Christians Will Bolt GOP if Giuliani Leads

Christian conservatives are considering supporting a third-party candidate for president if Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination.

According to the New York Times, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives opposes Giuliani because of his support for abortion rights.

The group includes Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, and direct-mail pioneer Richard Viguerie.

They, and others, gathered in Salt Lake City over the weekend for a meeting of Council for National Policy. Participants in the meeting told the Times that the group has not yet identified an alternative third party candidate, but the group is largely united in its plans to bolt the GOP if Giuliani becomes its presidential candidate.

Gary Bauer, a Christian conservative political advocate, told the Times that he spoke to the group over the phone and urged it to proceed with caution. “I can’t think of a bigger disaster for social conservatives, defense conservatives, and economic conservatives than Hillary Clinton in the White House,” Bauer said.

“But I do believe there are certain core issues for the Republican Party — low taxes, strong defense and pro life — and if we nominate some who is hostile on one of those three thing it will blow up the GOP.”

In response to the Christian conservatives, a spokeswoman for the Giuliani campaign provided a statement from Rep. Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican who supports Giuliani, saying, “Conservatives are rallying around the one candidate with the executive experience and proven leadership our country needs.”