With Santorum out, who do Christian right voters go to now?

Rick Santorum ends presidential campaign

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum gave a press conference Tuesday to announce that he was suspending his campaign. He was surrounded by his family who where obviously saddened, as was Santorum, by the announcement. During the campaign trail Santorum often spoke to audiences unscripted, from the gut as many would say. His press release speech was given in the same fashion.

When it all began, Christian right voters had a great lineup

Santorum came a long way; he began as just another name on the Christian values presidential lineup, and by hard work and dedication held on until Tuesday. It’s hard to believe that he did so well, after all, when the social conservatives held their Values Voter Summit in Washington, Santorum came in a distant third on their straw poll. Not only that, the Christian right had already prayed for and chosen Gov. Rick Perry as their representative for the campaign, something that was very obvious during the introductions that took place at the Values Summit.

Texas governor let Christian right voters down

As you recall, Governor Rick Perry was the favorite candidate for many in the Christian right, especially for the leaders of the American Family Association, and others like Pastor Robert Jeffress of Dallas. However, Governor Perry stumbled right of the gate, and by the time he reached the coveted Values Voter Summit straw poll, many in the Christian right had already begun looking for a pinch-hitter before they even got to the third inning.

Changes on the line up came up empty

Immediately after the hopes for a Christian president were shattered by Perry's poor showings in primaries, some leaders in the Christian right began to spread out their support to other candidates like Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. For whatever reason, a candidate whom I feel truly represented Christian right values, Michele Bachmann, never gained traction amongst social conservative voters. Don’t ask me why, I feel she truly embodied social conservative values to the core, but hey, I am not a big wig in the values voter movement, so even if I had spoken up, no one would have listened.

Santorum became the Christian right’s last line of defense

Cain and Gingrich attempted to topple the cash machine behind front-runner Romney, but failed. It was then that the Christian right chose to make their last stance by throwing their support behind Santorum. He looked as if he was going to be the one to bring the social conservative cause to the forefront of the 2012 presidential election. Santorum spoke to the core of all social conservatives and many were once again excited about the prospect of having a solid Christian as president of the United States. However, once it became apparent to Mitt Romney and his campaign that the Christian right was trying to deny him the presidency he used his great financial resources to wage a dirty campaign against Santorum. This took away the momentum that the leaders in the Christian right have given Santorum, and that is the reason why he was forced to come before the press today.

Without representation should they stay true to their values?

Now, with Rick Santorum out of the race who do the social conservatives turn to? Gingrich is still in the race, but he is really yesterday’s news and does not have a chance to win at all. Ron Paul is a libertarian and as such has many ideas that conflict with the values of the Christian right. So the only option that the Christian right has is Romney, but how can they get behind him? After all, there is a reason why Church leaders in the Christian right have done everything possible to deny Romney an opportunity to become their candidate. What is the reason?

It’s all about theology; it’s all about what they believe. Roman Catholics believe that Mormons are heretics. Officially the church denounces Mormons for being apostate. This is a greater offense to the Church than having their religious freedom limited by a government. After all, while religious freedom might limit one’s ability to live out a Christian life freely, it tends to solidify ones faith. On the other hand apostasy leads the souls of many to perdition and this is something that the Church cannot accept under any circumstances.

Furthermore, Protestants also believe that Mormons are not Christians and that in fact they are a religious cult. That is why many Protestant leaders including Pastor Robert Jeffress of Dallas completely opposed Romney from the get go. In their hearts they feel he is the wrong candidate because he is not a Christian, because he is a heretic.

So now the Christian right is left without a candidate to represent what they consider to be true Christian values in Washington. This poses a problem for Romney since values voters tend to adhere to solid Christian teachings and for that reason they might not support him. Also, Romney might be wondering if the Church leaders in the Christian right will stay true to their religious convictions, or if they will enter in to an unholy alliance with him in order to defeat Obama. Some in the Romney camp are hoping that his Mormonism will be overlooked by the Roman Catholic Church and Protestants, but more than likely they will hold fast to true Christian values and wait their turn in the next election. Therefore, it will come down to a choice for the Catholic bishops and the leaders of the Protestant right; Christianity or the Republican Party.

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