Another report here explains where they are coming from: “There is a great deal of anxiety that some in the Christian community have put security and the fight against Islamo-fascism ahead of the pro-life movement.” It is not just the GOP that would be damaged of course by a third party candidate. The unity and influence of these religious leaders who decided to go find such a candidate would also be permanently damaged. (The individual who accepted would likely have to be someone with no real prospects — ever — in the GOP since it would be political suicide for the individual who accepted the nod.) Backing a third party candidate either would not prevent Rudy’s election — sending the message these voices can be ignored in the future — or would hand the election to Hillary and forever make the spoilers the subject of millions of conservatives’ ire. We’ll see…
UPDATE: Powerline guys have a similar take, contending that these leaders “are not stupid” and neither they nor others in the conservative movement would throw the Presidency and the future Supreme Court away with a third party gambit.
