Social Conservative Leaders Meeting To Try To Coalesce Around Consensus GOP Candidate

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire--A group of social conservative leaders are to meet in Texas this weekend to try to coalesce around a Republican presidential candidate and avoid a split, sources familiar with the meeting said on Wednesday.

The meeting was prompted by conservatives' desire to avoid what happened in 2008, when former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won Iowa but quickly faltered when he was unable to unite conservatives behind him.

This year, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has risen with much support from evangelical Christians to come within eight votes of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in Iowa's caucuses on Tuesday.

Many conservatives are skeptical of Romney, believing he is not authentic, but conservative activists insisted the meeting was not about trying to unite around an anti-Romney candidate.

The meeting at a ranch near Brenham, Texas, is to include such social conservative leaders as Gary Bauer, president of the conservative group American Values, and James Dobson, the evangelical Christian leader who founded the Focus on the Family activist group.

"Social conservative leaders have met several times during the nomination battle to compare notes and ideas about various candidates," Bauer said. "Some of those conservative leaders have supported Mitt Romney. Some have supported Newt Gingrich. Some have supported Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum. I believe all of those candidates are exceptionally better to lead this great nation, in contrast to the failed presidency of Barack Obama."

But Bob Vander Plaats, an Iowa social conservative leader whose endorsement of Santorum buoyed him in that state, said the goal of the meeting "needs to be to come together to coalesce around Santorum."

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Bill Trott)

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[AntiClast]

07:04 PM on 01/08/2012

Santorum has serious issues with birth control. Thinks states ought to have the right to pass laws on it. Thinks married couples shouldn't use it. Not a stretch to expect him to pass laws against it if he can. Or to use administrative procedures to make it difficult.

[doriath22]

04:55 PM on 01/05/2012

Wouldn't "congeal" be a more appropriate term

[Earl Gray]

04:44 PM on 01/05/2012

C'mon Mr. Vander Plaat, ya don't COALESCE around Mr. Santorum, ya CLOT.

[Hawthorne]

04:43 PM on 01/05/2012

Conservative Republicans should ask themselves why their bench is so shallow. Why are all the candidates who share their beliefs so unappealing and unelectable? Is that just an accident? Could it be that no decent, intelligent human being could actually believe what they believe? Is it really a surprise that all the conservative Republican candidates are so trollish? Look in the mirror, conservative Republicans. Is it really a mystery why the only intelligent, decent person in the race - Romney - just pretends to see things the way you do? How could he actually truly believe your narrow-minded, mean-spirited, fiction-based rubbish and still be the only intelligent, electable person in the race?. See the catch-22 there?

[AntiClast]

06:59 PM on 01/08/2012

I have wondered why they have such an abysmal field. Romney & Huntsman are the only 2 who have any capability to handle the Presidency, not that I'd vote for either. Who put up the $$ for Cain to campaign?

[jfbuf]

04:36 PM on 01/05/2012

As a Obama supporter I would love to run against Rick Santorum, bring him on

[FloridaLAW]

05:19 PM on 01/05/2012

Yeah, Paul is the man, I just LOVED his newsletters and what he had to say about people that look like me.

[hhoc612710]

03:53 PM on 01/05/2012

Social conservative leaders are meeting in Texas to cut Romney's head and align behind Santorum?
Are they going to make up their minds?

[airforcevet43]

03:40 PM on 01/05/2012

This confirms it.....

"Id iocy is a trait to be admired by other id iots!!!"

[henrypapillon]

03:37 PM on 01/05/2012

I hope he wins. he is probably the one the religious right loves the most but he is by far the weakest candidate they could put forth for the Republicans.

[Ulalume s Ague]

03:35 PM on 01/05/2012

I thought they were all mired in Santorum.

[SantaMonican]

03:30 PM on 01/05/2012

...."coalesce around santorum" sounds like what happens to an open wound when ointment is applied.

[airforcevet43]

03:22 PM on 01/05/2012

THAT'S RIGHT!!!......Let's get all the incorrigible minds in one boat and they can all sink together!


Kumbaya anyone

[jkipp]

03:19 PM on 01/05/2012

Please let Santorum win the nomination.
Sincerely,
President Obama

[Billy Jack]

03:16 PM on 01/05/2012

It's a santorum movement. A swell of santorum that will burst forth with explosive force, enveloping everything in it's path.

[Billy Jack]

03:12 PM on 01/05/2012

They're coalescing around the santorum? Bunch of wierdos