From the L.A. times
WASHINGTON -- Televangelist Pat Robertson today endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani, saying the former New York mayor's promises to appoint conservative judges and protect Americans "from the blood lust of Islamic terrorists" should trump conservatives' concerns about Giuliani's support of abortion rights.
Robertson's endorsement came one day after another prominent social conservative, Paul Weyrich, endorsed Giuliani rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a social conservative who ended his own GOP presidential bid earlier this fall, today endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Taken together, the endorsements suggest that abortion may not prove to be a top-tier issue in the wide-open Republican race -- and that top evangelical figures will divide their support among multiple contenders.
Social conservatives also demonstrated a willingness to eschew longtime abortion opponents such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson in favor of candidates who either support abortion rights (Giuliani) or are converts to the antiabortion side (Romney).
Robertson said national security and concerns about federal spending should be top priorities. "To me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the blood lust of Islamic terrorists," he said. "Our second goal should be the control of massive government waste and crushing federal deficits."
Giuliani, appearing with Robertson at the National Press Club, said: "His confidence in me means a lot. His experience and advice will be a great asset to me and my campaign."
Both Giuliani and Romney had aggressively sought Robertson's backing, with phone calls and appearances at Regent University, an evangelical Christian institution founded by Robertson. Robertson had leaned in Giuliani's direction since the former mayor's Regent speech, telling his Christian Broadcasting Network that Giuliani had been "a smash."
The two men said they had become friends when they traveled together to Israel a few years ago. Aides suggested that Theodore Olson, a former solicitor general in the Bush administration who is a leading conservative legal figure, was instrumental in facilitating the endorsement. Olson is an advisor to Giuliani's campaign, and he introduced Robertson at a press conference called this morning in Washington to announce the endorsement.
In appealing to social conservatives, Giuliani has made a pledge -- one of his campaign's "12 commitments" -- to appoint "strict constructionist" judges who claim to interpret the Constitution in the manner the nation's founders intended.
Robertson indicated today that he had been won over by this pledge. Giuliani, Robertson said, "understands the need for a conservative judiciary and ... has assured the American people that his choices for judicial appointments will be men and women who share the judicial philosophy of John Roberts and Antonin Scalia."
Robertson ran for president in 1988 and remains a key figure in the conservative movement, in part through his television network. But his influence has been diminished somewhat by the rise of younger leaders, and by his exaggerated rhetoric.
In recent years, he has advocated the teaching of "intelligent design," described then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke as divine punishment for "dividing God's land," and called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He later apologized for the Chavez comment.
Snip
Well at least they share the same "kill them all and let God sort it out "foreign policy.
Robertson's endorsement came one day after another prominent social conservative, Paul Weyrich, endorsed Giuliani rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a social conservative who ended his own GOP presidential bid earlier this fall, today endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Taken together, the endorsements suggest that abortion may not prove to be a top-tier issue in the wide-open Republican race -- and that top evangelical figures will divide their support among multiple contenders.
Social conservatives also demonstrated a willingness to eschew longtime abortion opponents such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson in favor of candidates who either support abortion rights (Giuliani) or are converts to the antiabortion side (Romney).
Robertson said national security and concerns about federal spending should be top priorities. "To me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the blood lust of Islamic terrorists," he said. "Our second goal should be the control of massive government waste and crushing federal deficits."
Giuliani, appearing with Robertson at the National Press Club, said: "His confidence in me means a lot. His experience and advice will be a great asset to me and my campaign."
Both Giuliani and Romney had aggressively sought Robertson's backing, with phone calls and appearances at Regent University, an evangelical Christian institution founded by Robertson. Robertson had leaned in Giuliani's direction since the former mayor's Regent speech, telling his Christian Broadcasting Network that Giuliani had been "a smash."
The two men said they had become friends when they traveled together to Israel a few years ago. Aides suggested that Theodore Olson, a former solicitor general in the Bush administration who is a leading conservative legal figure, was instrumental in facilitating the endorsement. Olson is an advisor to Giuliani's campaign, and he introduced Robertson at a press conference called this morning in Washington to announce the endorsement.
In appealing to social conservatives, Giuliani has made a pledge -- one of his campaign's "12 commitments" -- to appoint "strict constructionist" judges who claim to interpret the Constitution in the manner the nation's founders intended.
Robertson indicated today that he had been won over by this pledge. Giuliani, Robertson said, "understands the need for a conservative judiciary and ... has assured the American people that his choices for judicial appointments will be men and women who share the judicial philosophy of John Roberts and Antonin Scalia."
Robertson ran for president in 1988 and remains a key figure in the conservative movement, in part through his television network. But his influence has been diminished somewhat by the rise of younger leaders, and by his exaggerated rhetoric.
In recent years, he has advocated the teaching of "intelligent design," described then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke as divine punishment for "dividing God's land," and called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He later apologized for the Chavez comment.
Snip
Well at least they share the same "kill them all and let God sort it out "foreign policy.
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