DES MOINES, Iowa, March 27 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopefuls are differing in their emphasis on social and economic issues as they court Iowa activists.
Five potential candidates who spoke at the Conservative Principles Conference sponsored by Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, in Des Moines Saturday were united in opposition to President Barack Obama's policies, the Des Moines Register reported.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain, an Atlanta talk show host, told the audience of more than 500 social values must remain atop the GOP agenda.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, however, spoke only about fiscal conservatism and the economy, ignoring cultural issues like same-sex marriage and abortion. Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton stuck to foreign policy.
Gingrich said public schools should teach that the nation was founded on Christian principles.
Bachmann, capping a four-day Iowa swing, said, "Some people have said we need a truce on social issues. I would highly disagree with that because the truth is that social conservatism is fiscal conservatism."
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a Tea Party leader, was the keynote speaker and repeated that he will not run for president.
