First Ever Values Voter's Debate Declared a Success
- Rick Scarborough
- Sep 20, 2007
More than 2,000 Values Voters from across America converged on the Broward County Center for the Performing Arts, paying their own expenses to say, "We will vote and we demand a candidate that reflects our values."
The debate, which was carried live across the nation by Sky Angel Network and streamed live over the internet, was professionally taped and has been converted into a real time Values Voter’s Voting Guide, which will be available soon over our website and distributed by more than 40 Pro-family organizations which participated in the debate. Other major ministries and pro-family organizations who were not present, have also promised to distribute the guide. This will provide you with the tools your need to educate yourself and your friends as to what the candidates believe and will enable concerned Americans to assess for themselves whether there are candidates who "get it" regarding matters that are dear to Christians.
Please click here to obtain your copy of the debate as soon as we can make them available. We are planning to develop these non-partisan Voters Guides in several formats so that anyone can use them.
Every question which we used in our recent poll was used in the course of the evening, as more than 40 different leaders of conservative organizations asked questions of the candidates. I deferred my preferred question to a pastor who is currently under IRS investigation as a result of his urging his congregation to not vote for pro-choice candidates. His question made for a dramatic moment as he spoke of the "gag" rule currently imposed by the federal government on men of God who allow their biblical convictions to spill over into politics, where such convictions should be aired!
I personally posed two questions during the evening; the first was posed to all the candidates relevant to pornography:
My name is Rick Scarborough. I am a pastor and head up a national coalition of pastors called Vision America.
America is drowning in a growing cesspool of pornographic smut. The Bush Justice Department is reticent to prosecute any but the worst hard core pornographers and most often only the smaller companies that promote such filth.
Meanwhile, hardcore pornography has found its way into major hotel chains like Marriott Hotels and mega-companies like Verizon and Comcast.
Would your Administration prosecute all illegal adult pornography including so called "white collar" pornographers?
My second question was posed to Governor Mike Huckabee directly;
It’s nice to see you this evening Governor Huckabee. Who would have believed over thirty years ago while we were both in seminary you and I would meet is this setting?
Few Value Voters question your views on key social issues of concern to us, but you have received much criticism in some conservative circles for doing too little to restrain the growth of government and for raising taxes while you were Governor of Arkansas.
How do you respond?
Four Republican candidates and all the Democratic candidates chose to ignore the largest voting block in America. Rudy Giuliani was in Ft. Lauderdale but decided he could secure the nomination of the Republican Party without facing the likes of Phyllis Schlafly and Paul Weyrich. John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney were also no-shows. Time will tell if they will be able to move forward without our support, or achieve their goal of winning the nomination while ignoring such a dedicated and motivated voting block.
