Candidates to be asked about abortion and gay marriage tonight

Six presidential candidates are scheduled to speak this evening at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition banquet in Des Moines.  Each has about 10 minutes to give remarks, then each will be quizzed individually. IFFC leader Steve Scheffler says one of the questions will be about “traditional marriage and abortion on demand.”  This may give Herman Cain a chance to articulate an answer on abortion to answer those who’ve criticized him this week for his remarks on CNN. 

Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul came into the banquet hall before the program began to shake hands, pose for pictures and chat with potential Iowa Caucus-goers. Cain’s bus appears to be outside, but he’s not inside. Over a dozen “Occupy Des Moines” protesters stood across the street in a “protest zone” as banquet-goers made their way into the venue, chanting, “We are the 99 percent” and other chants from their greatest hits collection.  Some of the protesters had been part of the more than 100 folks who staged an “Occupy Obama” protest this morning at Obama’s Des Moines headquarters. One man in the crowd told me he is disappointed President Obama hasn’t done more to reign in corporate power.