Look Who it Was Random video

Possible GOP candidates pitch ideas at conservat

6 views · Published 28 January 2015 · 1:44 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2015 · News & Politics

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YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- The robust Christian right in early-voting Iowa plays an outsize role in helping determine the Republican presidential nominee, a political reality not lost on the parade of would-be 2016 candidates trying to draw attention at a Saturday gathering of social conservatives.

Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, former Govs. Rick Perry of Texas and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and many others turned the Iowa Freedom Forum into the unofficial launch of the next campaign for the Iowa caucuses. More than 1,000 religious conservatives met at a refurbished theater to hear them pitch their policies and their values.

Christie may have had the most to gain ‚€ or lose ‚€ from appearing at the forum. Considered a moderate in some GOP circles and a party establishment choice in others, the New Jersey governor tried to connect with grass-roots conservative activists by assuring them that trust is more important than total agreement.

"If you want a candidate who agrees with you 100 percent of the time, I'll give you a suggestion: Go home and look in the mirror. You are the only person you agree with 100 percent of the time," he said. "You'll always know who I am, you'll always know what I believe and you'll always know where I stand."

To back up his conservative credentials, Christie proclaimed his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights. He also rejected the idea that Republicans could be competitive in traditionally Democratic states by abandoning opposition to abortion rights. "And I'm living proof," he said.

In his remarks, Cruz cited the Bible as he challenged caucus participants to back only presidential candidates with a proven conservative track record. "You know what," he said, "talk is cheap. The word tells us you shall know them by their fruits ... Look every candidate in the eye and say 'Don't talk, show me.'"

While he criticized President Barack Obama's foreign policy and other actions, Huckabee warned about the dangers of intraparty fighting. "We don't need to spend the next two years beating each other up in the conservative tent. We need to tell America what's right with this country," he said.

Perry also pointed to the end of the Obama administration: "I got a feeling that after six years of disappointment, of mediocrity and decline, a slow course correction is not what voters are going to be looking for in 2016."

Walker promoted his administration's enactment of voter identification, concealed carry handgun and abortion restriction legislation ‚€ all red-meat issues to the conservative audience. For many Republicans, he is best known for beating back a recall effort and then winning re-election.

"You see, I think that sends a powerful message to Republicans in Washington and around the country that if you're not afraid to go big and go bold you can actually get results," Walker said.

Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania who won the 2012 Iowa caucuses, said the GOP needs to do a better job convincing working Americans that Republicans are on their side.

"We don't win because too many people don't think we care about them. We have to show them not just by saying we do, but by having policies and a message where they can see it and feel it in us," Santorum said as he called for lower taxes, less regulation and stronger family values.

The forum's sponsor, Rep. Steve King of Iowa, opened the event by asking the crowd, "Do you believe that the next president of the United States is going to be speaking to you today?" The audience erupted in applause and King resp

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