Christian right is split over GOP field
Conservative evangelicals haven't found a perfect fit among the Republican presidential candidates -- and that could benefit social liberal Giuliani.
By Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Barely three months before voting for presidential candidates begins, the religious right has yet to unite behind a Republican, heightening concerns among evangelical leaders that social liberal Rudolph W. Giuliani will capture the party's nomination.
The splintering of religious conservatives, if it endures, would ease the way for New York's former mayor to emerge as the party's first nominee to explicitly support abortion rights since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in 1973.
But the lack of a consensus choice for president is only part of the troubles facing conservative evangelicals, a powerful force within the GOP for more than a generation.
"It's low tide right now for our movement," said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Assn.
Opportunities for the religious right to press its agenda suffered a blow when Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in last year's midterm election.
Making matters worse are sex scandals besetting Republicans who have championed family values, most recently Sens. Larry E. Craig of Idaho and David Vitter of Louisiana. Their troubles -- following the sex scandal last fall involving then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) that contributed to the GOP's midterm losses -- have diminished enthusiasm for the party among many social conservatives.
Also hobbling the religious right is the decline of the Christian Coalition of America. A mobilizing force in the 1990s, the South Carolina-based group has suffered financial setbacks and now plays a marginal role in Republican politics.z
(Continued here.)
By Michael Finnegan
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Barely three months before voting for presidential candidates begins, the religious right has yet to unite behind a Republican, heightening concerns among evangelical leaders that social liberal Rudolph W. Giuliani will capture the party's nomination.
The splintering of religious conservatives, if it endures, would ease the way for New York's former mayor to emerge as the party's first nominee to explicitly support abortion rights since the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in 1973.
But the lack of a consensus choice for president is only part of the troubles facing conservative evangelicals, a powerful force within the GOP for more than a generation.
"It's low tide right now for our movement," said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Assn.
Opportunities for the religious right to press its agenda suffered a blow when Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in last year's midterm election.
Making matters worse are sex scandals besetting Republicans who have championed family values, most recently Sens. Larry E. Craig of Idaho and David Vitter of Louisiana. Their troubles -- following the sex scandal last fall involving then-Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) that contributed to the GOP's midterm losses -- have diminished enthusiasm for the party among many social conservatives.
Also hobbling the religious right is the decline of the Christian Coalition of America. A mobilizing force in the 1990s, the South Carolina-based group has suffered financial setbacks and now plays a marginal role in Republican politics.z
(Continued here.)
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