Why the Pat Robertson Endorsement is Good For the GOP and Does Not Do Mortal Harm TO Huckabee

First a little humor from the Corner blog.

Giuliani for President [Ramesh Ponnuru]
I guess Republicans have to nominate him. The alternative is for a hurricane to wipe out the Twin Cities. :)
Well the political world in the USA is shocked but I am not. Here are my thoughts on the Pat Robertson endorsement of Rudy. First I am now taking my Huckabee for President goggles off for a second. I hope others(insert your guy here) do the same for a second.

The GOP very well might have been saved by the Pat Robertson today. For that we can be thankful. There have been some "conservative" and "religious right" figures that have made quite a bit of noise that they shall bolt if Rudy gets the nod. I have stated repeatably that I am very suspicious of their true motives. I think threats to bolt and even putting that into action has more to do with simple vanity and the motivation to make money off mailing lists and other money making concerns. A message has been sent by Pat Robertson. Ok bolt. But my media empire will not be joining you in your General Pickett like charge and in fact will be fighting you. I suspect that will give some people pause.

Further and I think this is important. The irony of this situation is that many so called "moderates" and the media are going to be put in a weird position. Many in the moderate branch of the party(like their far right counterparts) spend too much time making boogymen of each other. Let this be a lesson. That the "religious right" has many positions and you sterotype them at your own risk.
Rev. Pat Robertson, one of the evangelical Christian movement's most recognizable leaders, who said he put aside his differences with Giuliani over abortion because he believes the ex-mayor will appoint staunchly conservative judges.Robertson also said he is backing Giuliani because "to me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists. . . . We need a leader with a bold vision who is not afraid to tackle the challenges ahead."Robertson said he was willing to overlook Giulani's pro-abortion rights stance because he takes him at his word that he will appoint "strict constructionist" judges to the Supreme Court and federal bench - a widely accepted term for judges likely to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling.

People will I predict forget one crucial fact. Pat Robertson and his ministries support Christians and Missions in areas where Islamic extremism is not seen just through the tv screen. It is real and deadly for them.

Again the Corner said it well today and I will post this blurb:

It's Pat! [John J. Miller]
The Robertson endorsement of Giuliani is a reminder that the Evangelical interest in politics and public policy goes beyond abortion — for many, the war on Islamofascism has a religious dimension. That's not to say they want to embark upon a new crusade against Arab states, but that they stand against the jihadist persecution of Christians and Jews, support the existence of Israel, and endorse principles of religious freedom that are sadly lacking in most of the Middle East. Many secular Republicans believe that Giuliani is the best anti-terror, national-security presidential candidate. That some Evangelicals agree with them, and are willing to forgive differences on domestic matters, is less of a shock than it may seem at first.

That is so true. Again the stereotypes that often different parts of the party, our opponents, and the media do not give us the whole picture

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR HUCKABEE-
A mixed bag. I am not going to seat here and say we would not want that endorsement. I also urge bloggers that are supporting Huckabee not to go on Anti Pat Robertson tirades. We just need to move on. Remember when we win we must bring the party together. There were signs a couple of weeks ago that there was friction between the Huckabee and Robertson camp. As we see in this very goofy article out of CBN a week ago. The key here is to recognize the importance of Pat Robertson but not too overblow his influence. It is important but limited. The years of the "Christian Coalition" being the only force in the fight for the "religious Christian voter" are over. This is not the 80's or 90's.

Rudy will have a ton of problems still with the abortion issue and yes the under reported issue of gun rights. Huckabee is the best man running and that will be shown. In the end Huckabee is just as strong on the issue Robertson is concerned about as RUDY.

What we need to be doing is talking less about RUDY and talking more about Huckabee. We are not going to win this by being ANTI someone. Huckabee knows that. HE has ideas that we must get out. Later today I will talk about the Evangelicals we really need to be concerned about. Hint: Their names are not Anglo sounding.

The people that are affected the most here I suspect are the Fred Thompson and Romney campaigns. To a lesser degree the McCain campaign. Even though McCain's views on campaign finance reform doomed him from the start.

More later