Wednesday, October 10, 2007
"HALF AND HALF"
Asked whether evangelicals would support Mayor Giuliani as the nominee of the Republican Party, Tony Perkins said, "Yes, there will be some evangelicals who vote for him. In my experience, it’s about half and half."
This struck me because of the frequent claim that some evangelicals will not support a Mormon nominee, namely Governor Romney. Thanks to my Inbox, I can attest that there are indeed some evangelicals who are indeed implacable on this point. But I don't think anyone thinks the number of non-supporters would be 50 percent--a figure that would guarantee the defeat of the GOP ticket.
Personally, I'd put it around 10 percent or less. I also think that having a Republican nominee who isn't tainted by the scandals of Washington and has a fresh, articulate way of advocating the values we believe in will more than make up that 10 percent. And I'm sure that risking the loss of that 50 percent is not a game worth playing.