Checkerboard politics

Who will make the next move? It’s anybody’s guess, because the latest moves by social conservative leaders basically caught people off guard.

Pat Robertson, the television evangelist who founded the Christian Coalition and once ran for president himself, threw his support behind former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, saying the “overriding issue” in the race is defending against the “bloodlust of Islamic terrorists” and calling abortion “only one issue” of importance.

Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), a former White House hopeful and a favorite among some conservative Christian voters, endorsed Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), whose relationship with evangelical voters was once tarnished when he called Robertson an “agent of intolerance.”

Furthermore…

Moral Majority co-founder Paul Weyrich is backing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for president. Christian activist Gary Bauer, who ran for president in 2000, is with former senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee. Baptist leader Rick Scarborough has endorsed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.

“We have seen all along that social conservatives are divided among the potential Republican nominees,” said Whit Ayres, a GOP pollster not affiliated with any campaign. “This reinforces that division.”

Meanwhile, a lot of lesser known people out there are backing Ron Paul.

In this checkerboard game, I’m wondering who is playing whom.