Making Sense Of Robertson For Rudy
Before anyone gets too blown away by Pat Robertson's endorsement of Rudy Giuliani -- "What? A leader of the Christian right backing a pro-choice, pro-gay rights New Yorker?" -– here's some context:
1. Giuliani has spent much of the last five years actively courting the more conservative elements of the Republican coalition. As early as 2002, he was interjecting himself into Republican primaries to back the more conservative candidate -- Bill Simon for governor of California in 2002, Bob Smith in the New Hampshire Senate primary that year.
More recently, Giuliani backed Ralph Reed, one-time executive director of the Christian Coalition in its glory years, for Georgia Lieutenant Governor. Reed, badly battered by his links to the Jack Abramoff scandal, lost by a wide margin -- but Rudy picked up a chit.
2. For some evangelicals, the war on terror –- one of Giuliani's main selling points -- is more than just a national security issue. It is a "good vs. evil" issue, where the Judeo-Christian West is under assault by Islamic extremists. To some, that issue trumps social issues -- especially given Giuliani's promise to appoint judges in the mold of Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.
3. Robertson has long been a political player at least as much as a religious leader. He's often backed more "electable" Republicans, against the more "pure" social conservatives.
4. In many ways, Robertson's best days are behind him. The Christian Coalition is a shadow of itself, barely functioning. His own influence, eroded by comments that have brought him widespread condemnation -- most especially for his apparent belief that the 9/11 attacks were a sign of God's punishment on America for its licentious ways. At a time when many other evangelicals are, to put it mildly, uneasy with some of Giuliani's views, this puts Robertson back in the political center ring.