ES MOINES - Publisher Steve Forbes's effort to broaden his political base in Iowa got a boost yesterday when a dozen conservative religious leaders signed a letter declaring him a leader of ''America's new conservative movement.''
''He knows that the liberties we enjoy are rooted in faith,'' said the letter, mailed to conservative activists around the state where precinct caucuses in February launch the presidential nominating season.
Dissemination of the letter follows a bizarre week in which the head of the Iowa section of the Christian Coalition of America charged that Forbes approached her temporary employment agency about hiring people to vote for him in Iowa's August straw poll.
Forbes denied the charge by Bobbi Gobel, and she issued a statement backing away from the claim. The organization fired her Friday.
The endorsement letter, which Forbes's aides said was in the works months before the Gobel brouhaha, was signed by prominent local ministers and activists who have played an important role among religious conservatives for years.
Forbes's aides said the endorsement is aimed at demonstrating the candidate's inroads toward bridging a gap that dogged his last presidential campaign.
When Forbes sought the GOP presidential nomination in 1996, social conservatives were deeply suspicious of his commitment to issues such as abortion. After focusing almost exclusively on a flat income-tax system, he was forced from the race.
This time, Forbes has devoted heavy attention to conservative issues, promising, for example, that as president he would appoint only judges opposed to abortion.
In their endorsement letter, the religious leaders said Forbes is ''a leader of America's new conservative movement. He believes in freedom and he knows that the freedom we enjoy is a gift from God.''
The letter was signed by pastors Greg Altizer, of Cedar Rapids; Jan Burns, of Farmington; Don Culp, of Keokuk; Michael Erpelding, of Fort Dodge; John Graham, of Belle Plaine; Robert Grossman, of Garner; Morris Hurd, of Kellogg; Laddie Oliver, of Keosauqua; and Brad Sherman, of Iowa City, among others.
