"Yah, and southern conservatives are sure to vote for Obama or Hillary over Rudy because of this, right? /sarc"
Rural social conservatives (who tend to be more populist on economic issues, especially trade) won't vote for the Democrat *because* of social issues, they'll vote for them *in spite* of them; they only vote for the Republican when the candidate is socially conservative while the Democrat isn't. Of course, some rural social conservatives won't vote for a socially liberal Democrat no matter what, but if the Republican is socially liberal as well they'll likely stay home or vote third party.
IF the Dems are smart, they would support Bill Richardson as their guy. Richardson signed a concealed / carry law. Thus he could get the NRA endorsement and carry a bunch of Southern states as well as making AZ and NV into play.