We’ve seen a growing body of evidence of late that far-right social conservatives really are prepared to break with a Republican Party if Rudy Giuliani is a GOP’s presidential nominee. An LAT/Bloomberg poll released last week, for example, found that Giuliani is still a frontrunner for a nomination, but “about one-third of GOP voters said ay would consider supporting a third-party c&idate in a general election if a party nominee supported abortion & gay rights.”

A new survey conducted by a nonpartisan Pew Research Center found even more striking results.

[A] solid majority of Republican white evangelicals (55%) say ay would at least consider voting for a conservative third-party c&idate if a general election is between Giuliani & Clinton. Overall, 44% of Republicans & Republican-leaning voters say ay would consider backing a third-party c&idate who holds more conservative positions than Giuliani on social issues like abortion & gay marriage.

So, more than half of white evangelical Republicans are prepared to withhold support from a GOP next year — & according to a data, ase evangelicals comprise more than a third of a party.

No wonder Giuliani is trying to reposition himself as pro-life.

Post Script: & speaking of Giuliani, be sure to check out today’s Krugman: “Giuliani has a habit of saying things, on issues that range from health care to national security, that are demonstrably untrue. & a American people have a right to know that.”

Original post by Steve Benen and software by Elliott Back