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Conservatives Skeptical of 'Rudy McRomney'
At their first gathering since November's election thumping, conservative activists on Thursday found little to cheer about in a 2008 Republican White House field they largely viewed with skepticism and distrust. The opening day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference brought together some sharp critics of the early Republican presidential favorites, who have sparked doubts about the depth of their conservative principles. "There is some disillusionment, some demoralization and a hope that other conservatives jump in the ring. I don't find a sense of excitement about the candidates at all," said Steve Baldwin, head of the Council for National Policy, a networking group for conservative activists. Baldwin made his feelings clear about the top three Republican contenders - former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney - by wearing a black badge reading "RudyMcRomney" with a giant red slash through it.
"There is an enormous amount of skepticism about the declared candidates. I've never seen anything like it," said Mark Corallo, a Republican communications consultant and a former Capitol Hill and Justice Department spokesman.
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Giuliani, the leader of the pack in polls, has dismayed some conservatives by supporting abortion rights, gay rights and gun control. McCain has championed campaign finance reform, opposed some tax cuts and attacked conservative religious leaders during his 2000 campaign. Romney has shifted his positions on social issues like abortion and gay rights to become more conservative. Visitors to the convention exhibit hall were greeted by a man in a dolphin suit labeled "Flip Romney." Even many second-tier candidates have drawn criticism. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee raised taxes, and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback supported an immigration bill allowing guest workers a path to citizenship. "Conservatives are looking at all of them, but they don't see any perfect candidates," said David Keene, head of the American Conservative Union, a prominent lobbying group. But he said there was still time for a contender to win their hearts.
"It's a question of credibility," he said. "We would love to have a Ronald Reagan in the field, but he's not there." Republicans lost control of Congress in November in part because they lost sight of the conservative values of limited government, lower taxes and a strong defense, some activists said. "The elections last fall were not a repudiation of conservatism," said Pat Toomey, head of the anti-tax group Club for Growth. "They were a repudiation of a number of Republicans who have abandoned conservatism."
All of the 2008 candidates except McCain will speak to the gathering on either Friday or Saturday, and delegates are holding a straw poll of their favorites. Romney and Brownback had the most visible presence on the first day, with T-shirted volunteers holding signs and wandering the halls where groups rented booths to tout their causes. "I am waiting for that rising conservative star to surface," said Julie Miller, a high school music teacher from Utica, New York, who came to evaluate the contenders. Many activists said they hoped another conservative would get in the race -- perhaps Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, or Fred Thompson, the former actor turned senator turned actor again. Gingrich says he will wait until September to decide whether to run. "If Gingrich jumps in, it changes the whole dynamic," said Jim Smyers, an entertainment distributor in Beaverdam, Virginia, and a Gingrich backer. Without him, Smyers said, he would settle for any Republican who could win. "It leaves me probably voting for somebody I don't necessarily agree with just to block a Democrat from winning," he said. "I can settle. I guess it's a question of how much I have to settle for."
© Reuters 2007.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: Inside Cover Stories
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