Presidential Issues

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When religion becomes fair game

USA Today

In the race for the White House this year, speeches have turned sharply from the political to the biblical as Democrats have strived to close the "God gap" with Republicans over the religious vote. Yet, when pressed about their own faith or faithlessness, candidates have been less eager to answer, claiming that such questions are personal and beyond the pale. But it may be time to demand that, when politicians call to the faithful, they should have to answer to the faithful on their own religious practices.

Huckabee's hopes up in Iowa

The Washington Times

Top Iowa Republicans say Mike Huckabee has entered the "can-win" class of presidential nomination hopefuls — at least for the moment. The former Arkansas governor is within six points of Mitt Romney in a new poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers and has the potential to inspire many of Iowa's churchgoers to leave the pews to pound the neighborhood block on his behalf, they say. "I would not be surprised if he comes in second or possibly wins the caucuses here, especially since Sam Brownback has dropped out," said former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad.

National Right to Life Committee Endorses Thompson

Fox News

Fred Thompson on Tuesday fielded the endorsement of the largest anti-abortion group in the country, giving the GOP candidate a boost in his quest to appeal to conservative voters. The National Right to Life Committee announced the endorsement in Washington, D.C., while Thompson was campaigning in South Carolina. “Our endorsement is a testament to Sen. Thompson's longstanding pro-life record, his commitment to protecting unborn children and our belief in his ability to win,” said Wanda Franz, president of the committee.

Bush Pushes Budget Fight With Democrats

Los Angeles Times

NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- President Bush, escalating his budget battle with Congress, on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and education programs prized by congressional Democrats. He also signed a big increase in the Pentagon's non-war budget although the White House complained it contained "some unnecessary spending." The president's action was announced on Air Force One as Bush flew to New Albany, Ind., on the Ohio River across from Louisville, Ky., for a speech criticizing the Democratic-led Congress on its budget priorities. In excerpts of his remarks released in advance by the White House, Bush hammered Democrats for what he called a tax-and-spend philosophy: "The Congress now sitting in Washington holds this philosophy," Bush said. "Their majority was elected on a pledge of fiscal responsibility, but so far it is acting like a teenager with a new credit card. "This year alone, leaders in Congress are proposing to spend $22 billion more than my budget provides," the president said. "Some of them claim this is not really much of a difference and the scary part is that they seem to mean it."

Bullet 333Karin Agness, Founder and President, Network of enlightened Women (NeW)
Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

Fear of a dynasty denies Hillary Clinton votes

TimesOnline

BILL CLINTON is finding it difficult to transfer voters’ affections for him to his wife as opponents exploit concerns that two dynasties – the Bush and Clinton families – could dominate American politics for 28 years. Grover Norquist, one of America’s most influential Republican activists, aims to turn the question of dynasty into a campaign issue. “It will be ridiculous to have Mr President and Madam President in the White House,” he said. “We’re the United States of America. How can we say to President Mubarak [of Egypt], ‘You can’t hand off the presidency to your son, it’s got to be your wife’ or, ‘Hey Syria and North Korea, you’ve got to knock this stuff off and be like us’.” Norquist has commissioned lawyers to draw up a constitutional amendment that would ban family members from succeeding one another to elected and appointed office. If passed, it would not apply to the Clintons as a Bush was elected in between them. But Norquist believes that it will alert voters to the perils of dynasty. “Americans don’t like to go back,” he said.

From Back of G.O.P. Pack, Huckabee Is Stirring

The New York Times

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Nov. 8 — Mike Huckabee’s field staff had expected a modest crowd for a campaign event at a tiny rural community college near here on Wednesday. But as people began to cram into the shoe-box-size room, campaign organizers scurried to roll back a dividing wall and set up extra chairs. To the Huckabee campaign, it was another small note in a recent trickle of encouraging moments. His fund-raising is up, the campaign just received its first major Christian conservative endorsement and most of all — to Mr. Huckabee’s obvious delight — opponents are beginning to take potshots at him. “I’ve always said as a hunter, ‘You never put the cross hairs on a dead carcass,’” Mr. Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, told reporters Wednesday. “You only aim for something that’s alive that you’d like to take home.”

Thompson, Obama get most positive coverage: study

Reuters

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - A new study of campaign 2008 coverage finds that Illinois Democrat Barack Obama and former "Law & Order" actor Fred Thompson, a Republican, have enjoyed much more positive coverage than their rivals. By the same token, longtime media darling John McCain of the GOP has taken a beating in coverage, largely the result of mostly negative stories about his fundraising struggles. The study of coverage was conducted from January 1-May 31 by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy. Obama has attained rock star status on the campaign trail even though he's behind Hillary Clinton in the voter polls. Obama received positive coverage in 47% of all stories about him. But the study also found that Obama seemed to be slipping after May, with more neutral and negative stories. Some 46% of the stories about Thompson had been positive with only 4% negative about his candidacy.

Linking Terror on the Trail

Wall Street Journal

A divide is emerging on the presidential campaign trail over battling terrorists: how exactly to label the fight. While Democrats tend to talk about terrorism in general, Republicans increasingly pin the threat directly on Islam. All the major Republican candidates regularly weave some form of the phrase "Islamic extremism" into their stump speeches. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has taken the rhetoric to a new level, running a television advertisement about "this century's nightmare, jihadism." Democratic candidates generally don't emphasize linking Islam and terrorism. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton talks more of "global terrorism," while Sen. Barack Obama refers to "stateless terrorism." "In four Democratic debates, not a single Democratic candidate said the word 'Islamic terrorism,' " former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at a Republican debate. "Now that is taking a political correctness to extremes." Those who like the Republican candidates' choice of language say it reflects the reality of who threatens America the most. "Everybody ought to call an ace an ace," says Jim Gorsh, a 62-year-old retiree who heard Mr. Romney speak in Clinton, Iowa, earlier this month.

The October 21 Republican Debate

FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON — The Republican presidential candidates were fanning out across America on Monday after spending a lively evening failing to agree on who is the most conservative candidate in the White House race, but reaching consensus on the most liberal: Hillary Clinton. Sunday night’s GOP presidential primary debate in Orlando, Fla., offered some of the sharpest jabs of the campaign season but much of the argument was good-natured and went for laughter over anger. Still, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, who both had great weekends keying in on conservative voters in Florida and Washington, D.C., were left to defend their performances as governor and mayor of largely liberal Massachusetts and New York City respectively. Right out of the box, latecomer Fred Thompson accused Giuliani of supporting both abortion and sanctuary cities — taboo positions for conservatives.

Bob Jones III Backs Romney

CR Daily

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Bob Jones III, chancellor of the Christian fundamentalist school named for his family, is endorsing Republican Mitt Romney for president. Romney's campaign confirmed Jones' endorsement Tuesday. "We're proud to have Dr. Jones' support and look forward to working with him to communicate Governor Romney's message of conservative change to voters," Romney spokesman William Holley said in a statement. Jones didn't immediately respond to a message left Tuesday evening by The Associated Press. But he told a Greenville newspaper that supporting Romney is critical to make sure former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani doesn't win the GOP nomination and that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't win the election. "If it turns out to be Giuliani and Hillary we've got two pro-choice candidates, and that would be a disaster," Jones told The Greenville News for a story on its Web site Tuesday. Romney and Jones would appear to be a political odd couple, with the Southern fundamentalist Christian throwing his support behind the Mormon who was governor of Massachusetts. But Jones said his endorsement came after he decided Romney would do the most to represent the average conservative American.

Giuliani Clashes With Romney Over Taxes and Spending

The New York Times

Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts tangled over taxes and government spending as the Republican presidential candidates debated today in Michigan, highlighting the way in which their increasingly fierce confrontation is starting to dominate the race for their party’s nomination. The debate also marked the debut of Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee alongside his Republican rivals. Mr. Thompson often appeared unsmiling and less practiced than the eight others onstage with him, who had already met five times before today, but avoided any notable missteps and held his own on substantive exchanges over the economy and foreign policy. Mr. Thompson often found himself a bystander as Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Romney attacked one another — or, just as frequently, went after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, reflecting the eagerness of Republicans for a general election matchup against Mrs. Clinton, the New York Democrat who is leading in national polls. Mr. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, and Mr. Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, employed a blizzard of often-conflicting statistics as they sought to undercut each other’s record on cutting taxes or spending. But most of all, they clashed over a line-item veto that Mr. Romney said was essential to reducing spending in Washington and that Mr. Giuliani, as mayor, challenged successfully in the United States Supreme Court.

Christian Conservatives Consider Bolting GOP for Third Party

CR Daily

Some of the nation's most politically influential conservative Christians, alarmed by the prospect of a Republican presidential nominee who supports abortion rights, are talking about backing a third-party candidate. More than 40 Christian conservatives attended a weekend meeting in Salt Lake City to discuss the possibility, and planned more gatherings on how they should move forward, according to conservative activist Richard Viguerie. Other participants in the meeting included Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson. But a spokesman for Focus on the Family Action says Dobson and others at the meeting did not commit to supporting a third party and spoke out against the idea.

Bush to Name Ex-Judge as Successor to Gonzales

New York Times

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 — President Bush has decided to nominate Michael B. Mukasey, a former federal judge from New York who has presided over some high-profile terrorism trials, as his next attorney general and is expected to announce the selection Monday, according to several people familiar with the decision. Should the Senate confirm him, Mr. Mukasey (pronounced mew-KAY-see) would become the third attorney general to serve under Mr. Bush. As the top law enforcement officer in the United States, he would preside over a Justice Department that has been buffeted by Congressional inquiries into the firing of federal prosecutors and the resignation of the previous attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales. Unlike Mr. Gonzales, Mr. Mukasey is not a close confidant of the president. Nor is he a Washington insider. But people in both political parties say he possesses the two qualities that Mr. Bush has been looking for in a nominee: a law-and-order sensibility that dovetails with the president’s agenda for the fight against terror, and the potential to avoid a bruising confirmation battle with the Democrats who now run the Senate. With 16 months left in office, Mr. Bush can ill afford a drawn-out confirmation fight.

Americans Commemorate Sept. 11 Anniversary

People

On the sixth anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Americans are pausing to commemorate the tragedy. In New York, where most of the victims died, the city plans to mark the event with four moments of silence – two for when each plane hit one of the World Trade Center Towers and two for the moments when each building fell. Families will leave flowers for their lost loved ones at ground zero. Unlike previous years, the names of the more than 2,700 victims will be read by firefighters and first responders (rather than family members) in Zuccotti Park, a small public park instead of at the World Trade Center site.

Thompson: I can stop Hillary Clinton

CNN

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- As Fred Thompson officially hits the campaign trail, he's making a pitch to conservative Republicans nervous that the 2008 presidential race could lead to a Democratic president -- and even one named Clinton. Thompson says he's the candidate who could prevent that from happening by campaigning on true conservative values. "To my Republican friends, I point out that in 1992, we were down after a Clinton victory," Thompson said in a video announcement posted to his campaign Web site Thursday morning. "In '94, our conservative principles led us to a comeback and majority control of the Congress. Now, you don't want to have to come back from another Clinton victory. Our country needs us to win next year, and I'm ready to lead that effort," he said. Thompson made his first official campaign appearance in Des Moines, Iowa, after finally announcing his candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination Wednesday evening on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

Fred Thompson finally announces run

The Politico

At 7:57 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, while taping "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for broadcast later in the evening, Fred Thompson finally said: "I'm running for president of the United States." The studio audience responded with thunderous applause. Thompson rejected the notion that he has waited too long to get into the race for the White House. "People treat politicians sort of like the dentist -- they don't have anything to do with them till they have to," he said. "A lot of people have been, of course, running for some time. Everybody kind of changed the rules.

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GOP Candidates Debate Over the Iraq War

MyWayNews

In the Fox News Channel debate: _Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney thumped former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the "sanctuary" policy that stopped New York City workers from reporting illegal immigrants. Giuliani accused Romney of tolerating the same policy in Massachusetts cities while he was governor. _Huckabee called for a "human life" amendment to outlaw abortion. _McCain and Giuliani refused to make a no-new-taxes pledge, instead citing their records of supporting tax cuts. Thompson already has raised eyebrows on taxes; traveling last month in Iowa, he refused to rule out raising taxes. "You can't win a Republican primary for the presidency without clearly stating you're not going to raise taxes," said Pat Toomey, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who heads the anti-tax group Club for Growth. "He's been able to avoid taking a lot of shots." Thompson's campaign also has stumbled, raising less money than expected and weathering a stream of staff departures amid grumbling about the active role Thompson's wife, Jeri, has played in the formerly unofficial campaign. "Let's say we chalk it up to working the kinks out," GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said. "But they have to run a near-perfect campaign from here on out, because they've got a lot of catching up to do." Now the bar is set high for Thompson, who will be judged on how much money he raises, how his announcement goes and the kind of campaign team he assembles, Fabrizio said.

Thompson to Announce Bid Sept. 6

Time

(DES MOINES, Iowa) — Republican Fred Thompson will officially launch his presidential bid Sept. 6 in a Webcast on his campaign site, followed by a five-day tour of early primary states. "I believe that there are millions of Americans who know that our security and prosperity are at risk if we don't address the challenges of our time; the global threat of terrorism; taxes and spending that will bankrupt future generations, and a government that can't seem to get the most basic responsibilities right for its citizens," the former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" actor said in a statement Thursday that laid out themes of his campaign. Thompson, 65, is vying to be seen as the most consistent mainstream conservative in the race.

Dems Get More Airtime on Morning News Shows, Watchdog Group Says

FoxNews.com

NEW YORK — A conservative media watchdog organization charged Wednesday that the network morning news shows have spent considerably more time this year on Democrats running for president than on Republicans. Network news executives rejected any suggestion of bias, and said they have a considerably harder time getting Republican candidates to appear on their shows. Through July 31, the ABC, CBS and NBC morning news shows devoted 284 campaign segments to Democratic candidates and 152 to Republicans, according to the Media Research Center. Another 81 stories discussed both parties or a possible independent run by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. • Get the latest campaign news in FOXNews.com's You Decide 2008 Center, learn about the candidates in the Eye on the Issues Center and read the daily Update '08 newsletter. "The double standard has got to stop," said L. Brent Bozell, the group's founder. "What you hope is that there would be fairness. If you are going to give that much coverage to the Democrats, give it to the Republicans, too."

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