Barbour discourages GOP from talking about social issues

Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi who is mulling a presidential run in 2012, said he’ll put his social conservative “bonafides” up against anyone, but those issues aren’t what is going to win elections this fall. Instead, Republicans must concentrate on the economy.

At a meeting sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, Barbour was discussing statements made by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels earlier this year about politicians needing to “call a truce” on social issues until the economy is fixed. Social conservative leaders, such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, lashed out at the comments, who said issues like abortion and same-sex marriage “are not bargaining chips nor are they political issues. They are moral issues.”

From the Huffington Post:

“I think what Mitch said is very similar to what I have responded to today,” Barbour replied. “The voters have on their mind the economy, jobs, spending, debt and taxes and good campaigns are about the issues that are on the peoples minds.

“I’ll put my bonafides up against anybody as a social conservative,” he added, noting that as governor, Mississippi was voted the safest state in the country for an unborn child. “But that ain’t going to change anybody’s vote this year because people are concerned about job, the economy, growth and taxes… you are using up valuable time and resources that can be used to talk to people about what they care about.”

The Iowa Family Policy Center, an influential affiliate of the Family Research Council, issued a press release Thursday criticizing the idea that leaders of the conservative movement think they can be successful without social conservatives.

“I understand the argument that the country is being dismantled from the inside by our own elected officials, but to focus entirely on economic concerns while trying to brush aside family and social issues only serves to undermine our shared goal of preserving liberty and the American way for the next generation,” said Chuck Hurley, IFPC’s president.

This isn’t the first time Barbour has riled social conservatives. At a Republican Party of Iowa fundraiser last year, Barbour told a crowd of party activists and elected officials that the only way back into the majority is to resist demands for ideological purity. He specifically pointed to the abortion issue, saying “There are tens of millions of pro-choice Republicans that are just as good Republicans as I am, and we need to support them.”

Barbour also ran into trouble with Steve Scheffler, president of Iowa Christian Alliance and one of two Iowans on the Republican National Committee. Scheffler wasn’t happy with how Barbour was running the Republican Governors Association, telling Hotline OnCall’s Reid Wilson that “[Barbour]’s toast in Iowa, as far as I’m concerned. I traditionally stay out of presidential contested races, but this kind of information will be distributed far and wide.”

Politico reports this morning that Barbour “snuck into Iowa” last month to raise money for the Republican Governors Association at a previously undisclosed fundraiser.