Palmeto Family Council's Stump and Straw Poll: Dancing in Dixie With the Devout

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Conventional wisdom, the polls and the SC press have been in agreement: Giuliani's in the lead. He's the man to beat. Tough enough. America's Mayor. When it comes to the threat of another terrorist attack, he's practically packing heat. Fear trumps family values any day of the week. Even on Sunday.

Not so fast. Maybe the South is looking for a new partner.

On Thursday, September 20th, the Palmetto Family Council held their Stump and Straw Poll & Barbecue in Columbia. Nearly 600 conservatives attended the event, eager to share pork and politics with Republican candidates for the presidency. John McCain, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul joined the crowd by telephone, speechifying for all they were worth. Romney sent his regrets via video; he was "busy raising money" for his campaign. Sam Brownback had to cancel, a vote and Senate business kept him in D.C.

Only former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Rep.Duncan Hunter (R-Calif) came south to meet, greet and eat. Bluegrass music filled the air and sweet-tea (one word in the deep South) flowed like--well, wine.

A grand time was had by all. Pols spoke to the issues of the war (for the most part, Hooray!), strong families (Yippee!), opposition to gay marriage (Hallelujah!), and ending abortion (Now you're talkin'!). No groundbreaking policy pronouncements were forthcoming. No matter. Like Dubya tells us, there's a lot to be said for consistency.

The Palmetto Family Council is a non-profit group formed in 1994 in association with James Dobson's Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. Its mission is "...working through the centers of influence...to present biblical principles...committed to promoting those things that strengthen the family and decreasing those things that are destructive..." They see the importance of victory in Iraq, frown on Hollywood, gay marriage and women-who-choose.

No less a Southern religious icon than Jerry Falwell suggested the ever popular social sins agenda might be side-stepped in 2008. What's more important than the family values dance card: adultery, sex, abortion, sex, gays, sex, the sanctity of marriage and stem cells? D-I-V-O-R-C-E? Nope. National security. We need a tough guy in the Oval Office. Someone who, no matter what his sins, will keep us safe. From Al Qaeda. From Liberals.

Falwell gave the religious right tacit permission to hold their noses and change partners right in the middle of the old Texas Two-step. No more "It's all about moral character" song and dance. What would have driven them right around the family values-morality bend a few years ago is perfectly acceptable now. A candidate or two with fidelity problems and a fractured-family past? No problem. One who's happy to change his every position on sin and public policy to one-size-fits-all-believers faster than you can say "What exactly is a Mormon, anyway?" is just fine.

But the PFC is calling a new tune in South Carolina. Or a reprise of the old one--and it had a great hook and was easy to dance to, as the votes showed when they were finally tallied.

The three-hour event ended with the vote: Huckabee, 206; Paul, 179; Thompson, 43; Brownback, 29; Hunter, 25; Romney, 14; NC businessman Daniel Gilbert, 12; McCain, 10; Alabama physician Hugh Cort, 7; Giuliani, 5.

The only major candidate who chose not to participate at all was "I-don't-do-straw-polls" Rudy. When his absence by choice was announced, the crowd booed.

Seems the vote defied Jerry Falwell, conventional wisdom, polls and the press. Soft-spoken Baptist preacher Huckabee won the night. Anti-war Ron Paul finished a strong second. McCain was beaten by a businessman nobody ever heard of; Giuliani, the favorite, lost to both of them and to the Alabama doc. Last place.


Southerners can be stubborn. Ornery as hell. We may come to the dance with one guy but if he steps on our toes, we'll darn sure leave with somebody else. At the end of the night we might just surprise everybody.

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Comments

[ButterflyWeed]

A quick crunch of your numbers with my solar powered calculator reveals South Carolinians attending a good BBQ are fair judges of Republican character:
39% stand with Huckabee (and the Lord)
34% believe in Dr. Paul's anti-gubmint ideology
The rest appear lost among their bretheren.
One may also assume an unspoken mental measure of genteel nature was responsible for Rudy's coming in last. I'd have searched five men's overalls for the stash of moonshine sneaked in to my soiree.

[brabc1]

The Republican Party is too white, too male, too religious, too southern, too greedy, too hateful, too war mongering, too concerned with social issues that are none of their business and too interested in going back to the 1950s and early 1960s.

They ignore All Americans at their own demise. Are we watching a slow death? (I hope so.)

I say good riddence!

[dadw5boys]

God,
Please protect us from Southern Religious Rednecks, you know how they are BURNING A CROSS one minuite then Prasing the Lord the next.
Slipping out to the bars onFriday and Saturday Nights and then dragging into chuirch hungover on Sunday to get forgiven for the crap they did last week.
Yeah I have seen them all my life. Lord Please just this one time make them think of something besides money, sex and power.
Thanks you, James

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

As for Rudy, until recently "damned yankee" was ONE word in SC lexicon. This gives you an idea of the hill that Rudy has to climb.

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Jerry Falwell has always been an outsider in SC--too top-down for Scots-Irish charsimatic, clan orientation and wears his hypocracy on his sleeve in his gluttony and lavish lifestyle.

Huckabee is a fascinating blob of contridictions--possibly from losing brain tissue while losing 100 lbs of fat. He is a Baptist preacher and champion of the unborn as long as they don't need medical services. (He is an opponent of universal health care.)

It gets worse after they get born. Apparently the kingdom of God IS the US and he wants to secure the borders in order to keep the godless out. Although he is for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to life, he would not hesitate to nuke that life in pursuit of terrorism. He is for edumacation although he is an opponent of the theory of evolution. Arkansas has been chronically ranked at the bottom of education. Perhaps he was one of those children left behind.

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

Huckabee has a rock band, from which is the source of this popularity in SC. All South Carolinians appreciate a good bass guitar.

[Liberalfrombirth]

An acquaintance of mine went to the Robert Duvall for Guiliani fund-raiser last week in VA. Rudy showed up late, stayed out of the crowd and only took pre-selected questions. (According to my friend, no one knew they could ask questions on paper in advance, so where did these questions come from?) He left immediately after giving a quick canned speech and answering a few of the so-called pre-selected questions. The Duvalls also stayed away from the hoi-polloi who paid a mere $1,000 a ticket to be there. Apparently some in the crowd, who had been Rudy supporters, booed this unexpected turn of events. By the way, what does a $1,000 ticket to Robert Duvall's home get you? Some plates of cookies and a couple of platters of shrimp cocktail! I think Rudy is his own worst enemy - thank God!

[MidMo]

Huckabee first here and second in Iowa...HUM Huckabee is showing that he is connecting with this crowd. But what does this mean to the overall picture come January? If he has the man power and some decent cash then- he very well may be the sleeper this season.

Much about social conservatives is that you come from values they connect with. He seems to have a handle on his family and being a minister! Now how can that not help?

But thinking this is so far off the polls- I have to ask if that was spiked tea?