Giuliani Inspires Threat of a Third-Party Run
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: October 1, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 — Alarmed at the possibility that the Republican Party might pick Rudolph W. Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate.
The threat emerged from a group that broke away for separate discussions at a meeting Saturday in Salt Lake City of the Council for National Policy, a secretive conservative networking group. Participants said the smaller group included James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, who is perhaps its most influential member; Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council; Richard A. Viguerie, the direct-mail pioneer; and dozens of other politically oriented conservative Christians.
Almost everyone present at the smaller group’s meeting expressed support for a written resolution stating that “if the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate we will consider running a third-party candidate,” participants said.
The participants said that the group chose the qualified term “consider” because it had not yet identified an alternative candidate, but that it was largely united in its plans to bolt the party if Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, became the nominee. The participants spoke on condition of anonymity because the Council for National Policy meeting and the smaller meeting were secret, but they said members of the smaller group intended to publicize the resolution.
A revolt of Christian conservative leaders could be a significant setback to the Giuliani campaign because white evangelical Protestants make up a major share of Republican primary voters, including more than a third of voters in Iowa and South Carolina.
But the threat is risky for the leaders of the Christian conservative movement as well. Some of its usual grass-roots supporters might still back a supporter of abortion rights like Mr. Giuliani, either because they dislike the Democratic nominee even more or because they are more concerned with other issues, like the war.
I have to say that I'm confused about this, because it doesn't make any sense to me. Every GOP Candidate has made the pilmgrimages to kiss their behinds. John McCain has sacrificed the independent spirit that made him so appealing to kiss up to them. They've all done the ' please baby baby please' dance with the Evangelicals.
What do they want?
I ask this seriously, because they're acting like none of the frontrunners is returning their phone calls. They're acting like the frontrunners are ignoring them, when nothing could be further from the truth.
And, it also makes it seem, listening to them, that they look at the field, and they are pretending that nobody has their suitable credentials, which is untrue, because Huckabee and Brownback SHOULD be considered bonafides for them. What would a Third Party do for them than choosing either Huckabee or Brownback to support fully couldn't do?
Now, this could be a power play, but my thing is, they've been puckered up to from Day One, so what else is there to squeeze from these candidates?
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2 comments:
Actually good news. Hopefully this will split his support.... or at least shave off enough votes to prevent a Giuliani Administration (a real nightmare) from becoming a reality.
And the reason why the far right Conservative Christians are not satisfied with many of these candidates is because these particular voters would like to see a total dedication to the Abortion issue...and not much else. Far right Conservative Christians are primarily driven by the abortion issue...although they claim to be concerned about other things. But it is like they are blind to the War in Iraq, American foreign policy run amuck, the environment, dependence on foreign oil, the widening class and income gap, the changing economic and labor situation for American workers, healthcare, challenges of globalization, etc. It's as if they live in a bubble.
Abortion is their big issue. But they also want to see their religion become a bigger part of "The State". Despite the Constitutions prohibition of the State establishment of religion... that is exactly what they would like to see.
They are basically upset because they don't have an ultra religious candidate who will promise to end abortions and who will turn the Country into an official Theocracy.
(check the archives for a post entitled "American Theocracy"...do a search). Any candidate who isn't a robot who will carry the torch for their particular cause is seen as not good enough...or falling short.
All in all it's a good thing for Conservative Christians to discuss other options. Maybe they will form their own political Party. I am all for the increase in voter choice...and the increase in political parties. I think it's important to have more viable choices on both the progressive and Conservative sides.
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