Cutting Off the Nose to Spite The Face (or something to that effect)

It's hardly a secret that many of the kingpins of the Religious Right - Dobson and Land most vocally - have said they cannot vote forRudy Giuliani, and that they would urge their supporters to do the same. As it becomes increasingly likely that said moderate will win the nomination, they're starting to mumble about supporting a third-party candidate. Really folks, really? You'd rather throw the election to the Democrats because Rudy fails to meet some litmus test that is beyond what most Americans want? My own party exasperates me - this is the kind of stunt I expect from Democrats.

Of course nothing will render the party's moralists irrelevant faster than supporting some obscure third-party candidate. Odds are the majority of their followers will hold their noses and vote for Giuliani merely out of a deep-seated loathing for Clinton. If these power-brokers should be consigned to the dustbin of political history, the Republican Party will, I think, be better situated to win in the future: stripped of its moral baggage, the party can focus on an economic message which will resonate strongly if Democrats give into the quasi-socialism espoused by their base.

One immediate objection that comes to mind is the matter of electoral foot soldiers - small business owners are unlikely to go door to door and there's not enough of them in any case. My quick answer to that is that in the last few cycles, Republicans have brought targeting into the 21st century; technology may likewise soon render traditional get-out-the-vote efforts irrelevant.