GOP hopefuls on parade in D.C.

WASHINGTON—A parade of Republican presidential hopefuls took turns Friday trying to stand out to conservatives attending the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in the nation’s capital.

The annual event receive took on particular significance this year, with an election year looming on the horizon. That’s why former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former New York Gov. George Pataki, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal all relished their time on the event’s main stage.

Carson started his speech with a moment of silence for the nine people killed in the shooting in Charleston, S.C., this week and told how God has shaped the direction of his life: “I grew to understand how God will always prepare you to do what He wants you to do.”

Carson did not mention any policy initiatives or his presidential campaign but did express strong disapproval of the Obama administration: “America is a place that is of, for, and by the people, with the government there to facilitate life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This administration is just the opposite.”

Mike Cross, a college student from Ohio attending the event, said Carson’s “relatability” made him stand out from the ever-growing list of presidential candidates.

Carson ended his speech Friday with another knock on the Obama administration: “I know President Obama said we’re not a Judeo-Christian nation. But he doesn’t get to decide. We get to decide.”

Jindal, who has yet to announce his candidacy, started his address with a three-minute prayer for the Charleston shooting victims’ families. But it did not take long for the Louisiana governor to rally the crowd with some choice words about the political left.

“I’m tired of the hypocrisy of the left,” he said, pointing out that Democrats say they are tolerant but are trying to squelch the religious liberty of Americans. “I’m standing for religious liberty every chance I get.”

Jindal said he’s disagrees with President Obama and the Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on a major issue that will soon be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court: “My views on marriage are not evolving with the polls. I believe in traditional marriage between a man and a woman.”

Jindal also criticized Obama for dividing America: “I’m tired of hyphenated Americans. We’re not Indian-Americans, Irish-Americans, African-Americans, rich-Americans, or poor-Americans. We’re all American.”

Earnest Pelton, a first time conference attendee, said he appreciated Jindal’s American success story: the child of Indian immigrants who is now in his second term as Louisiana’s governor at the age of 44. “Man, I just love that Louisiana accent,” Pelton added.

During his turn on the convention stage, Chris Christie touted himself as New Jersey’s first ever pro-life governor: “And when you’re pro-life you need to be pro-life for the whole life.” He also focused on economic issues and how America needs to do more for those at the bottom of the system to give those people a second chance.

Jeb Bush shared how his faith influenced everything he did during in his eight years as Florida’s governor, as well as his thoughts on the economy and America’s place on the world stage: “We can grow far faster than we’re growing today. We can create a more secure world.”

Rick Santorum pointed to his experience from the 2012 presidential race, and asked, “You want to win? Then let’s elect someone who can go to the states we have to win with a winning message.” He then reminded the audience that in him they had an “opportunity to elect a full-throated conservative on fiscal issues, on economic issues, on foreign policy issues, and, yes, on moral and cultural issues. Why settle for less?”

John Hutchinson, a self-described conservative Christian from Delaware, liked what he saw Friday, noting that “there’s not a bad one” in the group of Republican candidates. “It gives me confidence that almost any of them that I heard so far would be an excellent president of the United States.”