POLITICAL CONNECTIONS
Ideological Inquisition
By Ronald Brownstein, NationalJournal.com
© National Journal Group Inc.
Christian charity was conspicuously absent from the leaflets that supporters of the leading Republican presidential candidates handed out at last weekend's summit of socially conservative "values voters."
One from Fred Thompson's campaign denounced Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani for their stands on abortion and gay marriage. One from Romney supporters zinged Giuliani, Thompson, and John McCain for supporting campaign finance reform. A third, of unknown authorship, hit Thompson for having lobbied in the early 1990s for an abortion-rights group. If Sam Brownback hadn't just quit the race, somebody probably would have attacked him for participating in a Senate prayer group with Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The onslaught might not have followed the spirit of the Bible, but it did fit the insular character of the Republican presidential race, which increasingly is focused on the candidates' ideological purity -- or lack thereof. Romney started the most recent cycle when he declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party." That prompted McCain to recount some of Romney's serial deviations from party dogma during his 1994 race against Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Thompson, who has been making up for lost time mostly by staying out of sight, chose that moment for a trip to New York, where he declared himself the one consistent conservative in the race, and Giuliani no conservative at all. Then last weekend came the crossfire of leaflets at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit," and more brawling over which candidate has the right stuff at a debate hosted, appropriately enough, by Fox News Channel.
(Continued here.)
By Ronald Brownstein, NationalJournal.com
© National Journal Group Inc.
Christian charity was conspicuously absent from the leaflets that supporters of the leading Republican presidential candidates handed out at last weekend's summit of socially conservative "values voters."
One from Fred Thompson's campaign denounced Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani for their stands on abortion and gay marriage. One from Romney supporters zinged Giuliani, Thompson, and John McCain for supporting campaign finance reform. A third, of unknown authorship, hit Thompson for having lobbied in the early 1990s for an abortion-rights group. If Sam Brownback hadn't just quit the race, somebody probably would have attacked him for participating in a Senate prayer group with Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The onslaught might not have followed the spirit of the Bible, but it did fit the insular character of the Republican presidential race, which increasingly is focused on the candidates' ideological purity -- or lack thereof. Romney started the most recent cycle when he declared that he represents "the Republican wing of the Republican Party." That prompted McCain to recount some of Romney's serial deviations from party dogma during his 1994 race against Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. Thompson, who has been making up for lost time mostly by staying out of sight, chose that moment for a trip to New York, where he declared himself the one consistent conservative in the race, and Giuliani no conservative at all. Then last weekend came the crossfire of leaflets at the Family Research Council's "Values Voter Summit," and more brawling over which candidate has the right stuff at a debate hosted, appropriately enough, by Fox News Channel.
(Continued here.)
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