The Third Party Threat
by Ryan Sager
Mon, 1 Oct 2007 at 4:49 PM
updated Mon, 1 Oct 2007 at 4:50 PM
John Fund gives a rundown of just how hollow is the threat of social conservatives running a third-party candidacy against a Rudy Giuliani topped GOP ticket:
Threatening a third-party campaign is easier said than done. The task of securing a place on numerous state ballots would be very difficult after February, the earliest date when the identity of the GOP nominee would actually be known. In addition, a suitable alternative candidate would have to be found. One of the most promising, GOP Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, has strong disagreements with Mr. Giuliani on both abortion and immigration. But he made clear to me last Friday he was having nothing to do with talk that he might bolt the GOP and run against a Rudy Giuliani ticket.
Mr. Tancredo admitted he had talked over the matter with Bay Buchanan, his campaign manager, who herself played a major role in convincing her brother Pat to leave the GOP and run against George W. Bush in 2000 as the candidate of Ross Perot's Reform Party. But Mr. Tancredo told me he had scotched the idea: "No, the obstacles are too great. I have no interest in it." Asked if that was a Shermanesque statement -- named after the Civil War general William Sherman who told supporters: "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve" -- Mr. Tancredo told me, "Yes."
Anger from the social conservative wing of the Republican Party at the prospect of a Giuliani nomination is real enough, and it certainly could cost him in terms of voter enthusiasm among the party's base. But the chances look remote of finding a major social conservative to carry a third-party banner against him.
The question of "who" is a big one. If not Tancerdo, perhaps Sam Brownback or Rick Santorum? Neither of those guys wants to put an end to his career in the Republican Party (Mr. Santorum apparently wants to run for governor of Pennsylvania). Who is ready to be the guy who got Hillary Clinton elected president?
Related Topics: General Election, GOP Primary
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