The Fracturing Right

If one was looking for an example of just how fractured and confused those on the Right are as they attempt to decide which Republican presidential candidate to support, one wouldn’t find a better example than this article from CNS News.    

As it stands now, the Right is so desperately lost that the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue, of all people, is touting Rudy Giuliani and pushing anti-abortion voters not to be ideological purists:

But it is Giuliani’s commitment to appoint “strict constructionists” to the U.S. Supreme Court that should matter most to Christian activists, Donohue said.

“Social conservatives are going into this campaign with some degree of reservation, if not trepidation,” he acknowledged. “But when push comes to shove, there is a day and night difference” between the three leading GOP contenders and their Democratic counterparts, he added.

“The problem with the pro-life movement is that some people are purist, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re detrimental to the cause,” Donohue said. “It’s important to be principled, but it’s also important to be prudential.”

While Donohue singles out Giuliani’s pledge to appoint “strict constructionists” to the Supreme Court as the candidate’s top credential, other candidates — Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee – have all stated that, if elected, they would nominate judges like Roberts, Alito, and Scalia.

It is somewhat surprising that Donohue hangs so much on this Giuliani claim, considering that his judicial appointment history has not been particularly reassuring to the Right.

But at least Giuliani has someone out there championing his campaign – the best John McCain could get in the article was a quote from Janice Crouse of Concerned Woman for America saying he’s “never been popular with any branch of conservatism” and that it “may be too late for him to prove himself.” 

As for Romney:

Jordan Sekulow, a law student who works as a consultant on Romney’s campaign, said prospective voters should look at his record as governor of Massachusetts, where he closed a $3 billion budget gap during his first year in office by eliminating waste and streamlining government.

Romney was willing to confront the judicial activism of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of same-sex “marriage,” Sekulow added.

Sekulow.jpgIf the name “Jordan Sekulow” seems familiar, that is probably because he is not just some ordinary “law student” – he was the national chairman of “Students for Bush” in 2004 and is the Deputy Director of Government Affairs at the American Center for Law and Justice, which just so happens to be the organization headed by his father, Jay Sekulow, who is himself an advisor to the Romney campaign.

But while Romney may have the support of the Sekulow family sown up, he’s going to have a hard time winning over Donohue:

Donohue also said there is good cause “not to trust” Romney, since he “made it clear to everyone in Massachusetts” during earlier campaigns that he was an abortion-rights supporter.

Apparently Donohue doesn’t think Giuliani has that sort of problem at all.