Holding Out For A Hero

The radical religious overlords of the Republican Party are getting desperate for an empty vessel into whom they can leak all of their pet hates, as they did with G.W. Bush:

The event was a meeting of the Council for National Policy, a secretive club whose few hundred members include Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Liberty University and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform. Although little known outside the conservative movement, the council has become a pivotal stop for Republican presidential primary hopefuls, including George W. Bush on the eve of his 1999 primary campaign.

But in a stark shift from the group's influence under President Bush, the group risks relegation to the margins. Many of the conservatives who attended the event, held at the beginning of the month at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, Fla., said they were dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election.

Many conservatives have already declared their hostility to Senator John McCain of Arizona, who once denounced Christian conservative leaders as "agents of intolerance," and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, a liberal on abortion and gay rights issues who has been married three times.

But many were also deeply suspicious of former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts...

And some members of the council have raised doubts about lesser known candidates — Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Representative Duncan Hunter of California, who were invited to Amelia Island to address an elite audience of about 60 of its members, and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, who spoke to the full council at its previous meeting, in October in Grand Rapids, Mich.

"There is great anxiety," said Paul Weyrich, chairman of the Free Congress Foundation and an elder statesman of the conservative movement. "There is no outstanding conservative, and they are all looking for that."

Sounds like this group of worthies won't even let Catlicks or Mormons into their club, let alone give one an endorsement. (Although this site which attacks the CNP from the right says they do, and aren't wingnutty enough for God's tastes.) Update/Correction: Of course, Rick Santorum is a Catholic, so that's mighty white of them to extend an invite to the ex-Senator.

The Council for National Policy was founded 25 years ago by the Rev. Tim LaHaye as a forum for conservative Christians to strategize about turning the country to the right. Its secrecy was intended to insulate the group from what its members considered the liberal bias of the news media. In recent years the group has brought together a cross-section of the right from Edwin J. Feulner to Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association.

Cross-section, eh? It's a regular Unibrow Coalition.

Other attendees included Gary Bauer, Paul Weyrich and Rick Santorum, as well as invitees Mike Huckabee, Duncan the Muslim Hunter and Mark Sanford. Doesn't sound like there were even any women there. And the glare must've been blinding.

Mr. Norquist said he remained open to any of the three candidates who spoke to the council or to Mr. Romney. He argued that with the right promises, any of the four could redeem themselves in the eyes of the conservative movement despite their past records, just as some high school students take abstinence pledges even after having had sex.

"It's called secondary virginity," he said. "It is a big movement in high school and also available for politicians."

Apparently the Virgin Johnny has put out one too many times for Grover to reconstruct the hymen.

Let's help out pale pals, and nominate a right-winger who fits all their qualifications. Leave your suggestions in comments here, and I'll forward them to Grover, or send them directly to the new and exciting Friends of Americans for Tax Reform blog.