No Need for Answers

Barry, you can stop waiting for answers. It looks like you are just trying to put the worst-possible spin on the Values Voters Summit to detract from the serious issues of importance to evangelicals that were considered there.

I have no idea whether the remarks you claim were made were actually made there, and I generally don't comment on hearsay within hearsay. You were not at the event either. I have no idea what was said and in what context the comments you are reporting on took place. I was not at the event; I have been preparing a Supreme Court case in which you filed a brief in support of . . . in support of neither side.

Not having been there and not having heard what was said in its proper context, I can't pretend to speak on behalf of the speakers, or the vendors for that matter. I do know that Family Research Council Action said the following regarding the "Obama Waffles" vendor you mentioned:

We strongly condemn the tone and content of materials that were exhibited by one of the vendors at this weekend's Values Voter Summit. The materials represent an attempt at parody that crosses the line into coarseness and bias.

The exhibitor contacted our reviewer just days before the Summit by email and described material that sounded like it was devoted to political flip-flops on policy issues. When the content of the materials was brought to the attention of FRC Action senior officials today, they were removed and the exhibit was dismantled by the vendor at our insistence. It is our responsibility to fully vet materials that are offered at any event we cosponsor, but we are deeply dismayed that this vendor violated the spirit, message and tone of our event in such an offensive manner. . . .

Having said that, you have known me for a long time and certainly you know that racist or mean-spirited remarks are not the kind of comments I would make or support.

The bottom line here is that people have a right to voice their concerns about over-taxation and the problems with our public school system and how the candidates' positions will impact those issues. People have a right to say that they would rather have more of their money going toward charitable causes or providing for their families than going to the federal government which, under an Obama administration, would direct more of that money to supporting abortion. People have the right to come together and say that religion has a place in the discussion of public issues and that candidates for public office should have upright moral values and integrity.

This election presents a stark contrast of worldviews and ideologies, and events such as the Saddleback Forum and the Values Voters Summit provide an important way for people of faith to express their views on the key issues of the day and to hear what the candidates have to say.