Third Party? Maybe, Say Christian Leaders

Meeting Of Influential Conservatives Reflects Frustration Over Current GOP Field

(AP)  Some of the most politically influential conservative Christians in the U.S., alarmed by the prospect of a Republican presidential nominee who supports abortion rights, are considering backing a third-party candidate.

More than 40 Christian conservatives attended a meeting Saturday in Salt Lake City to discuss the possibility, and planned more gatherings on how they should move forward, according to Richard A. Viguerie, the direct-mail expert and longtime conservative activist.

Other participants in the meeting included James Dobson, founder of the Focus on the Family evangelical ministry in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and, according to Viguerie, Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, a conservative policy group in Washington.

However, Dobson spoke out against the idea of a third party even if “both Democratic and Republican nominees are known to be entirely unsupportive of the sanctity of human life, the institution of marriage and other aspects of the pro-moral agenda,” according to Gary Schneeberger, a spokesman for Focus on the Family Action.

A spokesman for Perkins did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

Viguerie would not give specifics of the proposal or reveal additional names of participants, but said President George W. Bush “would not have been elected in '04 without the people in that room.”

“There is such jaundiced feelings about any promises or commitments from any Republican leaders,” he said in a phone interview. “You could almost cut the anger and the frustration with a knife in that room it's so strong. Because they don't know what else to do, they're talking third party.”

A spokesman for the Republican National Committee did not respond to a request for comment.

The participants were in Salt Lake City for a separate meeting of the secretive Council for National Policy, a group of conservative business, religious and political leaders that was co-founded years ago by Tim LaHaye, author of the “Left Behind” series of books. Vice President Dick Cheney flew into the city Friday to address the group, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Christian conservatives, who hold considerable sway in the Republican Party, have been deeply unhappy about the field of Republican presidential candidates.

Dobson has said he would not support Rudy Giuliani, calling the former New York mayor an “unapologetic supporter of abortion on demand.” Dobson has also rejected former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson as wrong on social issues, and would not back John McCain because of the Arizona senator's opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Viguerie said conservatives “are still open” to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but said, “we haven't seen anything that guarantees that he will hold to the positions that he's articulating.” Romney has been questioned about his record on gay rights.

However, the proposal to consider a third-party candidate comes from anger that the Republicans whom Christians have helped elect for decades have failed to act on policy issues important to evangelicals on abortion, marriage and school prayer.

“Conservatives have been treated like a mistress as long as any of us can remember,” Viguerie said. “They'll have lots of private meetings with us, tell us how much they appreciate it and how much they value us, but if you see me on the street please don't speak with me.”

A third-party run would be a long shot, requiring millions of dollars and challenges to ballot access. Such a bid could prove disastrous for the Republicans by splitting the conservative vote.

[prinzowhales]

There are already over two ''third parties''...the Constitution Party and the Libertarian Party. The former is pretty much anti-abortion. CBSNBCABCFOXPBSCNN is rather loathe to talk about them--or candidates who don''t represent the Anglo-American Oligarchy, like Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel.

[sanfelz]

The Founding Fathers started with a blank paper and carefully and deliberately chose not to include mention of Jesus, Moses, Allah or any other religious icon in the Constitution. If the Christian religious right and other religion-based groups are so condent of their views, let''s remove their tax-deductible status and see how long they will survive.

[lieslies99]

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[kansas1946]

I knew god loved us.

Gosh I hope it''''s true and the so called Christian conservatives do form a third party!

This will diminish the clout of the so called CHRISTIAN VALUE RIGHT WING(NUT) FACTION for a long long time! And it will free the GOP to go back to its original conservative roots sans the bigotry!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by ozilot at 12:51 PM : Oct 02, 2007
***************
LOL. Amen, ozilot. Ain''t it the truth. :o)

[liberalvet]

If you eliminated all the Christians who participated as founding fathers, writers of the declaration of Independence and the constitution, we would have no country at all. Study the life of Abraham Lincoln and you will see a man deeply devoted and dependent on God, not only personally but politically. And you want me to believe that we have a lesser need for politicians like him now. HOGWASH!


Posted by dmhphils at 08:31 PM : Oct 01, 2007

First off get your facts straight. Our founding fathers were NOT christians. The early presidents and patriots were generally Deists or Unitarians, believing in some form of impersonal Providence but rejecting the divinity of Jesus and the absurdities of the Old and New testaments.

Jefferson supported the separation of church and state and was the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1779, 1786).

So stop attempting to rewrite history to support your invalid statements. But like good like christian NEOCON lying to get your way is not a sin.

[three-o-six]

Boy
I find it interesting that these posts accuse the Christian Right of hate yet these posts seeth of hatred. I would conclude that most of these people are guilty of the very transgression they accuse the Christian Right of.

[eggy1620]

Tuckerndfw is completely correct. The far right fringe of Christians is more concerned with power than faith. They obsess over the acquiring the power to force upon everyone else how to live their lives. I do not recall anywhere in the gospels that Jesus instructed his followers to install governors who will enforce his teachings upon the land. That was strictly a Roman notion.

[eggy1620]

Tuckerndfw is completely correct. The far right fringe of Christians is more concerned with power than faith. They obsess over the acquiring the power to force upon everyone else how to live their lives. I do not recall anywhere in the gospels that Jesus instructed his followers to install governors who will enforce his teachings upon the land. That was strictly a Roman notion.

[lastdance2]

Christian Right = Christian Hate
Jesus Taught Love - - Lucifer (Satan) Teaches Hate
The opposite of Love = Hate
The opposite of Chirst = Anti-Christ

Lucifer as driven out of heaven - Because he wanted to be : God

The one Privilege That belongs - Only - to God
The Right and the Privilege - To Judge - The human Spirit - The human Soul

The people who follow the Emissaries of Lucifer (Satan) teach their Followers
They have the Right to Judge - The human Spirit and The human Soul

It doesn''t matter - Abortion - Homosexuality - Whatever the issue
Only the followers of Lucifer (Satan) have Given Themselves the right
and the privilege that belongs - Only to - God

The Right and Privilege - To Judge - The Human Spirit and The Human Soul

Lastdance

[radiob-2009]

There are no statesman running on either side of the aisle, no men or women of integrity what are the chances of the this loose "coalition" finding one?