It’s one thing if the thrice-married, pro-abortion rights, pro-gay rights Giuliani can win the Republican nomination without the support of social conservatives. It would show that the Christian Right is less of a force in the GOP than it used to be. But if the ex-Mayor seals the deal with majority support from evangelicals and pro-lifers, expect God-o-Meter to start talking “paradigm shift.” Could cultural conservatives really be open to liberal social positions or be so obsessed with terrorism that abortion and gay marriage have become second-tier values issues? The New York Post’s report on a new Diageo/Hotline poll that has Giuliani leading the pack among “values” voters suggests that such a shift may be afoot. Or maybe many values voters simply don’t share God-o-Meter’s infatuation with politics and aren’t tuned into the race enough to know that Giuliani is socially liberal.

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