[Drew68]

However, the charge of bullying is accurate when someone threatens to help elect the opposition should their candidate not win the primary.

It is more complicated than that. Actually it is quite simple. The Christian Right fears a Guiliani presidency more than a Clinton one. Why? If Clinton wins, the social conservatives can sit back and say, with valid conviction, that the Republicans lost because the GOP did not run a conservative candidate. If Rudy wins? Well, this changes the Republican landscape drastically. This means that Republicans can win elections running as social liberals. There will no longer be any need for Republicans to court the Christian Right and social conservatives will have been effectively neutralized as a political voice.

[Amalie]

No, we fear a Guiliani presidency because we think he will vote with every piece of Dem legislation that comes up. Anyone who thinks we will regain the Senate is a fool, and the House is being shielded by the media, so we can pretty sure who wilkl write the legislation. It isn’t personal, it’s principle...

[Melas]

If Clinton wins, the social conservatives can sit back and say, with valid conviction, that the Republicans lost because the GOP did not run a conservative candidate.

Bullhockey. The above shows a total ignorance or a total disregard (I don't know which) of/for the primary system. To think that we could win nationally with a candidate who can't even win a primary is absolutely insane. Whoever wins the primary is the strongest candidate, period, end of story. If you can't convince your own party to vote for you in the primary, how in the world could possibly hope to convince anyone outside of the party to vote for you? Think about that for a minute.

[EasySt]

"Actually it is quite simple. The Christian Right fears a Guiliani presidency more than a Clinton one. Why? If Clinton wins, the social conservatives can sit back and say, with valid conviction, that the Republicans lost because the GOP did not run a conservative candidate. If Rudy wins? Well, this changes the Republican landscape drastically. This means that Republicans can win elections running as social liberals. There will no longer be any need for Republicans to court the Christian Right and social conservatives will have been effectively neutralized as a political voice."

I think this is it exactly. At least it closely describes how I, as a social conservative and a member of the Christian Right feel about it.

Come election day, I could conceivably hold my nose and vote for pretty much any one of the other Republican candidates, except Rudy. In the Primary, my first choice would probably be Duncan Hunter, but if come primary time it looks like he has no chance, then Thompson may have to be my Primary choice. I can be that pragmatic.

But to vote for Rudy in the primary or on election day, is to vote to take social conservatism out of the game completely. Well, that's the only reason I'm in the game to begin with.

If the Republican party can succeed without heeding the concerns of social conservatives, so be it. Bring on the slow whimpering slide into socialism, decadence, perversion, and all that will naturally follow... We will have already lost the battle we were interested in fighting. From that point we'll be too busy home schooling our kids and looking for those hills we're supposed to flee to...