Ron Paul Wins "Values Voter" Straw Poll

[FrankRep]

http://static01.mediaite.com/med/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Picture-140.png
Ron Paul, CPAC 2011 Straw Poll Winner (http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/6299-ron-paul-wins-cpac-presidential-straw-vote)




Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll October 8 with 37 percent of the vote, besting Herman Cain's 23 percent.



Ron Paul Wins "Values Voter" Straw Poll (http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/9311-ron-paul-wins-qvalues-voterq-straw-poll)


Thomas R. Eddlem | The New American (http://thenewamerican.com/)
08 October 2011

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Speech video?

[FrankRep]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAPVeOfR2yY&feature=related

[jmdrake]

This material is too good to leave it just at a link.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul won the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll October 8 with 37 percent of the vote, besting Herman Cain's 23 percent in a Christian right audience with his message of peace and limited government.

The libertarian-leaning Republican had barely registered in the 2010 Values Voter Summit, and certainly would not have been a favorite in this year's summit. The event was sponsored by the following Christian right organizations: the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, American Values (headed by Gary Bauer), and the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. The neo-conservative Heritage Foundation also co-sponsored the weekend event.

The Heritage Foundation has generally been a supporter of more foreign military interventionism, opposing cuts in military spending even though the United States currently spends almost as much on armaments as the rest of the world combined. This is the opposite of Ron Paul's platform, which calls for military spending cuts and withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. Paul told the audience to wild cheers:

Christ was recognized to be the prince of peace. He was never to be recognized as the promoter of war. And he even said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be the children of God.” He never said blessed are the war makers. It was the peacemakers that we must honor and protect.

Paul also told the biblical story of the danger of executive branch power, and how it can replace the morality of the people. Relaying the story in 1 Samuel, chapter eight, Paul noted the warnings of Samuel against a king who wants wars and high taxes. "Samuel, although he knew he wasn’t going to be around long, he advised the people of Israel not to accept the king, because the king, he warned, would not be generous. He would undermine their liberties. There would be more wars. There would be more taxes. And besides, accepting the notion of a king would reject the notion that, up until that time, since they had left Egypt, their true king was their God and the guidance from their God." Paul concluded to cheers: "We have too often relied on our king in Washington, and we have to change that."

Paul even presented the biblical case for not using the power of government to solve "the problem of prostitution," and perhaps surprisingly (considering the audience) won crowd applause for his explanation:

We are taught in the New Testament about caring for the poor and caring for our families and our neighbors and friends. But never did Christ say, you know, let’s go and lobby Rome to make sure we’re taken care of. It was a personal responsibility for us. Christ was confronted at one time by a prostitute, but he didn’t call for the centurions. He didn’t call for more laws. But he was very direct and thought that stoning was not the solution to the problem of prostitution.

Some mainstream media stories focused upon political/religious sideshows, rather than Paul's victory. USA Today focused upon the insult against Mormons by Robert Jeffress, the lead pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas. Jeffress, a Rick Perry supporter, called frontrunner Mitt Romney "not a Christian" and a member of a "cult" for his Mormon faith. Mormons (formally, the Church of Jesus Christ-Latter Day Saints) differ from Christian sects in how they define the Trinity and believe that Jesus visited North America in pre-Columbian times, a visit church members believe was re-discovered by church founder Joseph Smith in upstate New York in 1820.

Other mainstream news media downplayed Paul's victory, focusing instead upon the poor performance of frontrunners Rick Perry (fourth place, eight percent) and Mitt Romney (sixth place, four percent). The lead graph on the New York Times story pooh-poohing Paul's victory began: "Wildly enthusiastic Ron Paul supporters, including busloads of college students, have been a visible presence at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, so no one was surprised when Mr. Paul won the conference’s annual straw poll of presidential preferences on Saturday." But the reality is that Paul should have been seen as an underdog. Much of the Christian right has looked suspiciously at anyone adopting the label "libertarian" for fear it is an embrace of immorality rather than merely a practical view of the limits of government power.

Ron Paul's official campaign blogger Jack Hunter claimed that Ron Paul's address "in my estimation, won over a lot of new converts." Maybe those busloads of enthusiastic college kids — as they mingled in with the crowd — had an impact as well.



+rep Frank.

Edit: If Herman Cain or any other candidate had won this it would have been "proof" of his/her "frontrunner status".

[Dr.3D]

Much of the Christian right has looked suspiciously at anyone adopting the label "libertarian" for fear it is an embrace of immorality rather than merely a practical view of the limits of government power.

Did Ron Paul adopt the label or was it placed on him by the media?
I can understand the media putting the label on him in an attempt to do exactly what is quoted above.

[Democrat4Paul]

the label libertarian? well he ran for president on the libertarian ticket in 1988 and his ideals are still right on. as a republican some in his party like to call him "self proclaimed" as to show their disapproval of him. iow, he doesn't tow the party line, exactly. some of it, sure. but he also has ideas that fit squarely in that "other" party. yeah, my party. my former party, that is

point is, they are all american ideals, and paul embraces them all. ever hear of "divide and conquer?" thats exactly what our two party system has done. i am afraid the fix is in, and we have been duped. hey, its no conspiracy. just a lack of respect and regard for our freedoms at the cost of our freedoms. typical government bs. you see it the world 'round. paul would end all that and rather then divide and conquer, its unite and prosper. as a nation and a people

the values voters? i am surprised they support paul so strongly, but in a way i understand why they do. here is a fact, i believe. they just want a candidate to tell them the truth and be honest about who he is and where he stands. and paul does this. but paul stops short of infringing on the freedom of others with his beliefs and personal ideals. if he were a pastor, great. be he is not. and he understand this, i believe

ron paul has said telling people how to live their lives and imposing laws on them which compel them to live a certain way is not freedom, and equal to tyranny. and he is right. don't believe him? look at iran. if you believe a person stands and falls on their own merit and by their own means you will not interfere with their personal behavior. if a person is sick with drug addiction paul understands as a physician to treat and not to punish. for that is the truly moral and christian way and will show compassion to those who need it most. how better to show a person the "right" way to live then to truly show them the christian way?

freedom means freedom for all and respect for all. it becomes a two way street. you may not respect the lifestyle or life choices of some. but certainly we can be civil to one another as we pass in the streets and our marketplaces, and take pride and comfort in knowing we are all free to live and do as we please within the law in this place we call america. which above all would and should hold personal freedom and freewill and determination in its highest regard. whatever you, i, or anyone else may believe personally, sometimes it really is none of our business. thats a big pill to swallow for some. but its a pill that will take a collective weight off of our nations shoulders and off the shoulders of its people

Ron Paul for pres, 2012