Values Voter Summit

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Greed, not grace
God, guns, and freedom
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Persons of interest
It hurts me to say the so-called Values Summit is not about Judeo-Christian values; it's not about Christianity, but about the values of the heretical, rhetorical extremism, funded by a whole lot of money. Their values are cash and not Christ. Greed and not grace.
—Rev. Dr. William Barber II[1]

The Values Voter Summit is an annual conclave of the most hardcore of the United States' right-wing political activists. It was founded in 2006 and promotes the conservative tenets of limited government, reduced spending, and "traditional values".

Agenda[edit]

The Values Voter Summit website is boldly emblazoned with the words "Limit Government — Reduce Spending — Champion Traditional Values — Protect America", which we can safely assume to be a general overview of their ideology. More specifically, the group is anti-abortion,[2] opposed to same-sex marriage, encourages promotion of family values, wants the protection of religious freedom (as long as you're Christian), and believes in a "responsible" foreign policy and strong national defence.[3] In short, a fairly typical conservative American agenda.

Straw polls[edit]

Since 2007 the summit has held its own straw poll each year (except for 2008 when John McCain had already secured a presidential nomination) for a field of Republican candidates. Mitt Romney won in 2007 with 28% of the vote[4], Mike Huckabee in 2009, also with 28%,[5] Mike "Gamma Ray the Gay Away" Pence in 2010 with 24%[6], and Ron Paul in 2011 with a whopping 37%.[7]

Guests[edit]

Guest speakers who have appeared at the Values Voter Summit include:

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr, a new civil rights leader takes center stage by Oliver Laughland (Wed 25 Oct 2017 01.00 EDT) The Guardian.
  2. AFA Action co-sponsors ‘values voter’ conference American Family Association Journal, April 2006
  3. Presidential Hopefuls Highlight 'Values' to Christian Conservatives Christian Post October 20th 2007
  4. Romney wins straw poll at Values Voters Summit CNN Politics October 20th 2007
  5. Huckabee Wins 2012 Straw Poll at Values Voters Summit Fox News September 19th 2009
  6. GOP Rep. Mike Pence gets nod for 2012 presidential run Los Angeles Times September 19th 2009
  7. Ron Paul wins Values Voter straw poll; Herman Cain second Politico October 8th 2011
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 2010 Values Voter Summit Confirmed Speakers Values Voter Summit Accessed November 2011
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 2011 Values Voter Summit Confirmed Speakers Values Voter Summit Accessed November 2011
  10. His name isn't with the speakers, but there's a nice ol' picture of him in the picture slideshow at the top of the page.