Family Leader writes off Mitt, Cain and Paul

The Family Leader — Iowa activist Bob Vander Plaats's social conservative advocacy group — says that it has cut its list of possible 2012 endorsees to four names: Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

That means the group has eliminated Mitt Romney, Herman Cain and Ron Paul from consideration, as well as Jon Huntsman, who is not competing in Iowa. Both Cain and Paul participated in the Family Leader's candidate forum last weekend.


In a release, the group explained why it struck several names from consideration:

Each individual of the seven member voting Board of Directors expressed many positives of Representative Ron Paul and businessman Herman Cain. The stumbling block for the board regarding Representative Paul dealt primarily with “States’ Rights” as it pertains to the sanctity of human life and God’s design for marriage. Regarding Mr. Cain, the board cited a narrative of questions versus clarity on the key issues of life, marriage, foreign policy, and presidential readiness. The board did not give consideration to Governor Romney.

Vander Plaats was Mike Huckabee's state chairman in 2008 and an avowed Romney opponent, so it's not as though this endorsement was ever within Romney's grasp. But the GOP frontunner made the decision early on that he wasn't even going to go through the motions of competing for the Vander Plaats bloc, and the result is that he's now in the position of waiting for news from the Family Leader without even an ornamental role in the selection process.

It's an open question just how influential the Family Leader/Vander Plaats endorsement might be this year. Iowa politicos say that Vander Plaats's influence has waned since 2008, and even since his unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign last year.

At the same time, Vander Plaats's remaining allies are presumably strong ones, and if they move as a group they could be helpful to an underdog conservative candidate who needs a boost among evangelicals. Especially one who is basically liked on the right, but whose values are a source of concern — like, say, Newt Gingrich.