At least two Republican presidential candidates will join three social conservative organizations to promote pro-life and values issues in Iowa leading up to the Ames Straw poll.
The Family Research Council, the Susan B. Anthony List and the National Organization for Marriage are teaming up for the Values Voter Bus Tour that will cover 1,305 miles in four days with events in 22 cities that will take the participants to 47 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum, the former Minnesota governor and Pennsylvania senator, are two of the pro-life GOP presidential candidates who will join the groups on the tour and Rep. Michele Bachmann,, a pro-life congresswoman from Minnesota, may join as well. Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Louie Gohmert of Texas, both pro-life Republicans, will participate and join FRC’s president Tony Perkins, SBA president Marjorie Dannenfelser, and NOM’s Brian Brown along with other pro-life and pro-family leaders.
Faith Family Freedom Fund Chairman Connie Mackey will kick off the tour next Monday at the Iowa state capitol in Des Moines and conclude at the Ames Straw Poll on August 13.
“President Obama is the most pro-abortion President in United States history,” Dannenfelser said of the reason for the tour. “He has shown a willingness to shut down the federal government in order to keep Planned Parenthood funded with tax payer subsidies and even threatened individual states for exercising their Tenth Amendment right to de-fund the organization at a state level.”
“It is time to replace Obama with a true pro-life leader in the White House. That effort begins in Iowa. The Values Voter Bus Tour is designed to get the word out to straw poll and caucus goers on which Presidential candidates can be counted on as strong and vocal leaders for women and unborn children,” she told LifeNews.
Perkins added that the tour is important for Iowans, as, “Last November, the people of Iowa reclaimed their right to govern themselves, under a Constitution whose meaning is clear, by removing three activist judges from power. We were honored to play a part in that victory with our successful Judge Bus tour that traveled the state highlighting the issue.”
“The Values Bus Tour will speak to the views held by millions of American voters who want to make sure that issues impacting the family and the broader culture are understood and addressed by each of the candidates,” Perkins said. “The race is clearly wide open. Values voters will be closely watching next week’s events as they determine which of the candidates are willing to do what it takes once elected to restore fiscal sanity, protect marriage, safeguard religious liberty and protect the rights of the unborn.”
On Pawlenty’s involvement, campaign spokesman Alex Conant told LifeNews, “Governor Pawlenty has a strong record of protecting traditional marriage and promoting life, and we’re looking forward to joining with others who share his strong positions on the tour.”
For a list of the stops on the tour, visit https://www.valuesbus.com
