Des Moines, Iowa – Almost all the Republican presidential candidates gravitated toward Iowa on Saturday, wooing voters across the state before giving six-minute pitches to more than 1,000 of the party’s hard-core activists.
“Boy, there are a bunch of us,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said of the gathering of nine GOP candidates in Iowa, the state that launches the presidential nominating season.
The candidates, from front-runners to lesser- known hopefuls, ended up at the Iowa Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines. More than 1,000 activists shelled out $75 each to hear the candidates, whose speeches were compact versions of stump speeches and largely drew polite applause.
Many of the candidates talked tough on the war in Iraq.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Democrats just haven’t learned the lessons from terrorist attacks. “I do blame people who don’t get it after Sept. 11,” he said.
U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona emphasized his continued support for the war in Iraq. He has conceded that he’s staking his political future on the success of the war, but he said there’s too much at risk not to. The terrorists “are evil, and they want to destroy everything that America stands for,” McCain said. “We will never surrender, and they will surrender.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney agreed that terrorists want to “bring about the collapse of the United States.” But he said he’s “optimistic about our future because I have seen the heart of the American people.”
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said the party must return to its conservative roots, arguing that straying too far from those roots hurt the GOP in the 2006 election.
“We went to Washington to change Washington, and Washington changed us,” Thompson said. “The Republican Party … needs to get back to big ideas.”
Other candidates in Iowa on Saturday were U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Chicago businessman John Cox and former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Tancredo talked tough on his centerpiece issue of immigration, saying his rivals aren’t tough enough. “Their answer is amnesty,” Tancredo said. “It’s a slap in the face.”
Colorado votes in Congress
Here’s how some major bills fared recently in the U.S. Senate and how Colorado’s congressional members voted, as provided by Thomas’ Roll Call Report Syndicate. The House was on recess.
SENATE
Embryonic stem cells
For: 63/Against: 34
Senators passed a bill to extend federal financing of embryonic stem-cell research far beyond narrow limits set by President Bush in an Aug. 9, 2001, executive order. A yes vote was to send the bill to conference with a similar House-passed measure. (S 5)
Wayne Allard (R) No
Ken Salazar (D) Yes
In vitro stem cells
For: 70/Against: 28
Senators passed a bill described by its sponsors as a pro-life alternative to S 5 (above). A yes vote backed a bill (S 30) that expands U.S. funding to cover research into embryos produced during in vitro fertilization but that have stopped dividing because of natural causes.
Wayne Allard (R) Yes
Ken Salazar (D) Yes
Intelligence budget
For: 94/Against: 3
Senators voted to advance the fiscal 2007 budget for the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. This ended a filibuster against the bill and cleared the way for up to 30 hours’ debate. The classified U.S. spy budget is estimated at $44 billion. A yes vote was to advance S 372.
Wayne Allard (R) Yes
Ken Salazar (D) Yes
KEY VOTES AHEAD
This week, the Senate will debate U.S. intelligence policies and a bill requiring the government to negotiate lower Medicare drug prices. As of late Friday, the House schedule was not yet announced.
