*Bumped and Updated*
Original – 8:30am: Not to be outdone by the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition who is hosting a presidential forum in March. Bob Vander Plaats and Chuck Hurley of The FAMiLY Leader will hold a press conference later today to announce the details of Presidential Lecture series they plan to have along with the names of five prospective candidates who agreed to participate. The purpose of the series is to allow their supporters to vet potential candidates and introduce them to Iowans. The cat was already out of the bag on one of the candidates. The Des Moines Register on Monday reported that former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty will kick off the series in Pella next month.
So who are the other four? I’ve personally confirmed that former Godfather’s Pizza and radio talk show host Herman Cain and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum will be participating. I have heard that former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will also be participating, but I’ve been unable to confirm that.
I’ll update later.
Update: From a press release sent this afternoon.
Pleasant Hill, IA – The FAMiLY LEADER announced today at a press conference that it will host a Presidential Lecture Series featuring prominent national political figures.
Each month, beginning February 7 through August 1, a nationally-known figure will fly to three Iowa campus locations in a single day. Each national figure will be exposed to a roundtable of community leaders followed by a short lecture open to the public. The lectures will be delivered at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Pella Christian High School in Pella, and the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
The series line-up begins with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty on Monday, February 7. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and businessman and radio host Herman Cain have also made commitments to participate. Other invited speakers include former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, South Dakota Senator John Thune, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and Indiana Representative Mike Pence.
“Iowans play a vital role in hosting the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus, and it is our privilege to offer this Presidential Lecture Series in order to provide our very influential base an opportunity to gain insight into our political process,” said Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The FAMiLY LEADER. “Our base is serious about its role in the political process and the Presidential Lecture Series is a focused strategy to facilitate meaningful exposure to our constituents.”
The primary purpose of the Presidential Lecture Series is to provide these national figures with a pre-planned, full day in Iowa to introduce them to the Grassroots and to allow citizens an opportunity to become better informed on policy-making . The lectures will be videotaped, emailed to our comprehensive database and posted on The FAMiLY LEADER website to allow all interested citizens the opportunity to hear or read the lectures.
The Presidential Lecture Series will culminate with a Presidential Forum/Debate on Saturday, November 19 at a location to be determined in central Iowa. The FAMiLY LEADER anticipates a crowd of more than a thousand potential caucus-goers. This important forum will be a strategic event in determining the ultimate Iowa caucus winner in February of 2012.
Well I went four for five.