The Caucus: At Church on Sunday Morning, Thoughts of Tuesday

Reporters visited several Iowa churches on Sunday to take the pulse of worshipers as they prepared to caucus on Tuesday.

In Iowa

Reporting on candidates and voters from the Hawkeye State.

Point of Grace Church, Waukee

At this evangelical church in the heavily Republican suburbs outside Des Moines, politics was ignored in the early morning sermon but was very much on the mind of the congregants, many of whom said they were wrestling with the decision of which candidate to support.

The worshipers were able to rattle off the names of each candidate, offering quick descriptions of their strengths and weaknesses. Many had, at one time or another, supported nearly every candidate in the field. But with the caucuses two days away, many suggested that the choice had come down to deciding who offered the best chance to beat President Obama and who best represented their Christian values.

In a field absent of perfect options, that decision, several said, was a contest between Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, who has gained momentum in the last few days among those who remain skeptical of Mr. Romney but have grown dissatisfied with the other options.

Over the last few months, Dustin Graber, 34, said he had supported Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But disappointed with each, he recently decided to caucus for Mr. Santorum. ?I?ve been a flip-flopper,? he said. ?But my mind?s made up now.?

Another Iowan who has decided in the last few days to back Mr. Santorum is Randy Yontz, 69, a retired lobbyist who is active in the local Republican Party. He made his decision by ruling out candidates because of their negative qualities, he said, and at the end only one was left. And he argued that Mr. Santorum?s support would not erode under the spotlight, as it has for so many of his rivals.

?He?s not a flash in the pan,? he said.

The hourlong church service was a slickly produced collection of musical numbers, videos and a sermon to a thin crowd of about 100. But Jeff Mullen, the politically active pastor who is running for State Senate, did not make any mention of the vote. ?I forgot,? Mr. Mullen said. ?In my next sermon I?m going to ask people to pray for the caucuses.?

Though he has been a prominent supporter of Mrs. Bachmann?s ? which has been a source of complaint from some in his congregation ? Mr. Mullen said he believed that Mr. Perry, Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich had strengths as conservative Christians. But he was plainly skeptical of both Representative Ron Paul of Texas and Mr. Romney. ?There?s no perfect candidate,? he said. ?The question is what flaws can you put up with.?

Frank Coulter, 78, a retired mail carrier who also acknowledged ?a soft spot for Santorum,? said he was leaning toward Mr. Romney because he was ?a good family man.? He expected to base his decision on the speeches made on caucus night.

Talking with a friend who said she was praying for guidance, Martha Cole, a retired teacher, said she also had not decided. But she knew that the main attribute she wanted: someone who could beat Mr. Obama. ?I?m looking for a winner,? she said. ?And I don?t know who that is yet.?

? A.G. Sulzberger

First Federated Church, Des Moines

Randy Maurer, 61, a member of this evangelical church on the outer edges of Des Moines, said he had spent weeks casting about for a ?candidate who stands for righteousness,? even flirting with Mr. Gingrich despite ?his baggage.?

?I?ve liked them all,? he said.

But in the past few days, he finally settled on Mr. Santorum. A major factor in his decision: the endorsement of leading evangelicals in the state like Bob Vander Plaats, the head of the Family Leader, an influential conservative group.

?For a lot of the faith community, that moved us,? said Mr. Maurer, who said he had caucused for former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas in 2008.

? Michael Barbaro

First Church of the Open Bible, Des Moines

Among worshipers here, two themes were evident on Sunday morning: Enthusiasm for Mr. Santorum?s late surge, and a pragmatic view that ?electability? is important ? a factor that could favor Mr. Romney on Tuesday.

For Darla Cox, who has been frustrated that Mr. Santorum has not received much attention on the campaign trail or time during televised debates, his sudden rise in the polls has been gratifying after watching his campaign as it crisscrossed the state, making more than 300 stops.

?I didn?t think he had a chance,? she said as she left the service here before noon. She likes Mr. Santorum?s broad narrative about the nation?s problems ? that a breakdown of marriage and the family is to blame for many of them ? and believes that he might turn those trends around. ?America needs to get back to what he believes,? she said.

Beverly Channell, another worshiper, had not made up her mind, but she said that it was important that the winner be someone who could defeat the president.

?I?m a conservative Republican, and there are no perfect candidates,? she said. But it is crucial to have ?a candidate who is electable against Barack Obama,? she said, even if that candidate is not the most conservative.

?There are some good candidates, good people, not perfect, but good people, and I think it?s imperative to have someone electable,? she said.

When she thinks of the most electable, she said, ?I think of Romney, I think of Perry, I think of Gingrich.? And Ron Paul too, she said.

The church?s pastor, Curt Arne, had not made up his mind, either. ?But if I had to narrow it down to three, I?d probably pick Perry, Newt and Santorum.? He likes Mrs. Bachmann too.

?Perry has a very strong faith foundation, he?s a proven job maker, and he at least talks tough on straightening out Congress,? Mr. Arne said.

?Newt has a lot of baggage, as everybody will tell you,? he added, ?but at least he balanced the budget, and I think that?s what people are looking for.?

And he likes Mr. Santorum, but his 2006 re-election defeat in Pennsylvania gives him pause. ?That?s not a good sign, the fact that he got blown out,? he said.

? Richard A. Oppel Jr.

Cornerstone Family Church, Des Moines

?I?m going to use my head and I?m going to vote my conscience,? said Pastor Dan Berry, who identifies himself as an independent. But the key, he said, was showing up at the caucuses.

?It is your moral obligation. It is your spiritual obligation,? he told the hundreds gathered in the church?s industrial-style sanctuary.

Cornerstone, an evangelical church known for its diversity ? the service opened with gospel music, and the crowd appeared to be an even mixture of blacks and whites ? was where Mr. Huckabee chose to worship on the final Sunday before the 2008 Iowa caucuses. He went on to win the state three days later, and many of the Cornerstone parishioners backed him.

Now they?re leaning toward Mr. Santorum.

?I just decided I was going to vote for the person who best supports my worldview, even if they?re down in the polls,? said Jerry Miller, 61, of Des Moines. ?I was kind of riding that roller coaster for a while, and then I said, ?I can?t do that.? ?

Mr. Miller, like many others, expressed admiration for Mr. Paul as well, but said he found some of his views too extreme, particularly his isolationist posture.

Mr. Santorum appears to be finding support even among more moderate Republicans. The former Pennsylvania senator will get the vote of Jean Jones, a Des Moines Republican who said she voted for Mr. Obama in 2008.

Mr. Santorum ?seems to have been the most consistent,? said Ms. Jones, 52, adding that she hoped he could curtail partisan bickering, in contrast with Mr. Gingrich.

Others expected to remain undecided until they showed up to caucus.

?I?m really going to offer up a prayer and hope that it comes to me,? said Deborah Anderson, 54. This will be her first caucus.

? Sarah Wheaton

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Perry

At the progressive First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Perry, a town of less than 8,000 people, Mavis Struyk, one of the few Republicans in the congregation, will cast her vote for Mitt Romney on Tuesday.

Unlike some in more conservative Christian churches, Ms. Struyk said she considered Mr. Romney, a Mormon, to be a Christian.

?He?s gone to church all his life and a candidate of faith is important to me,? the retiree said.

While most of the candidates say they are strong Christians, Mr.
Romney attracts her because she feels he attacks the other candidates less.

?I just got sick and tired of the negativity from the other candidates attacking each other,? Ms. Struyk said, adding that Mr. Romney ?seems like the only one who isn?t doing that.?

Her pastor, Tim Johnson, didn?t mention politics in his sermon, even though this was the last Sunday before the caucuses. Afterwards, he noted that ministers who preach politics ?tend to get into trouble?
and lose members as a result.

? Armando Monta?o

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=95f7efc67802e343ebb65b7572d51851

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