Despite reports that he's "foundering" (which Chris Cillizza seems to think makes the American electorate fickle; I'd argue it just means they're "smart"), Fred Thompson managed to secure the backing of the National Right to Life Committee, as Garance noted in yesterday's roundup. This may come as a surprise in light of what many social conservatives viewed as a calamitous representation of his views on abortion in his appearance on Meet the Press last week. It's also somewhat of a stunner for candidates like Romney and Huckabee, who were both pulling for that endorsement. After Giuliani's endorsement from Pat Robertson, the backing from power-players among social conservatives is getting more and more fragmented, which we saw on full display at the Values Voters Summit last month. Sure, the endorsement of the movement's leaders isn't everything -- but it doesn't hurt. With endorsements this fractured, you can bet the "values voters" will be as well -- which presents an interesting dynamic in the primaries. If the candidates with the most "social conservative" cred are vying for the same voters -- the ones that actually think the gays and the fetuses are the biggest concern in America -- it becomes much more likely for Giuliani to pull real weight.
--Kate Sheppard
