"When you go forth to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people, and shall say to them, `Hear, O Israel, you draw near this day to battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; do not fear, or tremble, or be in dread of them; for the LORD your God is he that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.' "
– Deuteronomy 20:1-4
We interrupt this blog...
With the results just in from the Iowa straw poll, Michele Marie Bachmann has emerged as the frontrunner in the race to become the GOP candidate for the 2012 Presidential elections. The first time in history that a Republican woman has become a legitimate candidate for President!
Bachmann received 28.5% of the vote in a very crowded and highly contested 10 person race. Rick Perry who signaled his intention to run a week in advance and whose supporters were actively campaigning for him in Iowa received just 4.2% of the vote. Not even close. Romney, the supposed front runner, received just 3.3% of the vote which was worse than even Perry. Pawlenty who used smear tactics against Bachmann in an attempt to derail her campaign received only 13.6% of the vote despite being on the ballot.
Congratulations Michele! You've fought a tough campaign thus far. You've been tested on the national stage and have emerged a winner!
This proves that Bachmann's message of strong Christian moral values has broad support in middle America. No one in the mainstream press would have predicted her victory a few months ago. And even after a coordinated attack upon Michele Bachmann and her husband Marcus from the press and establishment Republicans, Bachmann was still able to emerge victorious. Just imagine what the outcome in Iowa would have been if she would have received favorable press and support from her own Republican leadership.
Obviously this is just the first battle in a long campaign, but Michele has shown a toughness and resilience that match her enthusiasm and genuine belief in the need to restore America to strong fundamental Christian values.
God bless Michele Marie, and God bless America!
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UPDATE [Aug 14]: Here is Michele's Iowa Straw Poll Speech. At first I thought this was a victory speech, but it's actually a speech to encourage folks to vote for her. That explains the fact that there are members in the audience who do not look like they are her supporters. My impression from shots of the crowd is that her support is strongest among women. Given that Obama did very well among women, you can see how this would be of great concern to Democrats. (Audio starts at ~00:30)
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Related articles:
UPDATE: I had assumed that Romney was not on the ballot given his poor showing. Actually, he was on the ballot and still got less than Rick Perry who was a write-in candidate. I know Romney did not campaign in Iowa but I still would have expected higher results. He did after all participate in the debate on the eve of the event.
ReplyDeleteRon Paul came in second at 27.6% of the vote. That's about a percentage point less than Bachmann. Considering that Ron Paul has been on the national stage much longer than Bachmann and was a candidate in the 2008 election, he can't be overly pleased with his results. Paul and Bachmann have very different positions on many issues so the voters had a clear choice. What they both have in common is a commitment to balancing the federal budget. So that sends a very strong signal to Washington that the people in Iowa (and around the country) are tired of increased borrowing to pay for federal spending.
UPDATE: Pawlenty is finished. He announced he's calling it quits. Good! His campaign was suspected to be the source of the migraine smear attack launched at Michele Bachmann. The most likely source was a Pawlenty adviser who was a former chief of staff for Bachmann. His name is Ron Carey. He's been openly critical of Bachman, calling her "unelectable". And he has been mentioned in news reports as a suspected source of the migraine story from "anonymous former Bachmann staffers".
ReplyDeletePawlenty tried to use attacks on Bachmann to rejuvenate his campaign. This was most apparent at the recent debates. Fortunately the voters in Iowa saw through this and the plan backfired on Tim. He needs to go into prayer reflection and see what he can do to help Michele out at this time. Penance is needed on his part. (We should all be continually looking for ways to perform penance!)
UPDATE: I saw the first story today that mentioned the percentages of the votes in the Iowa straw poll. Call me crazy, but usually election results are reported in percentages; the same thing goes for polls. But when Christian Michele Bachmann wins, the most prominent feature of the story is that she received 4823 votes instead of reporting that this represents 28.5% of the total. As if to diminish her accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, but when the news agencies report their weekly opinion polls - how often do they tell us how many people were sampled? Those 4823 votes are highly committed people. The followers of Jesus just started out with 12 Apostles and look at how they transformed the world!
UPDATE: Michele Bachmann demonstrates her Christian principles in practice with her statement regarding Tim Pawlenty's exit from the GOP Presidential campaign:
ReplyDelete“I wish him well. I have great respect for the governor. He brought an important voice to this race.”
Here's the link:
Bachmann on Pawlenty: ‘I Wish Him Well’
UPDATE: I added a video of Michele's Iowa Straw Poll Speech.
ReplyDelete