Contact: Bob Sturm, 703-396-6974; Ryan Rogge, 703-396-6971; after 6 PM Eastern & on weekends, Bob Sturm, 703-307-8176; Ryan Rogge, 703-674-6948 

MANASSAS, Va., Aug. 11, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement regarding the Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa:

"The only big surprise in the debate was that the eight candidates all sounded like charter members of the Tea Party.

"The big loser was Tim Pawlenty whose unpleasant exchanges with Tea Party heroine Michele Bachmann came across as petty and ungracious. This is probably the final blow to Pawlenty's struggling campaign.

"Governors Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman did their best to sound like Tea Partiers, but floundered badly when strongly confronted about their moderate to liberal records in office.

"In the consultant-driven environment of these campaigns, few candidates will take the risks to talk about big ideas in one of these debates.

"While Newt Gingrich got tough and pushed back against 'got ya' questions from the media panel, his campaign was not revived. Gingrich is unable to sell himself as a principled, small-government conservative.

"The two big winners were Barack Obama and Rick Perry, who look better simply by not being on the stage engaging in petty banter.

"None of the candidates looked presidential, but the most impressive person in the program was Bret Baier."

NOTE TO EDITORS: Richard A. Viguerie pioneered political direct mail and has been called "one of the creators of the modern conservative movement" (The Nation) and one of the "conservatives of the century" (Washington Times). He is the author of Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause