GOP '08 Candidates to Kiss Religious Right Butt at "Values Voter Summit"

Posted by Joe Sudbay at 7:59 AM on October 19, 2007.

This post, written by Joe Sudbay, originally appeared on AMERICAblog

Big weekend in DC for the ultra-right wingers. They're having their "Values Voters Summit" at the Washington Hilton, conveniently located in the gayest neighborhood in the city.

All the GOP presidential candidates are going to be here to kiss the butts of the religious right. The religious right types aren't so enamored with the GOP candidates as the Washington Post reminds us:

For months, Republican presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and John McCain have courted evangelical Christians, meeting with religious leaders throughout the Midwest and the South.

Today, thousands of Christian conservatives will gather in Washington to confront the fact that none of the candidates has won them over.

So big test for all those Republican wannabes. Can they win over the fringe James Dobson-types of the GOP?

They've already started tripping over themselves to be the most right-wing of the right-wing according to the Associated Press preview:

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's argument to woo restive religious and social conservatives comes down to this: "I have a record that can be trusted." GOP rival Mitt Romney's goes like this: "I am pro-family on every level, from personal to political."

The two are among the Republican presidential hopefuls speaking to a gathering of "values voters" in Washington. This influential part of the party's base has not coalesced around a Republican candidate, and all the major competitors are auditioning for the part in speeches this weekend.

In remarks prepared for delivery Friday and made available to The Associated Press, McCain and Romney separately challenge the candidacy of Rudy Giuliani, although neither names the former New York mayor who backs abortion rights and gay rights.

"We're not going to beat Hillary Clinton by acting like Hillary Clinton," Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, says. Adds McCain, the Arizona senator: "This is not the time to turn our back on the progress we've made on the issues that matter most."

The Hilton is across the street from me so I'll probably swing by this event today to see it for myself. I just wish Pam Spaulding was here to enjoy it with me.

Tagged as: republicans, religious right, election08, mccain, giuliani, romney, religious conservatives, values voter summit

Joe Sudbay is a DC-based political consultant with over twenty years of experience at both the state and federal level.