Brownback and Giuliani

Jonathan Martin reports here that Kansas Senator Sam Brownback warmly received Mayor Giuliani on Capitol Hill yesterday:

Standing just outside his Senate office suite next to Giuliani, Brownback, an ardent abortion opponent, said twice that he was ‘much more comfortable’ with his former rival’s stance on what he called the issue ‘of life.’ ‘He’s talked about a number of key pieces of what a president would have, whether it’s funding, appointments on the court, I’m much more comfortable with that,’ Brownback said. Asked if he could support somebody who supports abortion rights, Brownback said, ‘I don’t know that he would … whether he’d describe himself as a pro-choice mayor or a pro-choice candidate.’

I’m unsure about the practical consequences of Brownback endorsing Giuliani, should such an endorsement occur. As more Republican voters learn about Giuliani’s position on abortion, it is likely that a significant portion of those voters will rule out voting for the mayor under any circumstances. They’ll just sit 2008 out, with unknown consequences for the GOP. What a Brownback endorsement of Giuliani certainly would signify, however, is that social conservative elites are divided over important questions of policy, politics, and message. And from the place where Giuliani stands, it appears that a divided social right increases the chances he will win the Republican nomination.

Brownback and Giuliani

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