Evangelicals reject Giuliani
Published: Saturday October 20, 2007
Several thousand Christian conservative voters rebuffed an olive branch from Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday, over his support for abortion rights.
The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but was unable to win over a cross-section of a crucial party voting bloc at a huge "Values Voter" conference in Washington.
In a presidential candidate straw poll of 5,775 evangelical voters at the meeting and online, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came out on top, narrowly ahead of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Giuliani trailed in eighth, with just 1.85 percent of the vote, despite earlier telling the conference 10 weeks before the first Republican party nominating contest "you have absolutely nothing to fear from me."
The result highlighted doubts over whether Giuliani, revered as a US hero for his role in steadying New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001, can win the Republican nomination due to his liberal social record.
"I am not going to pretend to you I can be all things to all people," thrice married Giuliani, who also has a record of supporting gay rights, earlier told the conference.
"You know we have some areas of disagreement, but I believe we have many many, more areas of agreement," Giuliani said, in an candid speech.
"The one thing you can count on with me is, I will always be honest with you," said Giuliani, who said he would work to cut the number of abortions and boost adoptions if elected president.
But Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, which organized the conference, said he could not vote for Giuliani, even if he was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
"I will not vote for a pro-abortion rights candidate," Perkins said.
Published: Saturday October 20, 2007
Several thousand Christian conservative voters rebuffed an olive branch from Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday, over his support for abortion rights.
The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but was unable to win over a cross-section of a crucial party voting bloc at a huge "Values Voter" conference in Washington.
In a presidential candidate straw poll of 5,775 evangelical voters at the meeting and online, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came out on top, narrowly ahead of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Giuliani trailed in eighth, with just 1.85 percent of the vote, despite earlier telling the conference 10 weeks before the first Republican party nominating contest "you have absolutely nothing to fear from me."
The result highlighted doubts over whether Giuliani, revered as a US hero for his role in steadying New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001, can win the Republican nomination due to his liberal social record.
"I am not going to pretend to you I can be all things to all people," thrice married Giuliani, who also has a record of supporting gay rights, earlier told the conference.
"You know we have some areas of disagreement, but I believe we have many many, more areas of agreement," Giuliani said, in an candid speech.
"The one thing you can count on with me is, I will always be honest with you," said Giuliani, who said he would work to cut the number of abortions and boost adoptions if elected president.
But Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, which organized the conference, said he could not vote for Giuliani, even if he was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
"I will not vote for a pro-abortion rights candidate," Perkins said.
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