"The daylong Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday brought more than 20 prominent conservative speakers to Des Moines, many of them weighing presidential bids."

• Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA) did not attend; some speculated he would be booed because the crowd is more conservative than him, but he shortly after withdrew from considering another presidential run.

• Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) DID attend; some speculated he would be booed because the crowd is more conservative than him, but he made a speech and addressed theconservative-versus-moderate issue.

• Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) attended, as expected, and announced that he would resign his Fox News show to allow a presidential primary run.

"Unlike the raucous, free-wheeling political rock concert that was the freedom summit, which was hosted by conservative Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King, Rastetter, a mainstream Republican, kept tighter control on the conversation. He staged a living-room-like setting with leather chairs and a vase of tulips and conducted interview-style question-and-answer sessions on renewable fuels, the wind energy production tax credit, normalizing trade with Cuba, biotechnology, illegal immigration, water pollution from farm runoff and other topics."

• Gov. Terry Branstad kicked off the summit, which took place at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

• The audience of 1,200 was comprised largely of farmers and other leaders in the agriculture. The mood in the crowd was warm but mostly subdued as they heard from, in order:
  1. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
  2. former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
  3. former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
  4. former Texas Gov. Rick Perry
  5. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
  6. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of North Carolina
  7. former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
  8. former New York Gov. George Pataki
  9. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

On April 25, 2015, the Faith and Freedom Coalition organized the "Road to Majority Policy Conference" in Waukee, Iowa, part of a series of conferences around the country.

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Scott Walker: Passed pro-life legislation & defunded Planned Parenthood.     Carly Fiorina: Liberals believe in protecting flies, but not human life.

Budget & Economy     Hillary Clinton: Go after shadow banking industry, like Lehman Brothers.     Martin O`Malley: Our economy was wrecked by the big banks of Wall Street.     Chris Christie: The rich are doing fine; cater to middle-income workers.

Civil Rights     Bobby Jindal: Institution of marriage existed long before our laws existed.     Bobby Jindal: I pledge support for a religious freedom law.     Marco Rubio: One-man-one-woman marriage existed before our laws.     Rick Santorum: I would never attend a same-sex wedding.     Scott Walker: Constitutional amendment to prevent federal gay marriage.     Ted Cruz: Pray against a court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.     Ted Cruz: Liberals obsessed with mandatory gay marriage in 50 states.     Ted Cruz: Zealotry on same-sex marriage leaves out religious liberty.     Mike Huckabee: Same-sex marriage leads to criminalization of Christianity.     Mike Huckabee: Courts cannot unilaterally allow same-sex marriage.

Corporations     Bernie Sanders: If Teddy Roosevelt saw modern banks he'd say "break them up".     Bernie Sanders: Wall Street will not be in my Cabinet; their model is fraud.     Hillary Clinton: AIG & Lehman were not big banks; we needed to bail them out.     Martin O`Malley: It's crony capitalism to bail out banks for bad bets.     Rick Santorum: Pro-worker Republican; only 10% of Americans own businesses.     Ted Cruz: Get senseless obstacles from Washington out of the way.

Education     Bernie Sanders: $70B to make public colleges & universities tuition-free.     Bernie Sanders: Look at college degree like high school diploma 50 years ago.     Hillary Clinton: Make community college free, but not free college for all.     Martin O`Malley: Goal of affordable & debt-free college, like in Maryland.     Martin O`Malley: Dad went to college on GI bill; kids went on pile of bills.     Bernie Sanders: College loan repayment is regressive; refinance & forgive.     Mike Huckabee: Common Core morphed into a frankenstandard that I oppose.     Rick Santorum: Reform education; only 30% get college degrees.

Energy & Oil     Bernie Sanders: Climate change partly causes rise of terrorist groups.

Environment     Chris Christie: Ethanol in gasoline is the law; and that's just the minimum.     George Pataki: Opposed to RFS: no ethanol mandate in gasoline.     Jeb Bush: Let the market decide on RFS' ethanol in gasoline.     Mike Huckabee: Ethanol mandate is a matter of national security.     Rick Perry: Ethanol waiver in Texas but not in Iowa: let states decide.     Rick Santorum: Ethanol mandate brings jobs & energy independence.     Scott Walker: Keep ethanol mandate until oil companies allow free market.     Ted Cruz: Don't pick winners & losers like RFS' ethanol in gasoline.     Scott Walker: Freeze stewardship program for state lands.

Families & Children     Ted Cruz: Defend Judeo-Christian values against liberal fascism.     Ted Cruz: Opposes the unrelenting assault on traditional marriage.

Foreign Policy     Hillary Clinton: We spend a lot on development aid, even in war zones.     Mike Huckabee: Globalists & corporatists are making US more like China.     Mike Huckabee: Keep the Cuban embargo; lifting it rewards Cuba.     Rick Perry: Easing restrictions on Cuba hurts the Cuban people.     Carly Fiorina: I've accomplished something by traveling around the world.     John Bolton: America is a benign force globally.     Mike Huckabee: Islamic terrorism is the country's most pressing issue.

Free Trade     Bernie Sanders: I strongly opposed NAFTA and DOMA from their inception.     Mike Huckabee: Trans Pacific Partnership isn't fair trade or free trade.     Rick Perry: China practices communism at night & capitalism in daytime.

Government Reform     Hillary Clinton: Wall Street donates to me because I rebuilt them after 9/11.     Hillary Clinton: GOP is trying to suppress voter registration.     Ben Carson: 5-year federal hiring freeze, to decrease size of government.

Gun Control     Bernie Sanders: Do more than reverse gun manufacturer immunity.     Hillary Clinton: Reverse gun manufacturer immunity; let them get sued.     Martin O`Malley: Baltimore was safer with my comprehensive gun safety law.     Martin O`Malley: Time to work together to crack down on gun manufacturers.

Health Care     Donald Trump: ObamaCare is a catastrophe that must be repealed & replaced.     Donald Trump: Save Medicare & Medicaid without cutting them to the bone.     Ted Cruz: Support nuns' battle for religious liberty against ObamaCare.

Homeland Security     Bernie Sanders: Rid our planet of this barbarous organization called ISIS.     Bernie Sanders: We spend billions on nuclear weapons & only 10% on terrorism.     Hillary Clinton: Adversaries of the future: terrorists as well as drone subs.     Martin O`Malley: Nature of warfare has changed: focus on intel, not armies.     Bernie Sanders: Cut defense by $18B to pay for 55% of all college tuition.     Carly Fiorina: On Benghazi: I'm familiar with America's allies and enemies.     Donald Trump: Defeat ISIS and stop Islamic terrorists.     John Bolton: America is less secure now than we were six years ago.     Newt Gingrich: Threat of militant Islam is comparable to pre-WWII Nazis.     Sarah Palin: Muslim jihadists threaten our way of life.

Immigration     Hillary Clinton: Net immigration from Mexico has fallen to zero.     Martin O`Malley: Our symbol is the Statue of Liberty, not a barbed wire fence.     Scott Walker: We have too many legal immigrants.     Lindsey Graham: Legal status for undocumented workers.     Ben Carson: Use Canadian model for guest worker program.     Jeb Bush: Immigrants are an engine of economic vitality.     Ben Carson: Common-sense solutions: guest workers plus harsher penalties.     Rick Perry: If Washington refuses to enforce the border, Texas will.

Jobs     Bernie Sanders: $15 minimum wage might lose some jobs, but it helps many.     Hillary Clinton: $12 minimum wage, indexed for the future.     Martin O`Malley: Maryland was first state to pass a living wage of $10.10.     Scott Walker: Anti-state unions but pro-private unions.     Rick Perry: The official unemployment rate is massaged and doctored.

Principles & Values     Scott Walker: My relationship with God drives every major decision.     Scott Walker: Raised as a "P.K.", Pastor's Kid, by his father Pastor Llew.

Tax Reform     Bernie Sanders: Wealthiest will pay more but not as much as under Eisenhower.     Martin O`Malley: Wealthiest should pay more but not as much as under Reagan.     Rick Perry: Lower taxes & less regulation made Texas a job leader.

War & Peace     Bernie Sanders: Invasion of Iraq led to ISIS; Hillary voted to invade.     Martin O`Malley: ISIS is an evil in this world; deal with them as evil.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Ben Carson HUD Secretary Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Bobby Jindal Louisiana Republican 2016 Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina California SBA Director Chris Christie New Jersey N.J. Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump Republican Presidential candidate George Pataki New York Republican presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Democratic Presidential candidate Jeb Bush Florida Former FL Governor; Republican Presidential candidate John Bolton Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Lindsey Graham South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Martin O`Malley Maryland Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee Arkansas Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Republican Rick Perry Texas Secretary of Energy Rick Santorum Republican Presidential candidate Sarah Palin Alaska Former Governor (resigned 2009); V.P. nominee (2008) Scott Walker Wisconsin WI Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Ted Cruz Republican 2016 Primary Challenger