Barbour’s Comments Draw Criticism From Social Conservatives
Here is part of what Barbour said: “Any issue that takes people’s eye off of unemployment, job creation, economic growth, taxes, spending, deficits, debts is taking your eye off the ball. But if somebody goes to campaign for governor candidate x, I would hope that somebody would stay focused on the issues that matter to the campaign: jobs, the economy, taxes, spending, debt, deficits. You run down rabbit trails, you’re wasting- you’re using up valuable resources that could be used to talk to people about what they care about.”
This drew a rebuke from Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, as reported in LifeNews.com.
Here is what Perkins said: “However, just because issues are not important to a candidate does not make them unimportant to voters. I’ve repeatedly said that economic issues are currently at the forefront of the minds of most voters, but the electorate, especially social conservatives, have the ability to consider a candidate’s view on more than one or two issues. A nation’s economy will never have greater stability than its core economic unit- the family, and the stability of the family is determined by more than money. Family matters and if the Republicans want to succeed where they failed last time, they had better remember that fact.”
Majority in Mississippi
9/13/10
Magnolia Tribune
