Sunday NY Post leaves out Ron Paul
McCain, Giuliani finish last
Washington, DC -Even though Jeffersonian conservative presidential candidate Ron Paul has declared the media blackout of his candidacy is over, don't tell that to the editors of the New York Post.
The "conservative" paper owned by Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch, has managed the feat of covering the Family Research Council's recent "Values Voter" presidential debate, and ranking candidates according to their popularity with "values voters" without mentioning third-place finisher GOP presidential contender Ron Paul (R-Tex).
The page 4 story in the Sunday Post, "Religious Right Rejects [Giuliani's] Values Plea" chooses to report only the "onsite voting results" and then actually drops off Ron Paul's name. It also manages to write a full article without mentioning either Ron Paul or his results. This is in marked contrast to other major news outlets (CNN, Daily News) that mention Ron Paul and his results as an obviously routine part of the coverage of the Values Voter debate.
Maybe there was justification in leaving Ron Paul out of commentary in a crowded field six months ago. But Ron Paul has now raised more money than most of his fellow GOP candidates and finished higher, on average, in more straw polls than any other GOP candidate.
Coming from behind as a "dark horse," Ron Paul is arguably the biggest story in American politics in this political year � one of the reasons that, as a free-market news site, FMNN has continually covered him and his campaign.
At this point, the New York Post would seem to owe its readers an explanation of just what its editorial really policy is and what it considers a "conservative." Even in its own press release, the Family Research Council chose to highlight the on-line straw poll rather than the smaller "onsite" poll results. http://www.frcaction.org/get.cfm?i=PR074
Nearly six thousand votes - 5,775 - were cast in the first-ever Values Voters Straw Poll at FRC Action's 2nd Annual Washington Briefing. FRC Action members had the choice of voting on-line, by mail, or at electronic voting stations during this weekend's event. All presidential candidates from both parties were listed on the ballot. The following are the straw poll results:
Candidate Name Total Votes Percentage
1. Mitt Romney 1,595 27.62 %
2. Mike Huckabee 1,565 27.10 %
3. Ron Paul 865 14.98%
4. Fred Thompson 564 9.77 %
5. Sam Brownback 297 5.14 %
6. Duncan Hunter 140 2.42 %
7. Tom Tancredo 133 2.30 %
8. Rudy Giuliani 107 1.85 %
9. John McCain 81 1.40 %
* The full results can be accessed at www.frcaction.org
The straw poll voting process is constructed so that each member of FRC Action will only be able to vote one time regardless of how the voting occurs (i.e. US mail, email alert or at the event). Every member of FRC Action has a unique identifier which must be used in order to vote electronically.
For more information on The Washington Briefing 2007: Values Voter Summit, log onto www.frcactionwashingtonbriefing.org.
Giuliani recently opened his ND office and Ron Paul has seen much more public support. Campaingers for Ron Paul have already posted their yard signs, participated in parades and held public meetings.
Ron Paul Comes Third In Poll of Religious Right, Beats Giuliani, McCain, Thompson
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney narrowly won a Republican presidential straw poll of Christian conservatives on Saturday, while Rudy Giuliani persuaded few to look past his support of abortion rights.
The poll at a summit of self-styled values voters was largely symbolic but highlighted the continuing failure of ardent anti-abortion social conservatives to rally behind a single Republican candidate in the 2008 White House race.
Romney took 27.6 percent of almost 6,000 votes cast, just ahead of Mike Huckabee, the folksy former governor of Arkansas, who gained 27.1 percent at the conference organized by the Family Research Council.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney narrowly won a Republican presidential straw poll of Christian conservatives on Saturday, while Rudy Giuliani persuaded few to look past his support of abortion rights.
The poll at a summit of self-styled values voters was largely symbolic but highlighted the continuing failure of ardent anti-abortion social conservatives to rally behind a single Republican candidate in the 2008 White House race.
Romney took 27.6 percent of almost 6,000 votes cast, just ahead of Mike Huckabee, the folksy former governor of Arkansas, who gained 27.1 percent at the conference organized by the Family Research Council.
Maverick Texas Congressman Ron Paul was third with almost 15 percent while former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson got under 10 percent, a major disappointment for his campaign.
Giuliani was eighth with 107 votes -- under 2 percent.
The victory was a lift for Romney, struggling to overcome the distrust and hostility that many evangelical Christians feel toward his Mormon faith.
Romney appears to have been making inroads among religious conservatives as he portrays himself as a committed opponent of abortion, despite his relatively recent conversion to their cause. He told the gathering on Friday night that he would be a "pro-life president."
In his speech on Saturday, Giuliani appealed to his audience to look beyond his support for abortion rights and focus on shared values, such as fighting crime and his vow to relentlessly pursue the war on terror.
"I truly believe that what unites us is greater than any of the things which divide us," Giuliani, a former New York mayor, said to the crowd of mostly white evangelical Protestants who comprise a key segment of the Republican base.
Stridently anti-abortion and anti-gay rights, this movement known as the "religious right" has watched with dismay as Giuliani, who shot to national prominence after the September 11 attacks in 2001, grabbed the lead in the race for the Republican 2008 presidential nomination.
Some have spoken of backing a third party candidate to fly their anti-abortion banner should he become the nominee.
Opposition to abortion has become an almost sacred Republican plank because of the religious right's influence but Giuliani threatens to break that taboo.
The thrice-married Giuliani, a Roman Catholic who also supports gay rights, dismissed charges that he was an "activist for liberal causes" and told the crowd that Christianity was a religion of inclusion in a speech that drew warm applause but no thunderous ovations.
Saying he felt his faith deeply but privately, Giuliani stressed his record of reducing crime in New York, reiterated his staunch support for Israel and said that victory was the only option in the war on terror.
Giuliani also told them he would appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court -- a key policy plank since the Holy Grail of the social conservative cause is getting a bench that will overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision granting women a constitutional right to an abortion.
Giuliani also pledged to work to increase adoptions and decrease abortions -- a stance which hardliners, who say they could never bring themselves to support a pro-choice candidate, regard as far too soft.
"The party has always been a big tent but it's not that big a tent," said Michael Scully, a Romney supporter.
