Pence Wins Values Voters '12 Vote; Palin Places Fifth
Updated at 4:40 p.m.
In a surprising outcome, Indiana Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) was announced this afternoon as the preferred 2012 Republican presidential nominee among social conservatives in a Values Voters Summit straw poll.
Pence squeezed by in a small margin against former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee -- last year's winner by a landslide -- earning 170 votes out of 723 cast over two days.
"I think Congressman Pence gave an outstanding speech last night when he spoke, but he has also been providing more crucial leadership... among social conservatives and, really, conservatives in general," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which put on the event.
Demonstrating the social conservative emphasis among the conference attendees, voters of the poll called abortion their No. 1 concern in choosing a candidate, before government spending, repeal of Obamacare, protection of religious liberty, and national security, respectively. The results stray from other voices in the conservative spotlight right now, particularly Tea Party members, who advocate above all else the importance of fiscal responsibility.
No wonder that Pence, who touted loudly in his speech on Friday that social issues cannot fall to the wayside, was so highly favored.
"America's darkest moments have come when economic arguments trumped moral principles," Pence said Friday. "Those who would have us ignore the battle being fought over life, marriage, and religious liberty have forgotten the lessons of history."
Conversely, Sarah Palin, who has become somewhat of a darling among fiscal conservatives, didn't boast a great showing, winning the vice presidential favorite spot by default (Pence won that, too, with 119 votes to Palin's 112), but coming in fifth in the presidential column, after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Perkins again put a substantial amount of weight in the conference participation itself, attributing Palin's results to her not being present at the summit.
Indicating a notable shift in climate for the WH'12 race, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) fell hard after winning the CPAC straw poll in February and coming in second by one vote to Romney in the Southern Republican Leadership Conference straw poll in April. Today, he came in second-to-last before Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, and last in the vice presidential rankings, garnering only five votes in each category.
Perkins said the 18 candidates chosen for the poll were based off of commonly whispered names with regard to 2012, and were in no way "scientific. ...There was nothing 'magical' about this list, per se."
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty asked to be excluded from the poll.
Well, I guess Ron Paul isn't so popular with those 'social conservatives' who think abortion should be federally outlawed (unlike murder, which is a state issue).
Personally, I think if murder can be handled by the states, so can abortion. Besides, where's the Constitutional backing for half of what so-called 'social conservatives' (ie busybodies) want?
Social 'Conservative' = Social Statist
ie. Those who believe social issues (abortion, marriage, 'family values', etc) should be controled at the FEDERAL level.
A conservative is supposed to believe in increasing local power and control and NOT federal.
Thus, there's NOTHING 'conservative' about a social conservative!