Newt Gingrich got a boost Tuesday from Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association and American Family Radio, an influential group of conservative Christians. The endorsement comes as Gingrich struggles to win the support of social conservatives, many of whom object to his history of infidelity and multiple marriages. Wildmon -- whose organizations promote Christian values via 190 radio stations in 20 states, including Iowa -- praised Gingrich as an experienced politician who can get results, reports The Los Angeles Times. "Newt Gingrich recognizes the threat to our country posed by judges and lawyers imposing values upon the country inconsistent with our religious heritage, and has proposed constitutional steps to bring the courts back in balance under the constitution,” Wildmon said in a statement, adding, “We need someone in the White House who can balance the budget and get the economy moving again. Newt has done it before and I believe he can do it again. I am proud to endorse Newt Gingrich for president.” Gingrich said he was “humbled and honoured” to have the endorsement, calling Wildmon “one of the most important leaders in the country in the battle to uphold our founding principles.” Gingrich has longstanding ties to Wildmon and his network of organizations. American Family Association paid the former House speaker $8,000 in fees last year to speak at a number of policy briefings, according to a report by Politico. Gingrich also helped raise money for a group that later donated $125,000 to American Family Association Action, a social welfare non-profit that spent heavily in Iowa to defeat judges who supported same sex marriage, according to the Associated Press. More recently, Gingrich took to the group’s radio arm to reassure social conservatives that his history of infidelity is over. In an interview last spring with the hate-mongering AFA’s Bryan Fischer, Gingrich said he hoped voters would be willing “to look at the whole person,” when deciding who to support for the presidency. “I’ve been very open and very direct about the fact that there were times I have fallen short, there are times I have failed, and that I have gone to God and asked for forgiveness,” Gingrich said. “…I’m not asking you to vote for who I might have been 20 years ago, but I am asking you to look at the total person.”
One of the most influential Christian leaders in Iowa asked Rick Santorum's presidential campaign if it could help raise money to promote his endorsement, according to The Des Moines Register. Yet the Christian leader - Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader - vehemently denied any notion he would ask a candidate or a campaign for money. "Absolutely not," Vander Plaats said Wednesday during an interview with CNN. Vander Plaats' group holds sway over many Iowa social conservatives. His nod is among the most coveted among candidates seeking support from those conservatives- a crucial voting bloc in the state's January 3 caucus. On Tuesday – hours after Vander Plaats personally endorsed Santorum The Des Moines Register reported it had confirmed "that Vander Plaats had asked for help in raising money to promote the endorsement." The paper also reported, "Vander Plaats said he'd like to have the money to do television advertisements to promote his personal endorsement of Santorum, and he urges Santorum backers to contribute money for that purpose." The report did not mention The Family Leader as a group being involved in the request. During the Wednesday interview on CNN's American Morning, Anchor Christine Romans questioned Vander Plaats. "It's been reported in the Des Moines Register that you had asked him, look, we would like money, maybe $1 million, to help get out there and advertise our support for you. Explain to me that relationship," Romans asked. "We would never ask a candidate – and by the way, when you endorse Rick Santorum you probably should also know that you're not asking for $1 million," Vander Plaats responded. "We would never ask a campaign or a candidate for funds, especially when you do a personal endorsement." The Register quotes Vander Plaats on the key question: about requesting fundraising help to promote the endorsement. In a phone interview, Vander Plaats told the paper, "That's part of our ethical responsibility. You can't say, 'We endorsed you. Now see you later.' That's not going to do a lot in the long run," adding, "Our endorsement by the board and through [The Family Leader vice president] Chuck [Hurley] and me was all on the merits of the candidates, not on the funds the campaigns could do." During the CNN interview, Vander Plaats said, "Now my job is going to be to try to mobilize a network of supporters. If I can raise funds to help out Rick Santorum, I'm going to raise funds to help out Rick Santorum. But we're going to do everything in the next 13 days to get the vote out for Rick Santorum," adding, "We believe Iowa is going to break late and it's going to break fast. I believe [Santorum] has that opportunity to be the surprise on January 3." In recent days before the endorsement of Santorum, there was conversation among rival GOP campaigns about the exact nature of Vander Plaats' request, sources tell CNN. Santorum's National Communications Director, Hogan Gidley said, "I don't know about the discussions other campaigns had, but we never agreed to raise a single penny. We're focused on our own campaign and that's where our resources will be spent."
The seriously sexy Joe McGuiness of The Wanted in a bubble bath, with a beer, naturally.
Harry Judd of McFly shirtless and in his underwear while shooting an editorial for UK gay magazine Attitude.
Do not ask Ryan Reynolds for an autograph.
0 comments:
Post a Comment