GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses crowd at Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington, D.C. 6/3/11
Why have conservative thinkers, commentators, Tea Partiers, politicians, political strategists, and GOP presidential hopefuls converged in Washington D.C. for a couple of days?
They’re in our nation’s capitol to participate in Ralph Reed’s 2nd annual Faith and Freedom Conference and to get a ‘look-see’ at the upcoming GOP presidential campaign.
Governor Mitt Romney was there:
* Economic issues dominate
* Romney: Economy is “moral tragedy
WASHINGTON, June 3 – Republican presidential hopefuls courted Christian conservative voters on Friday at a conference where U.S. economic concerns shared the stage with social issues that frequently dominate the religious right.
Many political speakers at the Faith and Freedom Coalition emphasized jobs, debt and deficits on the day the Labor Department reported the unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in May.
In contrast to some previous presidential campaigns, social issues like gay marriage and abortion have not been prominent topics for Republican hopefuls seeking to replace President Barack Obama in next year’s election.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, who announced his bid this week, began his 2008 presidential run talking largely about social issues. His 2012 run has begun with an emphasis on the economy.
Romney told the crowd the sputtering economy is a “moral crisis” and criticized the White House for saying the rise in unemployment represented “bumps on the road to recovery.”
“No, Mr. President, that’s not a bump, that’s Americans,” Romney said. Unemployed people are not statistics, he said.
Evangelicals are a powerful force in Republican politics, usually a reliable base of support for the party. And they will be key to victory in Iowa, whose voting contest in January will help set the tone for the 2012 Republican presidential race.
[...]
(emphasis added) Continue reading here.
F&F Conference founder, evangelical Ralph Reed, was interviewed by Newsmax TV yesterday. Here’s what he said about Romney:
He [Reed] credited former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with being a “trail blazer” in 2008 as the first Mormon candidate by either party to be a viable candidate for the presidential nomination. He predicts the Mormon faith will be much less of an issue for Romney and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman in the upcoming cycle.
To watch Romney’s Faith and Freedom speech, click here.
I can’t count the number of political commentators I’ve heard in the last two days state that Gov Romney’s presidential announcement and Faith and Freedom speech couldn’t have been better timed. With the troubling unemployment numbers released yesterday, unrelenting home foreclosures, high gasoline, clothing, and food prices, slumping auto sales, overall market uncertainty, and genuine fear of a double-dip recession, Romney’s authentic voice on economic recovery is making people sit up and pay attention.
When The Gov’s Faith & Freedom speech ended last night, he was inundated by the excited crowd; so much so, that after waiting for a few minutes, the emcee had to interrupt the crush to introduce the next speaker.
For additional reading, more video, and updates
◆ Haley Barbour, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus Warn Conservatives
Leading Republican politicians warned fiscally conservative and religiously devout voters Friday not to impose “purity” tests on candidates seeking the party’s 2012 presidential nomination.
“In politics, purity is the enemy of victory,” Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told an audience of approximately 400 attendees at the first annual Faith and Freedom Coalition conference at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel in Washington. “We can’t expect our [presidential] candidate to be pure. Winning is about unity, not purity.“
To watch Barbour’s F&F speech, click here. (I think you’ll enjoy what he has to say.)
◆ Bill O’Reilly – Poverty and the President:
This time next year, we should have a Republican in place to challenge President Obama for the title of ‘World’s Most Powerful Man.” The campaign, of course, is the ultimate reality show, and it could get nasty.
As it stands now, Obama has to be considered the favorite despite the shaky economy. The Osama bin Laden takedown was huge for him, and the Medicare debate is going his way, as well. The president is a shrewd campaigner and may have as much as a billion dollars in donated money at his disposal. That kind of cash can buy a lot of things.
If the Grand Old Party nominates a populist candidate, it will lose the election. Independent voters will decide the race, and they are looking for someone to improve their lives, not drive ideology. The tea party movement is a force, but unless it is willing to compromise in some areas, there will be no celebration in Boston Harbor come November 2012.
(emphasis added)
◆ Larry Kudlow – Obama’s Job Recession
Political advantage can be fleeting. A couple of months ago, during the winter quarter, job gains looked to be picking up, unemployment was easing lower, and President Obama’s reelection hopes looked more secure. But things sure have changed.
.@BarackObama calls 9.1% unemployment a “bump in the road,” but those are American families he just ran over http://mi.tt/iQYv5Lless than a minute ago via web 
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► Jayde Wyatt
haha .. Jayde, you managed to omit that the next speaker that the emcee had to interrupt Romney’s crush for … was Ron Paul. Very few peple returned to their seats even after the introduction began. When he mentioned Ron Paul’s name, it sounded like one person whooped. It was so embarrassingly minimal that he had to say, “It’s okay if you want to cheer for Ron; he’s a good guy.” Only then did you hear a few more cheers.
Anyone want to comment on how the other candidates did in their speeches?
I listened to some of Paw’s speech (it was a dare). Sounded like he was trying so hard to be “passionate” that he was at times channelling a Baptist preacher. Other things I noticed was that he really does copy Romney’s speeches .. weird .. his closing was very similar to a tweet that Romney sent out after his announcement and his opening sounded like one of the speeches Romney just gave, except that I didn’t like that he was trying too hard to run with the “honesty” meme. He said that Obama won’t tell the truth as to what it will take to fix the country. I don’t think that’s it all .. I think Mitt, in quoting Reagan, is right .. it’s just that so much of what he “knows” is wrong. Obama is doing what he, sadly, thinks will work, but it’s making things worse. Finally, as mentioned, Romney was really swarmed afterward .. it was obvious .. after Paw, one person followed him on is way down the stairs and they were able to go right on to the next presenter.
I have a different perspective of Obama. I don’t think his actions are “inexperience” or “ineptness”. I have come to believe that Obama’s actions are INTENTIONAL. I believe he espouses the “collapse the economy” of Cloward and Piven to go with his “fundamental transformation” (not too mention his wife’s “finally proud of America” comment during the 2008 election!). With his redistribution ideology, with the radicals this administration is linked to………his actions ARE the way he thinks. I really don’t think he is the least interested in getting the economy going. The more reliant on welfare, unemployment, food stamps………that all fits part of the overwhelm the system.
Just my opinion..
Now Romney……….HE’s who will help the Jobs & Economy!!
and ps………Ann and Mitt have loved America and been proud of America for ….always.
There is no desire to “transform” America but to “restore” the hope and best of America.
yes .. ccr, many people subscribe to that idea, but I think Mitt is smart to focus on the “effect” vs the “intent.” It much easier to convince the American public that the guy with the soaring rhetoric and nice family portrait is just inept & incompetent dealing with the economy than morally corrupt and evil … when the end result is the same .. THE GUY NEEDS TO GO.
Crystalf……..agree! The other “i—-” words are what are needed for this election by Mitt. The “intentional” is why we understand “the guy needs to go!”
Mitt shows character in his dealing with opponents or those who have maligned him. That was something I noticed in 2008. We need both ability and character in the WH. Romney has them, I believe.
We need to mount an effort to push Mitt over 1M fb fans.
It is a moral crisis but the only way we’re going to get out of it is through tariffs on imports and regulation of energy.