FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, October 3
Pollster Frank Luntz to Moderate The Thanksgiving Family Forum for Republican Presidential Candidates
Discussion to surround issues impacting American families
Pleasant Hill, IOWA. – The FAMiLY LEADER, in conjunction with CitizenLink (the family advocacy arm of Focus on the Family) and the National Organization for Marriage, is pleased to announce that political pollster, Dr. Frank Luntz, will moderate the “Thanksgiving Family Forum – A Family Discussion with the Republican Candidates” on Saturday, Nov. 19. The forum will take place in Des Moines, Iowa at First Federated Church from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
The FAMiLY LEADER has received event confirmations from Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, and Rick Santorum. Invitations were sent to those candidates who finished in the top 5 of The Iowa Straw Poll or who polled 5 percent or above in the RealClearPolitics Poll as of Aug. 28.
The forum’s goal is to allow Iowans an opportunity to further vet the candidates on matters related to the family. “This is not a debate,” said Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER. “Our purpose is simply to learn about their worldviews and to listen to their hearts on key family issues. The discussion will allow us to see a more personal side of the candidates.”
“We are thrilled that Frank Luntz has agreed to team up with us for the forum,” said Vander Plaats. “We believe his unique style, audience participation, and expertise in communication will drive the discussion in a direction unlike any other forum or debate.”
Luntz, a top political pollster, is one of the most respected communication professionals in America today. He is also the author of The New York Times best seller, Words that Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear.”
Concerning the Nov. 19 Thanksgiving Family Forum, Luntz said, “My responsibility is to deliver a wholly different kind of discussion from the standard debate-by-podium forum. The American people want to know more than which candidate ‘debates best.’ They want to get past the pre-programmed sound bites and zingers to the real person. Voters want to know how the candidates feel. How they view the world. What is in their hearts.”
“I want to go deeper; to engender discussion on the great cultural issues of our time,” continued Luntz. “I promise this won’t be like anything you’ve ever seen. No gotcha questions by the panel. No spin by the politicians. Just an authentic discussion among the people who seek to lead this great nation. It has the potential to be the most important forum of the primary presidential campaign.”
The FAMiLY LEADER expects 2,500-plus attendees who represent a large influential segment of Iowa caucus-goers. They also anticipate all 99 counties in Iowa will be represented by key organizational and faith leaders. Statewide and national media coverage is expected.
For more information about The FAMiLY LEADER or the event, visit its web site at www.TheFamilyLeader.com.
Contact: Julie SummaGov. Perry Shares Staunch Commitment to Conservative Values
At Thanksgiving Family Forum
DES MOINES, Iowa - Texas Gov. Rick Perry today participated in the Presidential Thanksgiving Family Forum, hosted by the Family Leader, where he reiterated his principled and longstanding commitment to conservative values.
"I am a faithful, fiscal and social conservative of conviction, not of convenience," said Gov. Perry. "As Governor of the State of Texas, I have signed more pro-life legislation than any governor in my state's history and championed and signed the Texas Defense of Marriage Act. Traditional family values are important to me, to the people of Iowa and to citizens and future of our nation. America needs to reenergize limited government, entrepreneurship and the traditional values that helped us become the greatest, most prosperous nation in history."
Gov. Perry is a staunch defender of life, having signed more pro-life legislation than any other governor in Texas history. He most recently demonstrated his commitment to protecting the lives of the unborn in his Uproot and Overhaul Washington plan, in which he pledged to eliminate the federal funding of organizations that fund abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. He supported this same measure in Texas' most recent legislative session by signing important legislation, Senate Bill 7 and House Bill 1, which contain provisions prohibiting tax dollars from funding abortions.
Gov. Perry strongly supports traditional marriage. He signed the Defense of Marriage Act in Texas in 2003, and supported enshrining this law in the Texas Constitution, a measure approved by voters in 2005, which defines marriage in Texas as a union between one man and one woman. He has also pledged to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that legally defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman.
As a life-long hunter and concealed handgun license holder, Gov. Perry has been a strong advocate for Second Amendment rights. During his tenure in Texas, he has signed "Castle Doctrine" legislation ensuring that citizens have the right to defend themselves in their homes instead of retreating. He has also worked to prevent local governments from infringing upon Texans' rights to have legally concealed weapons on public property, cut concealed handgun license (CHL) renewal fees for military, veterans and senior citizens, and labored to protect shooting ranges from expensive, frivolous lawsuits as part of his tort reform efforts.
Last Tuesday, Gov. Perry announced his Uproot and Overhaul Washington plan, which would establish a part-time, citizen Congress, cut congressional salaries, end lifetime appointments of federal judges, issue an immediate moratorium on new and pending federal regulations, and dismantle wasteful, redundant federal agencies.
Gov. Perry has unveiled other bold and conservative policies in recent weeks, including his Cut, Balance and Grow plan and his Energizing American Jobs and Security plan. Cut, Balance and Grow cuts personal and corporate tax rates to a lower, flat 20 percent rate, cuts federal spending, ends earmarks and corporate loopholes and calls for a federal Balanced Budget Amendment. Energizing American Jobs and Security will create up to 1.2 million jobs in every sector, reduce our nation's dependence on hostile foreign oil, revitalize manufacturing and help contain the cost of electricity and fuel.
The Presidential Thanksgiving Family Forum, hosted by the Family Leader, included discussion among GOP presidential candidates about the conservative values Americans have long cherished. The forum was moderated by Dr. Frank Luntz, with faith leaders and socially conservative activists from counties across the state of Iowa in attendance. Citizen Link and the National Organization for Marriage served as keynote sponsors.
For more information about Gov. Perry's record, presidential campaign and plan to get America working again, please visit: www.rickperry.org.
Urbandale, IA - At this afternoon's FAMiLY Leader Thanksgiving Family
Forum, the winner was clearly the voters.
Senator Santorum said: "When given the opportunity to have a real discussion between candidates, the voters had the opportunity to see into each of our hearts and minds. A great thanks is owed to the FAMiLY Leader, Frank Luntz, and all the organizers of this event for giving each of us at the table the opportunity to show the voters who we are, what shapes our conscience, and what drives our passion for making America the greatest nation in the history of the World. It is clear that each of us would be better than President Obama, and after tonight, the voters don't have to make that judgment based off of just sound-bites."
During this afternoon's forum in Des Moines, Senator Santorum made the following points:
On The Number One Thing Missing In America
"America is a country founded on the concept that our rights come to us from our creator and when God gives us rights, he has laws that we must abide by. We have civil laws that must comport with the higher laws. And as long as abortion is legal, we are not (comporting with the higher laws)."
On Who He Is Accountable To:
"When I was elected, I knew I had a constituency of one - God."
On Why Some Are Afraid Of Talking About Faith:
"The Left has taken over the culture... We all have an obligation, all of us, not just those of us on stage, to engage the culture (to take it back)."
On The 10th Amendment:
"Our country is based on a moral enterprise. Gay marriage is wrong. As Abraham Lincoln said, states do not have the right to do wrong. Some on this stage said they will not get involved (in states' rights to allow gay marriage). I will. States do not have the right. America... is a set of morals and ideals. The President has an obligation to work in the states. I was the only one who came to Iowa (to campaign) to defeat those justices (who redefined marriage) because it was that important."
On Activist Courts:
I would go one step further, I would abolish the entire 9th Circuit. And the idea that the Third Branch, Article 3 - the least important because it's last - could be unchecked is something our Founders would be astounded by. I haven't just detailed a plan though, I've done something. When I was in the Senate, I stood up and told Court they were wrong. When they struck down the (Nebraska) partial birth abortion ban, I worked with the House to draft an almost identical bill, where the first two sections (of the bill) told the Court why they were wrong and that we (the Congress) have an equal right to say what's constitutional and the Supreme Court upheld our law. That's a track record of standing up to the court, not just a plan.
On The Need For A Federal Marriage Amendment:
"If you look at Roe versus Wade, you had a variety of states who legalized the right to an abortion. The pro-life movement didn't have its act together and didn't fight in the states. Eventually one of these laws went to Supreme Court and they said you needed uniform laws. This is exactly what will happen with same sex marriage unless we fight it right now. I am for a Federal Marriage Amendment. I authored it, I forced the only vote on it. I'm all for doing it. But we need to stop this problem like we have here in Iowa. Get it on the ballot. We have to fight the battles in the states, we cannot defer, we cannot rest on the 10th Amendment... Without the institution of marriage our country will fall."
On The Role Of Education:
"The
education system is fundamentally broken. Period. The reason it is
broken is because it is a system designed over 100 years ago to educate
"children" - at large. We should have an education system that focuses
on the customer and the educational establishment says that customer is
not the parent. The customer IS the parent because it is the parent's
responsibility to educate their children. We homeschool and we think
that's best for us, not saying that necessarily for everyone. We need a
system to work with each parent to design an educational experience for
each child to give them the best possible chance. How many are only
concerned with academic achievement? But that's all we measure. It is
broken. The only way we get around it is to customize the system. And
don't tell me there's not enough money, because it's already spent on
the institution not the parents and what is best for their child."
To learn more about former Senator Rick Santorum, please visit www.RickSantorum.com