Social conservatives' problem: No clear choice
DES MOINES, Iowa - Social conservatives in Iowa may be able to agree on their principles, but this year they have had a very difficult time agreeing on a candidate, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.
Radio talk-show host Steve Deace and political activist Bob Vander Plaats epitomize the divisions among social conservatives in Iowa.
Deace, whose radio show is syndicated nationally, has endorsed Newt Gingrich, personal baggage and all.
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Will Rick Santorum win in Iowa?
"That has been the tough sell," Deace said of scoring the former House speaker with values voters.
Vander Plaats heads up The Family Leader, an organization dedicated to the preservation of traditional marriage. He's backing Rick Santorum.
"Let's find somebody that's an alternative who can beat Mitt Romney first and then can defeat Barack Obama," he said.
There is no debate among many conservatives that Romney must be stopped.
"I would love for someone to explain to me how someone who can't win over 80 percent of his own base is the most electable candidate," Deace said.
"He has a definite trust gap with us," Vander Plaats said.
The good news for conservatives is that Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Santorum all meet their requirements. But that's also the bad news; they all meet their requirements and are mostly indistinguishable on social issues.
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That may account for why each has enjoyed a brief boomlet of support, Santorum's being the latest.
In 2008, Mike Huckabee benefited when social and Christian conservatives lined up behind him. That just hasn't happened this time around.
As conservatives fret over what to do, there was a wider concern that they may go with their hearts and not their minds on Tuesday night, spread their votes over several candidates and diminish their overall impact.