GOP Hopefuls Try to Win Over Conservatives; Activists Not Sold on a Candidate Yet

By CRAIG GILBERT

Washington – Appearing Friday before a huge gathering of conservative activists, GOP presidential contestant Mike Huckabee joked that the theme of the event should be, “Dude, where’s my candidate?”

Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and other Republican hopefuls auditioned this week for a conservative movement that sees no obvious, unifying standard-bearer for 2008.

The anointed front-runners – former New York Mayor Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain – all face stiff doubts about their conservative credentials, history and good faith.

The perceived dark horses – Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee and others – face even larger doubts about their political prospects.

The divide between these two groups of candidates was a running topic at the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual event that drew record-breaking crowds of activists – most of them students – and many leading lights of the right. Organizers said more than 6,000 people registered.

The “Big Three” of Giuliani, McCain and Romney faced sniping from the more conservative Republicans in the field and from individual conference-goers. One sticker in circulation featured a slash through the composite name of “Rudy McRomney.”

“Not one of these top-tier candidates deserve our support,” Richard Viguerie, a conservative pioneer of direct mail organizing, told the gathering Thursday.

“The conservative movement is not supposed to choose a candidate. It is supposed to produce one,” said Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, a dark horse ’08 hopeful who is running largely on his opposition to illegal immigration.

But those sentiments weren’t universal.

Giuliani and Romney were both warmly and respectfully received when they spoke. Giuliani, leading in early polls of GOP voters, delivered a low-key speech about his record in New York on crime, taxes and welfare, and his views on education and fighting terrorism.

“We don’t all see eye to eye on everything. You and I have a lot of common beliefs that are the same. We have some that are different,” Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, told the crowd.

“I don’t agree with myself on everything,” he added, drawing laughter.

Romney delivered a more rousing and political speech that touched on many hot-button issues for the right, from the definition of marriage to the role of the courts to the size of government to media bias to the primacy of the English language.

He brought a cheering section, but his appearance also attracted a small but dedicated group of skeptics, including one in a dolphin costume called “Flip Romney,” and others handing out plastic flip- flops.

Romney has drawn criticism for shifting to the right in recent years on abortion, gay rights and other issues.

“I stood at the center of the battlefield on every major social issue and I fought to preserve our traditional values,” said Romney, referring to his record in the liberal bastion of Massachusetts.

The former governor also used his speech to take potshots at a leading rival, deriding the “McCain-Kennedy” bill on immigration reform and vowing to veto the McCain-Feingold campaign reforms.

McCain didn’t appear at the event, which itself was a reflection of his strained relations with many conservative activists over past political fights and policy differences.

Thompson a no-show

Tancredo ripped the front-runners on the issue he has crusaded on, questioning their commitment to ending illegal immigration and attacking their support for guest worker plans.

“The guys with all the money – do you think they’re actually going to join us in this crusade? I don’t believe so,” he said.

The crowd also heard from Brownback and California Rep. Duncan Hunter.

“I want to be known as the family president. I think we need to rebuild the family in America. I think we need to redo the culture in America,” said Brownback, who is appealing to social conservatives.

Hunter focused on his big campaign themes – the trade and military threat from China, and securing the border with Mexico.

“Let’s build this fence,” he said of the border barrier enacted last year.

Speakers today will include former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is not now running but hasn’t ruled it out.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson did not appear; aides said he had scheduling conflicts.

“I think it’s a great year for a dark horse,” said Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman, referring to the “question marks” conservatives have about the frontrunners.

Asked whether Thompson could be his conservative “dark horse,” the West Bend lawmaker said, “I’m looking for a conservative. . . . Tommy’s not a conservative.”

Can Giuliani maintain polls?

Some activists at the event said they were surprised that Giuliani has performed so strongly in early Republican polls, attributing it to his image of toughness and leadership emerging from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. But some still questioned whether Giuliani can sustain his popularity among conservatives after they learn more about his views – not just on abortion, but on immigration and other issues.

Author Ann Coulter told the gathering that she loved what Giuliani did in New York but called him “very, very liberal,” and said, “When this country gets to the point where both presidential candidates support abortion, I think we can hang it up as a country.”

David Keene, an organizer of the conference, said Giuliani’s high poll numbers also reflected the fragmented nature of the GOP field.

“So far at least, it’s a pretty slow track,” Keene said.

In another reference to the hard look conservative voters are taking at the GOP field, Huckabee joked that the event’s acronym – CPAC – could stand for “The Conservative Presidential Anxiety Conference.”

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