Republican Endorsements, Conservative Disappointments

Sam Brownback has officially endorsed John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. A week ago, this would clearly have been a boost for the flagging McCain campaign, as it could potentially encourage the as-of-yet undecided religious conservative faction of the GOP to pick the Senator as their guy. Now, however, the endorsement may be too little, too late.

That is because earlier this morning, Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson officially endorsed Mayor Rudy Giuliani for the nomination.

Why would the founder of one of the largest and most influential conservative religious groups ever to take part in American politics endorse a pro-gay rights, pro-abortion Republican?

McCain sure didn't seem to see it coming: he responded to the announcement by saying, "Every once in a while, I'm left speechless. This is one of those times."

The reason it happened, of course, is not that fleeting despite the news itself being surprising. Nature abhors a vacuum — and clearly so does the Republican Party. In the absence of the Golden Boy candidate that has both solid conservative credentials and political viability, leaders of the conservative community are eventually forced to pick between the two — and which they pick is particularly telling of their true moral and ethical commitments.

Mitt Romney responded to the Robertson endorsement with the inevitable pot shot, of course, stating, "I don't think the Republican Party will choose a pro-choice, pro-gay civil union candidate to lead our party. But from the governor of one of the most Democratic states in America and someone who doesn't exactly fit the evangelical Christian mold religiously, but who has regardless picked up endorsements from Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III himself, that criticism rings a bit hollow.

Perhaps more telling of the true colors of Republican religious and political leaders is the statement from Mike Huckabee, who, despite scoring better on conservative credentials than most of the Republican frontrunners, does not have any major endorsements. He said the announcement was "somewhat a surprise" to him. No kidding.

He went on:

"People have become more process-focused than they have principles-focused," Huckabee, an ordained pastor, said. "They look at it from the stance of, 'who does it look like might be ahead of the game?'"

"I think that it's pretty disheartening to see that it's not necessarily based on people that you say, 'Gosh these guys really have the right principles,'" he added.

But despite the "disheartening" sentiment, the famously charming Arkansas governor took advantage of a volley of questions from reporters to pump his own momentum. Saying that despite not winning a big-name endorsement like rivals Romney, McCain, and Giuliani all have in recent days, Huckabee insisted that he's building support right where he wants it, from "the salt of the earth."

That's an interesting juxtaposition: the Democratic party learned in a very direct way what grassroots politics could do in a presidential election. It would seem that Huckabee is hoping for the same sort of momentum in his campaign. I wouldn't make any guesses as to the kind of success he will actually see, as the Republican Party has historically been much better at back-room politics than the Democrats. But when all is said and done, endorsements don't vote. And with Republican religious leaders compromising their values for more politically viable candidates, and with a discontent electorate looking for more honest and ethical leadership, all signs point to a serious division within the Republican base that won't bode well for their chances come November 2008. Sacrificing some moral underpinnings for a little more electoral viability may leave the Republican party with neither.