Evangelical Leader on Giuliani: “This is About the Life Issue”
October 2, 2007
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council tells The Brody File that at the end of the day, Evangelical leaders and activists may have no choice but to back a potential third party candidate because of Rudy Giuliani’s pro-choice views.
"This is about the life issue. There is absolutely no way that we will go with a candidate that is pro-abortion. It's an issue of principle and conviction. It's what we've worked for, what we've fought for. Do you really think they (social conservative activists) would go to work for a Giuliani led campaign? It's an unreasonable request for the GOP to ask these people to invest their time and energy into it. Giuliani becomes a drag on the party because social conservatives won't work for him. I think you can see a landslide with Giuliani at the head of the ticket."
And folks, there it is in a nutshell. Perkins and others are simply not going to roll over and support a Republican candidate just because that person has an “R” in front of their name. Perkins tells me:
"We're not here to advance the agenda of the Republican Party. If they're not willing to advance the agenda of social conservatives, then we're not with them. There has been too much willingness of social conservatives to go along."
Does that mean that Perkins, James Dobson and others are ready to run out and back a third party candidate? No. At that meeting over the weekend, which The Brody File is told was attended by about 50 people, no third party candidate names were even discussed. Perkins says:
"There's not a rush to go out and create a third party. The third party is down the road. There are a lot of other viable candidates in the field right now but if Rudy Giuliani or any pro-abortion candidate is the nominee that would be a line that we could not cross.”
Let me give you the harsh reality for social conservatives. Evangelical groups are unified in their opposition to Giuliani but they are split on how best to proceed. There are three choices and they are very simple; stick with the GOP candidate in the General Election no matter what so Hillary Clinton has a chance at being defeated; come up with a third party candidate and put purity ahead of politics or just simply sit on your hands and not vote. Those last two options could very well indeed put a Democrat in the White House.
It’s important to note that these Evangelical groups are still trying to find a viable candidate out there. They believe there are some alternatives to Rudy. Fred Thompson is definitely still on the table, Huckabee is receiving some support too and Romney is intriguing. All three would probably get General Election support, but what about now when these candidates really need it?
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