A top D.C. lobbyist has taken out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Daily News Wednesday calling GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump “a joke” and challenging all Republican candidates to take a stiffer stand in the second presidential debate opposing same-sex marriage and other indications he sees of moral decline.
Jack Burkman, founder of Burkman Associates, which he bills as one of the most active lobbying forms in Washington, decried the amount of time Americans spend focusing on “Caitlyn Jenner and the ’transition.’ ” Mr. Burkman said that’s proof Americans have “lost our moral compass” and a call to arms for GOP candidates.
“Those of you with anemic poll numbers might want to listen up: You could get a bump if you did speak your mind on moral decay (of course depending on what you say),” Mr. Burkman says in the ad.
Mr. Burkman made waves last year by leading a call to pass legislation banning gay athletes from taking jobs with National Football League teams, in the wake of Michael Sam trying to join an NFL squad.
In his ad, which his operation said was running in the L.A. Daily News the day that the GOP field would be at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Mr. Burkman called out several candidates by name.
“Donald Trump: You have no moral compass,” the lobbyist said, accusing the billionaire businessman of flip-flopping on his stance on abortion. “You’d believe in anything that would get you elected. You’re a joke.”
DOCUMENT: Open letter ad from Jack Burkman to GOP candidates
The lobbyist also checks Sens. Ran Paul and Ted Cruz, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Sen. Rick Santorum, all of whom have tried to lay claim to representing religious conservatives in the crowded primary field.
“You are supposedly the most conservative of the bunch, yet you stay silent as the moral decay eats away at our country,” Mr. Burkman said, accusing them of fearing to be “politically incorrect.”
Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Cruz in particular have tried to stake out controversial stances against same-sex marriage, including rallying to help Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was shipped to jail earlier this month for refusing to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples.
Mr. Huckabee, who was a Baptist preacher before winning the governorship in Arkansas, has said he would have gone to jail in Mrs. Davis’ place.
Other candidates, including Mr. Trump, have said Mrs. Davis shouldn’t hold her job if she cannot follow the law.
Some religious conservatives argue their issues have not gotten enough attention so far this election, with Mr. Trump absorbing so much political oxygen and not hewing to evangelical leaders’ calls to pursue a more morality-based campaign appeal.
But the GOP field has rallied to oppose taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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