WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani tried to find peace with a restless bloc of the Republican Party Saturday, telling religious conservatives not to fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion or expect he would change purely for political advantage.

The GOP presidential candidate won praise for simply showing up before an audience that has been casting about for the best social conservative in the Republican field. But two former governors, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, shared the limelight with the former New York mayor, handily winning the top two spots in a straw poll of "values voters" conducted by the conservative Family Research Council.

Giuliani sought common ground with Christian conservatives by casting himself as an imperfect man who has asked for guidance through prayer. He recalled crossing himself during his first day of law school after 16 years of attending Catholic schools.

He offered assurances that despite his support for abortion rights, he would seek to lower the number of abortions. He pledged that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges, support school choice and insist on victory in Iraq — all issues important to the audience at the Values Voter Summit.

The straw poll, conducted online and at the conference, placed Giuliani in eighth place, second to last. The top vote-getter was Romney, who unlike Giuliani, worked actively to encourage supporters to vote for him. Huckabee was close behind, but won overwhelmingly among voters who cast the ballots onsite at the event.

In a 40-minute speech that drew respectful applause, Giuliani invoked, as he often does, Ronald Reagan's admonition that "my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy."

"My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am, I can assure you of that," Giuliani said. "But isn't it better for me to tell you what I believe rather than change my positions to fit the prevailing wind?"

It was among his better received lines.

"He won simply by coming," said Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, which sponsored the three-day conference. "He helped himself; he certainly didn't lose any ground."

But his reception was in stark contrast to the ovations for Huckabee, a one-time Baptist preacher who is a sentimental favorite of many religious conservatives.

Huckabee mixed humor, biblical references and the rhythms of a man used to the pulpit as he implored the crowd to put values above politics and not make expedient decisions.

He called for a constitutional amendment declaring marriage to be between a man and a woman and decried the "holocaust of liberalized abortion."

"We do not have the right to move the standards of God to meet cultural norms. We need to move the cultural norms to meet God's standards," he said, bringing the crowd to its feet.

Their GOP rivals, in speeches Friday, courted the conservative religious voters, who have a tradition of influence in elections.

In the straw poll Romney came in first with 1,595 votes, followed closely by Huckabee with 1,565. Significantly, however, Huckabee won more than half of the 953 voters who voted at the conference; Romney received 99 votes among conference attendees.

People who paid a nominal $1 fee to join the council were eligible to vote in the online poll, which began in August.

Romney has been assiduously courting social conservatives, trying to erase doubts over his Mormon faith and his past support of abortion rights.

For Giuliani, his speech was an important milestone in his search for the Republican presidential nomination. Giuliani supports abortion rights and has moderate views on immigration and gay rights. Married three times and distanced from his son and daughter, Giuliani made a rare reference to his personal troubles.

"You and I know that I'm not a perfect person," he said. "I've made mistakes in my life, but I've always done the best that I could to learn form them."

His front-runner status in the crowded GOP 2008 field has dismayed some social conservative leaders. Some even have contemplated supporting a third-party candidate if Giuliani is the Republican nominee.

"People of good conscience reach different conclusions about whether abortions should be legal in certain circumstances," Giuliani said while vowing to increase adoptions.

"We may not always agree," he said. "I don't always agree with myself. But I will give you reason to trust me."

Giuliani did not mention the subject of gay marriage in his remarks. Gary Bauer, a Christian activist and former presidential candidate, said Giuliani should have addressed the issue. But, he added, Giuliani helped himself by offering assurances on other fronts.

Bauer has been among a group of religious conservative leaders who have discussed supporting an existing minor-party candidate if the Democrat and Republican nominees both back abortion rights. On Saturday, Bauer said the idea of creating a third party would be the equivalent of "political suicide."

Still, some conservatives planned to meet later Saturday to continue their discussion.

Some at the conference said Giuliani had helped himself by giving reason for social conservatives to vote for him in a general election even though they might not support him in the primaries.

"He comforted a lot of conservatives," said Bob Kilbanks, an anti-abortion Republican and former congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. "It would be against my conscience to vote for him, but I think he would get a lot of conservative votes and he would come as near to protect life without changing his views and values."

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On the Net:

Family Research Council: http://www.frc.org

Rudy marching in the GAY PRIDE PARADE.....

 this guy gets More votes at "values voter summit" than 3 christian men (that aren't adulterers either).....9/11 has led to INSANITY in America.

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good picture

 

He offered assurances that despite his support for abortion rights, he would seek to lower the number of abortions. He pledged that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges, support school choice and insist on victory in Iraq — all issues important to the audience at the Values Voter Summit.

I won't expect this will work from a moderate/liberal condidate

fj45lvr said:

Rudy marching in the GAY PRIDE PARADE.....

 this guy gets More votes at "values voter summit" than 3 christian men (that aren't adulterers either).....9/11 has led to INSANITY in America.

 

Did you send this to the value voters?

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lol, good one!

I cannot believe these values voters actually voted for Romney and Huckabee. Yes,the issue of abortion is an important one,but that issue will not matter much at all when they have no country left.I didnt watch any of the top-tier,but I would be willing to bet that illegal immigration was never mentioned.If any of these CFR liars win,they will finish Jorges NAU,and implement the NWO.Then the values voters can forget pro-life issues,as theyand us will have no voice at all in anything.Voting for one of these would not be much different than voting for Hitlary or Obama!Tom got plenty of applause,and I thought he did really well,but they vote for Mitt instead?Even Ron Paul did really well,and he at least came in third.My word for these people is,UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

Reenie said: I cannot believe these values voters actually voted for Romney and Huckabee. Yes,the issue of abortion is an important one,but that issue will not matter much at all when they have no country left.I didnt watch any of the top-tier,but I would be willing to bet that illegal immigration was never mentioned.If any of these CFR liars win,they will finish Jorges NAU,and implement the NWO.Then the values voters can forget pro-life issues,as theyand us will have no voice at all in anything.Voting for one of these would not be much different than voting for Hitlary or Obama!Tom got plenty of applause,and I thought he did really well,but they vote for Mitt instead?Even Ron Paul did really well,and he at least came in third.My word for these people is,UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

yeah no kidding....one correction though:  Paul got third on an internet poll of those that joined the FRC (open to anybody).

those people actually in attendance at the Summit voted by a MASSIVE landslide for Huckabee....He recieved 5 times more votes than the nearest competitor (romney) followed by thompson and Tanc.

Amazingly enough mr. Adultery, abortion, and marches in gay pride parades got more than double the amount of votes that Paul recieved (and paul is married to the same woman for 50 years, outspoken against abortion and Gov. encroaching on Liberty and states rights and against the depravity of "pre-emptive" killing (as Christ taught)....so go figure......these "values" of the voters are based on ?????? FEAR primarily I guess....(a notion that God would not approve of).

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What I saw was,I believe on the ticker tape on Fox News.Why cant they just print the truth for once? I still cant believe it.I could never vote for Huckabee,he would give our country to Mexico on a silver platter to make up for what slaves went through over two hundred years ago.To redeem us!I guess they voted for him because he is an ex-pastor.Gr------------------!

No wonder the MSM has picked RUDY as "top tier".....we know different.

must watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEDGWlY38c0

 

 

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Ghouliani is only doing well because not enough about his past has come out. We all know where the Wall Street "conservatives" are going to run to! On money matters, not the social order/disorder and certainly not the Invasion fr. Mexico!

Of all the top tier, Romney is sounding the best on the Invasion. Romney sounds more like a conservative than any of the top tier. OOPS! I forgot!! Ron Paul is NOW considered a "top tier" guy?

It's pretty clear to me that the effort up to this point has been to ignore and stomp out the real conservatives Hunter and Tancredo. But the fix is in, and unless ROmney can do something spectacular to change conservatives' minds, it's gonna be Ghouliani vs Clinton. The Constitution Party is going to wait til April to announce a nominee, a huge mistake. They should hold their convention in early January!

But I heard on a tape that CFR was pushing for Ghouliani.  Hillary running and running her mouth will make Ghouliani seem like a better choice that way the people will choose him.

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fj45lvr said:

Reenie said: I cannot believe these values voters actually voted for Romney and Huckabee. Yes,the issue of abortion is an important one,but that issue will not matter much at all when they have no country left.I didnt watch any of the top-tier,but I would be willing to bet that illegal immigration was never mentioned.If any of these CFR liars win,they will finish Jorges NAU,and implement the NWO.Then the values voters can forget pro-life issues,as theyand us will have no voice at all in anything.Voting for one of these would not be much different than voting for Hitlary or Obama!Tom got plenty of applause,and I thought he did really well,but they vote for Mitt instead?Even Ron Paul did really well,and he at least came in third.My word for these people is,UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

yeah no kidding....one correction though:  Paul got third on an internet poll of those that joined the FRC (open to anybody).

those people actually in attendance at the Summit voted by a MASSIVE landslide for Huckabee....He recieved 5 times more votes than the nearest competitor (romney) followed by thompson and Tanc.

Amazingly enough mr. Adultery, abortion, and marches in gay pride parades got more than double the amount of votes that Paul recieved (and paul is married to the same woman for 50 years, outspoken against abortion and Gov. encroaching on Liberty and states rights and against the depravity of "pre-emptive" killing (as Christ taught)....so go figure......these "values" of the voters are based on ?????? FEAR primarily I guess....(a notion that God would not approve of).

 

I did not watch it.  Did not know it was on.  I have been planning a fundraiser for Tanc, but I did watch Tom's video on the blog, and read about Huckabee's surprising win.  msbobbie is shaking her head at the value voters choice.  I think a lot of them based their vote on the fact that he is a minister, period.  ( Remember the scandals with the TV egangilists?)  Some said they liked the way he spoke; HELLO! He is a preacher.  He is supposed to have a compelling delivery!

I am not sure what the Value Voters position is on illegal immigration and amnesty.  If they oppose it they need to know how Huckabee encouraged illegal immigration and giving amnesty and paths to citizenship in Arkansas.

A great deal of that information is available from  www.arkansasfreedom.com .

He may not be a CFR member, but he would allow himself to be led around by the nose on those issues.

 

 

 

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This is from the Family Research Council's own website:

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LH06D01

   

This is the address to contact the Family Research Council:

Family Research Council
801 G Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001

 

 

 

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I also learned you can print transcripts of all the candidates speeches from here:

http://www.frcblog.com/

Scroll down to

Washington Briefing: Transcripts of Presidential Candidates

 

 

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Rudy trying to sound like Rep Tancredo on border security.  This is good we need more candidates supporting better border security and enforcement of immigration laws.  We just don't need those without a track record of doing it serving as President. 

Giuliani talks tough on immigration By MIKE GLOVER Associated Press Writer

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Rudy Giuliani said Wednesday that if elected president he would end illegal immigration in as few as three years by employing the same police tactics he used to reduce the crime rate as New York mayor. "It can be done. It is not impossible," Giuliani told his audience at a town hall-style meeting. "You can do this, you can stop them at the border." Giuliani said he would boost the number of border security agents to 18,000 from the current 12,000, and build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border with technological monitoring to reduce illegal immigration. He also would deploy federal agents along the border at 50-mile intervals, using high-tech monitors to detect people trying to enter the country illegally. Giuliani said expanding the force is the same strategy he employed as mayor to lower New York's crime rate. Adding border agents could have similar results on immigration, he said. "If you do this for two or three years, you'll change behavior," Giuliani said. "If people come to the border and figure they can't get in, they'll stop." Giuliani was pushing on an issue that deeply divides the nation and where there are significant differences between the Republican candidates. Rival Sen. John McCain supported a failed immigration bill that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 12 million illegal immigrants in the country. That stance cost him backing of party conservatives who view that as granting amnesty. On Tuesday, rival Fred Thompson proposed stripping some federal grant money from cities and states that do not report illegal immigrants to federal authorities. Thompson also called for stronger border security. Giuliani said the nation needs first to stop illegal immigration before it can turn its attention to the legal immigration it needs to fill certain jobs. He also would institute a tamper-proof ID system to make sure that legal immigrants are working, "which means they would be paying taxes and Social Security." I don't blame them for wanting to be more like Tom..... SovereignMan