Mike Pence And His Very Presidential Hair Wins Values Voters Summit Straw Poll

Interesting because Pence is much more known for his fiscal conservatism than as a social-con (though I'm sure he's at the very least well within the conservative mainstream on those issues).

The great challenge in a Republican presidential primary campaign is to straddle the the gaps between the social, fiscal and national security cons.

Could Pence do it?

In fact, Pence was so popular among those who took the straw poll that he topped the list of potential GOP vice presidential candidates too.

Pence received 24 percent of the vote, two percentage points ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the winner of last year’s Values Voter straw poll, who got 22 percent. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney received 13 percent, followed by Newt Gingrich with 10 percent. Sarah Palin, who did not attend this year’s convention and instead spoke at a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Iowa on Friday night, received 7 percent of the vote.

Palin came in second on the list of potential vice presidential candidates, and Family Reserarch Council Presdient Tony Perkins, who announced the results of the straw poll, called the pairing of Pence and Palin a “dream ticket.”

Via Brian Faughnan.

Related: Speaking of the gaps between the various wings of the coalition. I'm usually not with Gary Bauer on the importance of social issues but he gave a hell of a speech yesterday on the War on Terror. It's one of the most forthright you're like to hear on the heart of the matter: Islam.

Nicole Alan, at the Trig Palin conspiracy mongering The Atlantic, says Bauer's speech was filled with "Anti-Islamic Sentiment".

Judge for yourself based on some of the excerpts she cites how accurate her charge is.

Days after the anniversary of 9/11, in a speech touching on the Ground Zero Islamic center controversy and the recent Koran-burning threat, Bauer did not worry about being politically correct. "The terrorists of 9/11 were not created by poverty," he said, soon after he took the stage. "They were created by radical Islam." The crowd erupted in affirmation.

"We believe that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator -- and by the way, folks, that's not Allah -- with certain unalienable rights," Bauer continued. He's a small man, with what look like acne scars across his face. He spoke with passion and precision, building to well-timed climaxes and giving the crowd room to respond -- which they did.

They gave him a mid-speech standing ovation when he said, "Mr. President, it's time for the Islamic world to prove to the rest of the world that they understand human rights and that they will tolerate religious freedom." Bauer suggested that rather than giving his speech on religious tolerance in Washington following the Ground Zero controversy, Obama should have given it in Mecca.

That's "Anti-Islamic Sentiment"? That's just facts ma'am.

Me and Gary Bauer? How much more unity can you stand?

If you have some time, watch the speech for yourself.

posted by DrewM. at 04:41 PM

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