ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, host:
And I'm Melissa Block.
In two days, Republican votes will got to the polls in South Carolina. The conservative state has long been seen as a gateway to the GOP nomination. Since the first primary there in 1980, no Republican has won the party's nomination without first winning in South Carolina. Our co-host, Michele Norris, is in South Carolina all this week. She's finding that voters looking for a tried and true conservative aren't finding one.
MICHELE NORRIS: On a cold, rainy night in Charleston, a couple of hundred voters, many with kids and umbrellas in tow, have come to see Mike Huckabee.
(Soundbite of people chanting)
Unidentified Group: We like Mike. We like Mike.
NORRIS: All the Republican candidates, including Huckabee, know the stakes are high in South Carolina. And they're working hard to convince right-leaning voters that they have the right stuff.
Mr. MIKE HUCKABEE (Former Arkansas Governor; Republican Presidential Candidate): I don't know what you're going to hear about that I'm not a conservative. But when you cut taxes and you increase the per capita income and you improve the schools and you rebuild the roads and you streamline government, call it anything you want to, but anybody with IQ above broccoli calls that conservative, solid, rock-kind of leadership that America needs. And I'm asking you to help us take it to the White House.
(Soundbite of cheering and applause)
NORRIS: The South Carolina primary is historically a proving ground, testing whether Republicans can appeal to core conservative constituencies. And this year, that's a tough sell, says Lin Bennett, chairwoman of the Charleston County Republican Party.
Ms. LIN BENNETT (Chairwoman, Charleston County Republican Party): Mike Huckabee is not a conservative. He's a wonderful guy.
NORRIS: He's not a conservative? But he stands up and says I'm a conservative all the time.
Ms. BENNETT: He does. But he's — the programs that he is promoting, the issues that he's put forward are not conservative issues.
NORRIS: Is John McCain a conservative?
Ms. BENNETT: John McCain is sort of a half and half.
NORRIS: Is Mitt Romney a conservative?
Ms. BENNETT: In the past, Mitt Romney has not always supported conservative issues.
NORRIS: Mitt Romney emphatically supported abortion rights when he was governor of Massachusetts, a deal-breaker for some religious conservatives. Then there's Rudy Giuliani. He, too, supported abortion rights and gun control and rights for same-sex couples. And there's also the issue of his multiple marriages. Religious conservatives can find common ground with the former Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, but fiscal conservatives balk at his history of raising taxes.
John McCain is a war hero with foreign policy expertise, but he also supports a path to citizenship for immigrants that many see as a form of undeserved amnesty. Voters here see Fred Thompson as the candidate with the most unassailable conservative record, but many wonder why he seems to be conserving his energy. It's often said here that he looks to be walking instead of running for office. So what's a conservative voter to do? I asked Lin Bennett whether the very definition of what it means to be a conservative is changing with this election.
Ms. BENNETT: Well, it's possible. But I hope it's not true. The Republican Party has always had a platform of principles, ideals and values. Lower taxes, lower government, personal responsibility, the right to make decisions that are best for you and your family. I believe that if we choose a candidate who does not support those basic principles and values of the Republican Party, we may experience a problem in the general election in November.
NORRIS: It sounds like the Republicans are almost in a position - it's like that childhood game - will the real conservative please stand up?
Ms. BENNETT: Yeah, please raise your hand and tell us who you are. We are in that game. And it's going to be a difficult election cycle.
NORRIS: That dilemma might explain why so many voters are still undecided.
(Soundbite of people playing golf)
NORRIS: At the Shadowmoss Plantation Country Club, we caught up with a few midweek golfers on the length despite some unusually cold weather.
Mr. DON HESS (South Carolina Resident): I like it more conservative, yeah. You know, that's why - that's what I mostly vote for.
NORRIS: Don Hess works at Shadowmoss. Unlike others here, he says he has yet to warm up to any one candidate.
Mr. HESS: I think that conservatives changed a pretty good bit since, like, Goldwater and the old, old Republican conservatives. It's a lot of different than I think it was. I think they're more like the Democrats - some or more.
NORRIS: But if you looked at the field of Republican candidates, what is the state of conservatism in America today?
Mr. HESS: It's not very good. I don't think it is. But I was a Reagan man all the way. I like Ronald Reagan. I liked the Republicans when he had people -people he designated at the Supreme Court. I think he did a good job. That's what I'm looking for.
NORRIS: That's what he's looking for. But what voters seem to be finding in 2008 is more Reagan talk than Reagan walk.
Mr. MITT ROMNEY (Former Massachusetts Governor; Republican Presidential Candidate): And I take my inspiration from Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush and great Republicans like…
NORRIS: After a big win in Michigan, Mitt Romney gets an enthusiastic reception at a Waterfront rally.
Mr. ROMNEY: How are you all?
Unidentified Man: Thank you very much for…
Mr. ROMNEY: Thank you.
NORRIS: But the crowd is small and his campaign has struggled in South Carolina. In some ways, this election is a test of whether traditional make-or-break issues - such as abortion, tax hikes or pro-immigrant policies - might become mere kinks in the road instead of a political kiss of death. What is clear, South Carolina voters are proud of their historic role in picking the eventual nominee.
Cyndi Mosteller is a long time Republican activist in Charleston.
Ms. CYNDI MOSTELLER (Republican Activist): Iowa can send us a message and New Hampshire can send us a confirmation or a redirection. But as it starts to get this far into the process and this close to Super Tuesday, I think that we do see ourselves in a very serious position.
NORRIS: Now, there, there was a time when conservative voters would have sort of a checklist of things they would look for in a candidate. Small government, fiscal conservatism, social issues, state rights, and they would want to make sure that they're, you know, that everyone of those boxes was checked.
Ms. MOSTELLER: Yes.
NORRIS: Since they were moving more towards sort of an ala carte option, where people are picking, you know, well, it's okay if I get, you know, one, two and five and skip three and four.
Ms. MOSTELLER: Right. Are you may be saying that Republican parties becoming a little more tolerant? Maybe we are. I think 9/11 made us just look outward and outward in a way that we've never done before. Republicans, in their own individual minds and collectively are saying, what can I live with? What do I actually have to have for my children and I to live with, to continue to live in a country that's protected and free and prosperous?
NORRIS: Here in South Carolina, 28 percent of Republicans are still undecided. The GOP primary is on Saturday.
BLOCK: That was our co-host Michele Norris in Charleston, South Carolina.