has “organization” and money. Social conservatives can pull together the money and the people to make any candidate they pick viable. Money and organization didn’t help Perry before and I don’t see why any would think throwing more money at him would help. If you’re going to invest in a candidate polling in single digits back Santorum or pick someone who isn’t even in the field yet. At least they wouldn’t have the high negative ratings that Perry does.
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John Johnson says:
For the life of me, I can’t understand what the far right thinks they can do to improve their situation. Perry, Gingrich, Santorum, Bachmann and Cain cannot win the nomination without some votes from the middle ground folks…nor can Romney or Huntsman win without some TP’ers votes, or some from Blue Dog Dem’s who might choose to crossover.
Gingrich seems to understand this, and reached out Tuesday night to the moderates by offering his view on how to handle the illegal’s now in the country. He is the smartest, most experienced politician running, no doubt about it.
To think he is not electable because he is a divorced person, or got rich from the political process is goofy. He broke no laws.
It all comes down to what we want in a president…someone like we have now with no real prior experience who has to rely on those around him to really make the decisions, or someone who has ready answers and has shown that he can get things done as he did as Speaker. If those are the choices I have, I’m going with the ugly guy with warts and some questionable social behavior who can get the job done.
This is not an endorsement ….I’m just saying…
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Stevie F. Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 6:35 pm
How can a man who got run out of the Speaker’s office by his own party be considered the most viable candidate of their party? He may have “reached out” on the immigration issue, but he’s spent the last couple of months renouncing much of what he did earlier in his career as he pandered to the fringes of his party. He needs to decide if he’s going play to base or reach out to the middle and stick with that decision.
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John Johnson Reply:
November 24th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
He can’t win the nomination that way…no candidate can. The one who ends up winning will be the one who has all the moderates, some of the cross overs’, and part of the conservatives’ votes…or all of the conservative, and part of the moderate votes. Think about it. There are not enough TP voters to get any of the far right candidates elected.
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
Obama has experience. Three years by next January and is growing into the job. His second term will be better if we get a few more Democrats elected. Of course there are many here that will disagree with this opinion. Next December will be interesting with the Bush tax cuts set to expire. Let them, we survived the prosperous Clinton years with these rates and we will have money to get the country back on track. No more off the books wars or programs would help too. The Republicans may not even nominate the most electable Republican candidate, Romney, because of religion. Newt, can debate but as I heard someone say, “He has luggage inside his luggage.” Happy Thanksgiving.
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Frayed Knot says:
Everyones heard about Gingrich talking about his divorce with his wife in the Hospital. I have more concerns that the wife was his high school math teacher, he married right after getting out of high school. Moral decisions have never been Gingrichs strong suit.
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Anonymous says:
I wouldn’t X-out Santorum or Bachmann yet for the Jan. 3 caucus, since the Republicans’ “Not Romney” candidate going into Iowa apparently is going to be the one who made their gaffe the furthest back in time. They’re both short on cash and organization, but this is the most TV-oriented campaign ever, and Bachmann at least got a ton of free and sympathetic publicity this week via the inadvertent unpaid campaign donation by “Late Night” drummer Questlove (when you’ve got liberal New York congresswoman Nita Lowey standing up for Michelle Bachmann, you know someone’s screwed up in trying to get a shot in on a Republican candidate). Either of them could get a boost despite limited funds if the cards and their debate performances fall just right.
Meanwhile, Perry’s latest re-branding as the Howard Beale “I’m Mad As Hell and I’m Not Going to Take It Anymore” candidate of the Republican field — in an attempt to tap into some of the anger Gingrich has exploited by playing whack-a-debate-moderator for the past three months — has yet to catch on among the voters. For now, they see it more as a nakedly obvious campaign tactic than something he believes in his heart, and that’s in large part as a result of his debate screw-up where he couldn’t remember he wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy.
Memories fade as time wears on, and we’re still six weeks out from Iowa, but Perry needs for Gingrich to mess up with the right side of GOP voting block (on something other than illegal immigration amnesty) and Rick then has to hope he gets lucky and says or does the right thing at the right moment, or any support that flows away from Newt could just as easily flow to one of the other “Not Romney” candidates.
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Julie says:
Why on heavens would anyone want Perry to be president. He wants to start a war with Syria by establishing a no-fly zone over Syria. We start shooting down Syrian aircraft and we’ll have a war that we would regret.
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Mr. Smith Reply:
November 25th, 2011 at 9:03 am
With the Wars in Iraq and Afganistan wrapping up, the Neocon corporate interests at Haliburton and Brown and Root need new income streams. Stock prices are dependent on finding a new country to blow up, occupy, and rebuild over the next ten to fifteen years.
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Anonymous says:
I love that we have a country run by nerds who think they are morally and intellectually superior to the other side because of their idealogy.
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Tim says:
I hope the succeed. They’re not winning this election with anyone but Romney.
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Robert Morrow says:
Texas 27 Texas A&M 25. Awesome game! It could not be a more perfect Thanksgiving Day. Perfect weather, barnburner of a rivalry football game.
I went to Texas (grad school) and I was cheering for A&M, hoping they would pull this last game off, especially when they were on their last rally.
I hope those knuckleheads will restore this rivalry as soon as possible – a good way would be to make it the first game or second game of the year.
Just an awesome game. Texas has reclaimed their season, not matter what their won-loss record is.
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Anonymous says:
Hey A&M, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
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longleaf says:
TCU replaced A&M in the schedule already, Morrow. It will probably make for a better football game to watch on or near Thanksgiving, too. The Horned Frogs have an awesome program.
What’s ironic is that I think the SECeding Aggies’ signature line “Gig ‘em” came from when they used to play TCU.
http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/symbols/gigem.html
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Anonymous says:
And to think UT and A&M had already been playing each other for more than 35 years by that time. I am neither a Longhorn nor an Aggie, but I think the loss of this tradition is very sad. All because of arrogant, egotistical little men who care more for their own egos than preserving what they inherited for those yet to come. It is funny that UT and OU have managed to find a way to play each other every year for more than a century despite being in different conferences most of that time, but now the UT-A&M game may not happen again because of these tiny little men.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
How ironic it took a bad call by an official to give UT the “victory”. Much like a biased justice being influenced by his partisan sister-in-law to give democrats a “victory”.
As democrats love to say the end results justifies the means.
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un ratón de niñera says:
man jbb, you are on the we got jobbed by a bad call train, seriously?
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Kenneth D. Franks says:
I would like to see the game between the two schools resume as soon as scheduling permits. Not next year as schedules are made in advance. I’ve been a head coach also in the past at several high schools although basketball was my main coaching position but I’ve coached a good amount of football. An out of conference game could be scheduled even if it is not on Thanksgiving. The season opener would be fine with me and is a possible solution although it may take time to get it set up. I am a U.T. graduate. I grabbed a windbreaker today to go to the farm and it was an A.& M one. I saw someone that said your team got beat last night. I hadn’t even thought about wearing the A.& M windbreaker.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
This election will be decided by ideas and not by mass hysteria unlike the last one.
Doncha just hate that dems?
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Anonymous says:
When the athletic director of Texas A&M stops referring to the state’s Flagship University as “tu,” then maybe UT will consider scheduling the aggies.
Texas is terrible this year, they only beat A&M by two points.
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