It’s official. Even after he voiced opposition to a Right to Life Amendment, was revealed to have lobbied for an abortion rights group, and earned the ire of influential Christian Right players, Fred Thompson was endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee this morning. What God-o-Meter found most interesting about Right to Life’s endorsement statement is how much it focuses on Thompson’s chances against Rudy Giuliani:

Since announcing his candidacy in September, Fred Thompson has run second only to pro-abortion candidate Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination in the overwhelming majority of national polls. As pro-lifers throughout the nation begin to unite behind his candidacy, he will be well positioned to win the nomination and the presidency.

Though Thompson is clearly pro-life–the NRLC points out that he wants to overturn Roe and, as a U.S. Senator, opposed taxpayer-funded abortion and supported parental consent laws–God-o-Meter arched its eyebrows at this electability argument, given that Thompson is currently running fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire, according to Real Clear Politics polling averages.
And, as far as principle goes, aren’t Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee all currently to the right of Thompson on abortion? Thus, God-o-Meter takes the endorsement as more evidence–as if it were needed–of disarray in the Christian Right. But it was all but vital to Thompson, whose course to the nomination continues to depend on winning the evangelical-rich South even as he has watched the endorsements of evangelical big wigs go to his competitors.

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