Where Will The Religious Right Turn?

Christian Conservatives still do not have a consenus candidate for the 2008 presidential election. Many thought that Fred Thompson was going to fill the void and become the religious community's choice. But as Robert Novak points out in this article many religious leaders are already turning sour on Thompson because of public statements on abortion and gay marriage. His senate voting record was impeccably pro-life. But Thompson's statements on Tim Russert's show has some religious leaders cringing.

And then yesterday Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Guiliani. How could that happen? One of the leaders of the Moral Majority endorsing a pro-choice candidate who has been married multiple times! James Dobson has said that he will absolutely not support Giuliani and might even lead Christian voters into a third party vote if Giuliani gets the republican nomination. What is going on? Pat Robertson and James Dobson are on polar extremes regarding Giuliani's candidacy. This just underscores the divide among evangelicals.

I think the religious community must unite behind one candidate. If we're fractured then we will end up with candidate choices that are unacceptable. And we'll end up with someone in the White House that will cause further decay in our culture. I'm convinced that the next president will be in a position to nominate two, if not three, judges to the U.S. Supreme Court. Who do we want making those nominations? Certainly not Hillary Clinton.

What do religious leaders find wrong with Mike Huckabee? In the article I referenced above by Novak, he writes that some say that Huckabee is part of the "Christian Left" whatever that means. The Club For Growth gave him low marks and a couple of weeks ago Phyllis Schlafly slammed Huckabee. But Huckabee continues to build support among evangelicals.

I understand the politics of why a Giuliani candidacy appeals to some in the republican party. He probably can carry New York state. Without New York, the democrats will have a hard time winning the White House. But what traditional republican states are lost with a Giuliani candidacy? Will the New York electoral votes be enough to offset the losses? Would a Giuliani - Huckabee ticket make sense? Or Huckabee - Giuliani? What about a mixture of Thompson and Giuliani. Could some combination like these appease evangelicals and at the same time entice voters in traditional democrat states like New York? It is interesting to think about the impact of different combinations.

On a completely different front, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Deadfall by Robert Liparulo. I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy.


UPDATE: After I wrote my post today, Don Wildmon of the American Family Association endorsed Mike Huckabee. If you're keeping score that's Robertson for Giuliani and Wildmon for Huckabee. Still waiting on religious leaders like James Dobson, Gary Bauer and Tony Perkins to show their cards.

Jerome