Phil Burress, a conservative evangelical leader in Ohio, says even though John McCain has won the Republican presidential nomination, he has yet to mobilize "values voters" in that state.
Ohio pro-family leader and Mike Huckabee supporter Phil Burress is skeptical Senator McCain (R-Arizona) will be able to assure social conservatives that he will take their issues seriously. Burress, who heads Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, says although he would vote for McCain in the general election, the Arizona lawmaker has thus far failed to energize the bloc Burress refers to as "values voters." "They are not mobilized right now -- and in fact, they're just going to be sitting back waiting to hear what he has to say to try to get these people to engage in his campaign," explains Burress. Burress contends McCain needs to apologize to evangelical Christians and values voters for the way he has treated them over the years. He says because the senator is not likely to make that apology, he must strengthen his pledge to appoint strict constructionist judges to the Supreme Court. In hindsight, Burress says Huckabee may have won the Republican nomination had more conservative leaders rallied behind him sooner in the campaign. The former Arkansas governor, he argues, was a "class act" throughout his presidential campaign and never equivocated on core issues of concern to social conservatives. The pro-family leader says he admired the fact that Huckabee did not play "games" and was a straight talker. He also says he admired that fact that at one event he was able to call on Huckabee to close in prayer.
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