vote%20values1.jpgYesterday I attended a private meeting of conservative leaders during the FRC Washington Briefing, a Salt Lake City II if you will, to discuss dilemmas we face with the 2008 presidential candidates.
Instructions were given not to speak to the media, and since I am the media, I took that to obviously mean details discussed and who said what were off-the-record and, of course, I’ll honor that.
There are two dilemmas….

1. Which Republican primary candidate should pro-lifers rally behind?
2. What if Rudy Giuliani ends up that nominee?

Re: #1, the FRC straw poll had confusing results, as I previously discussed here. CBS correctly detailed the confusion:

The results of the event’s straw poll were especially telling: Of the 5,775 votes received at on-site voting kiosks, by mail, and online, Romney won 1,595, while Huckabee was only 30 votes behind, at 1,565.
But these baseline numbers don’t tell the entire story. Voting online required only a nominal donation to the Family Research Council…. Candidates sent out appeals to their supporters to cast an online vote in the poll — such votes turned out to generate about 94% of Romney’s support.
Among people who actually paid to attend the conference, people FRC President Tony Perkins has called “influencers” within their communities and church congregations, the result was far different, and a decisive victory for Huckabee. Over 51% of those who voted at the conference chose the former Arkansas governor. Romney was a distant second, garnering just over 10% of the vote.

But even that was not the whole story, as RedState.com added:

600 attendees actually voted online…. so the 952 votes is misleading. I’m not saying Romney won… but the seeming on-site rout for Huckabee needs a little context.

Nevertheless, Huckabee came in #1 or #2 on either poll. Thanks to that, Huckabee “will get a significant bounce” FRC head Tony Perkins told CBS. How high? “He could be a first-tier candidate,” said Perkins.
The sole hold-up with Huckabee’s ascension to Tier One is money. If he had it, no doubt he’d qualify. Gary Bauer told CBS:

He said Huckabee, who raised only $1 million in the third quarter of the year, doesn'[t have the time or resources to compete with the top GOP candidates.
“I’m skeptical, I am,” Bauer said. “I just don’t see how you go from having $600,000 in the bank one year before the election and go on to leap-frog everybody else, beat Giuliani and then go on to beat Hillary Clinton. I just don’t see it happening.”

Here’s a word picture of Huckabee’s $ problem, courtesy of RedState.com (click to enlarge):

My friend Janet Folger, Huckabee’s strongest supporter among pro-life leaders, dismissed that, recalling his surprise second place finish to Romney in the Iowa’s straw poll, despite spending no money on advertising.
The fact is, s/he who has the most money almost always wins. Almost. I won’t make a blanket statement, but that’s the reality. I hesitate to use the word naive to describe those not incorporating that into the mix. I’d love this paragraph to come back and bite me.
Back to the FRC Briefing, the private meeting, and the dilemmas:

  • Most in the private meeting supported Huckabee. A few important figures supported Hunter.
  • For many well thought out and researched reasons, 3rd party chatter was put to rest.
  • I don’t think Romney can surmount the Mormon and flip-flop obstacles among pro-life leaders, at least in the primary.
  • Giuliani is still anathema to everyone, despite his attempt to reach out by speaking at the Briefing.

    • This brings up the final point, a very real gut-wrencher to all, including me. If Giuliani wins the primary, and pro-lifers are faced with voting for Hillary or him, what will they do?
    Dobson said at the gala he pledged at the 1988 March for Life never to vote for a pro-abortion candidate again, and he is sticking to that. He would not vote for Giuliani, even in a match-up with Hillary.
    Because of that, Dobson has received much hate mail during the last three weeks, he said, up to the point of withdrawing financial support from Focus on the Family. Perkins had the same answer for Wolf Blitzer of CNN Saturday. Click on image for link to video:
    wolf2.jpg
    What makes this so awful is knowing that not voting for Giuliani will hand Hillary the election, and she is honestly a pro-life satan. Under her watch the Freedom of Choice Act would likely advance to law, undoing every pro-life state law passed since 1973. She would appoint 2-4 50-year-old Ruth Bader Ginsbergs to the Supreme Court, lurching it left for the next 20-30 years. This would also be devastating, not just to the pro-life issue but to the gay marriage issue, property rights, etc.
    The magnitude of this election is almost overwhelming. Which reminds me. It’s time to get ready for church.

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