VALUES VOTER SUMMIT -- STRAW POLL -- RON PAUL SUPPORTERS STUFF BALLOT BOX? -- CBSNEWS.COM -- 10.8.11

 

10.8.11 – Values Voter Summit – straw poll – rigged by Ron Paul supporters?

 

The people who attended the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D. C. this weekend are some of the most conservative voters in the country. It is ridiculous to think that this group of conservatives would have chosen Ron Paul in the straw poll if the straw poll had been conducted under secure conditions. 

 

Ron Paul is out of step with conservative Republicans. He thought Al-Alwaki should have been given a trial in an American court instead of being considered a war criminal and killed with a drone.

 

Ron Paul believes in allowing Iran to have its own nuclear bomb and portrays Iran as being bullied by America.

 

Paul also said he would not have ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden.

 

In 1987 when Ron Paul was preparing to run as a Third Party candidate, he publicly resigned from the Republican Party and even had the nerve to blame Ronald Reagan for his leaving.

 

Ron Paul teamed up with far-leftwing, liberal homosexual, Congressman Barney Frank, to support the federal legalization of marijuana. Why would Ron Paul have made such an “unholy alliance” with one of the most detested Democrats in Congress?

 

Ron Paul told the attendees at the Values Voter Summit that he is in tune with Biblical values, but I and many other conservatives take issue with his statement.  

 

Please read the comments by Tony Perkins of Family Research Council as he verbalizes his belief that in spite of precautions taken by Values Voter personnel, the Ron Paul supporters evidently bought blocks of tickets and stuffed the ballot box at the straw poll.  It is ludicrous for anyone to think that Ron Paul could have won the Values Voter straw poll fair and square.

 

Also, please take time to read the comment posted on The Hill.com in which the blogger explains that Ron Paul is not technically a pro-life advocate. -- Donna Garner]

 

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October 8, 2011 4:42 PM

Values Voter straw poll organizers suggest a fix in Ron Paul's win

By

Lindsey Boerma

 

 

Rep. Ron Paul scored a decisive victory Saturday in a mock presidential election at the Values Voter Summit, trouncing fellow Texan, Gov. Rick Perry, but an organizer of the straw poll suggested ballot-stuffing may have skewed the results.

In a press conference following the announcement of the straw poll results at the annual Washington gathering of social conservatives, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins all but dismissed the results as irrelevant, citing 600 people who registered Saturday morning and, he said, "left after Ron Paul spoke."

A total of 1,983 ballots were cast. "You do the math," Perkins said.

A year ago in the same contest, Paul came in second-to-last. Speaking briefly with reporters before the straw poll results were announced, the Republican lawmaker said, "If I win, it wouldn't be as important to the media than if I lose."

Paul has a history of scoring unlooked-for straw poll wins by packing the electorate with diehard supporters. But Perkins said it's too early to take much away from Paul's win. "Let me just take you back four years to this event, when we had a straw poll. Mitt Romney won that straw poll," he said. "I think people are still in the process of deciding where they want to go."

Paul got 37 percent of the vote. The rest of the ballots showed how widely social conservatives support is splintered among the rest of the field.

Two other conservative favorites, businessman Herman Cain and former Sen. Rick Santorum, took second and third place, respectively, with 23 percent for Cain and 16 percent for Santorum.

Perry and Michele Bachmann won 8 percent apiece. Mitt Romney got 4 percent of the vote and Newt Gingrich, 3 percent.

For Perry, who is struggling to regain momentum after some disappointing showings in debates and the polls, the results represent a disappointment. The Texas governor is counting on voters who share his socially conservative views to help power his candidacy into the top tier of Republicans. He didn't get the ringing endors****t he might have wished out of the Values Voter Summit. Instead, the gathering put Perry in the midst of a controversy when the Dallas pastor who introduced him Friday later told reporters that Romney's Mormon faith is a "cult" and "not Christian."

Perkins said his organization did "everything to preserve the integrity of this straw poll," including denying campaigns from buying blocks of tickets, "which they attempted to do this year." But Santorum on Friday seemed dubious, and told National Journal that his success in the polls would depend "on how many people, how many campaigns, tried to buy a bunch of tickets and try to stack the poll, which unfortunately happens."

The victory for the longtime congressman and three-time presidential contender over his Republican rivals in the presidential contest was all the more surprising because Paul's principled libertarianism sometimes puts him at odds with the views of social conservatives on issues such as gay marriage and drug laws.

But in a speech hours before the straw poll results were announced, Paul argued that his staunch fiscal conservatism and dogmatic views on liberty were in tune with family values and the Bible.

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/186367-ron-paul-wins-values-voter-straw-poll?page=2#comments

Comment posted at 10.8.11 at 16:35:

Attendees listed abortion as one of their top concerns, but they nevertheless selected a pro-choice candidate.

Paul claims to be pro-life and even says Right to Life is the foundation for all rights in the Constitution. Many conservatives agree with Paul when he says "life does begin at conception," and abortion “is an act of violence.” The problem is that he does not mean it. Rep. Paul is really pro-choice on the state level. That is the purpose of his Sanctity of Life Bill (H.R. 2597).

He does not believe in federal intervention regarding abortion. He also does not believe pre-born babies have a God-given right to their own lives, which no individual state may ever violate. He is essential looking the other way if a state approves legislation allowing the killing of a child. He believes states’ rights supersede human rights.

On one hand the Congressman says the purpose of government is to protect life, and on the other he says this should no longer be a federal responsibility. He views abortion as an act of violence but wants no involvement by the federal government.

Rep. Paul has never supported a federal right to life constitutional amendment. He has repeatedly said a federal law banning abortion across all 50 states would be invalid. He also says anti-abortion laws are pointless and will not stop abortions.

When it comes to votes restricting abortions, Paul has really earned his title of “Dr. No.” He voted against barring the transportation of minors to get an abortion, and against making it a federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. He says nothing in the Constitution authorizes the federal government to ban abortion.

President Obama and liberal Democrats are pro-choice. They give the life or death decision to the mother, while Paul gives it to the state.

Conservatives believe the right to life is a human right, which should be guaranteed by the Constitution.

 

Donna Garner

Wgarner1@hot.rr.com