The evangelical crisis of faith that threatens to sink the Republicans

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/story/0,,2194656,00.html

Disillusioned Christian conservatives may hand presidency to Democrats by backing third-party candidate

Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday October 19, 2007
The Guardian

Rudy Giuliani is pro-choice and on his third wife. Fred Thompson, the character actor from Law and Order, has yet to get his campaign off the ground. Mitt Romney, the venture capitalist with the model family, is a Mormon - and used to be pro-choice. John McCain, a Vietnam war hero, became an enemy when he denounced the leaders of the Christian right as "agents of intolerance". Mike Huckabee, though an ordained southern Baptist minister, is lagging far behind in the polls. Another religious stalwart, Kansas senator Sam Brownback, plans to drop out of the race today.

White suburban evangelicals, once the bedrock of the Republican party, are having a crisis of faith. None of the potential candidates for the 2008 elections has proved inspirational and one - Mr Giuliani - is provoking the threat of widescale defection.

Disillusioned by President George Bush's performance and the dispiriting crop of candidates, social conservative leaders are to gather in Washington today for a meeting that could decide whether they bolt from the Republicans to back an independent candidate, swallow their qualms and vote for their default party, or stay away from the polls altogether in November 2008.

With more than one in four voters identifying themselves as an evangelical, the decision could alter America's political map.

[bryant69]

1. Be interesting to see how this goes

Here's the deal with political action groups (even big ones)- they don't get what they want. They get crumbs. The only people who get what they want most of the time are the corporations. So the question is do you support your party to get the crumbs or do you support a third party or stay home and not even get those crumbs.

It's a question we have to ask around here too I suppose.

Bryant

[Xipe Totec]

2. I see no difference between the current handful of hypocrites

and previous posers like Nixon, Regan, Bush the dumb, and Bush the dumber.

[NewJeffCT]

3. I don't really believe them

I think they just want Rudy (or whoever) to throw them a bone or two and pat them on the back... then, they'll roll over for him & get behind his candidacy.

Until we see money flowing to somebody like Roy Moore or similar, I'll think the threats are empty.