Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council that sponsored the Values Voters summit, said today that the straw poll victory of Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is “not a true reflection” of the values voters’ presidential leanings.
Perkins said that “there’s a back story” to Paul’s win, saying the presidential candidate benefitted from most registrants failing to show at the conference. Perhaps more importantly, Perkins suggested, the Paul campaign brought in supporters who did not participate in the larger summit. “They have a great organization that moves people out [and Paul’s supporters] came in, they heard his speech and then they left. They were not with the majority that were there simply coming to hear the candidates,” Perkins explained, adding that the straw poll results were “not a true reflection of where values voters are.” Perkins did note that values voters do support some “principles that Ron Paul advocates.”
Perkins on-air remarks are consonant with the “piqued” attitude he displayed when announcing Paul’s straw poll victory, when he explained his efforts to “preserve the integrity” of the straw poll.
In a fundraising email, Paul’s campaign cited his straw poll win as “another sign that we are making an impact on voters’ minds.” The campaign criticized the media for “either downplaying or completely ignoring our victories.”
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