Achilles' Heel Defined: An Achilles’ heel is a fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, actually or potentially leading to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, metaphorical references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to their downfall are common.
Despite Rudy Giuliani's glaringly obvious unfitness for the nomination, millions of republicans have foolishly put their trust in his ability to win. His tough talk about terrorism and his 911 record have essentially created blinders on the eyes of the GOP faithful. Now, as John Mellancamp says, "the walls are crumblin' down."
As my colleague on Elephant Biz points out, the news for Giuliani is bad and getting worse. The religious right, led by the draconian Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and the secretive Council for National Policy (CNP) have essentially ordered a hit on Giuliani. They've threatened to vote for a third party candidate if Giuliani is the party's nominee.
Personally, nothing thrills me more to see the republican party's dirty laundry floating in the wind for all to see. The abortion issue is the only thing these folks care about. Period. If they don't get a pro-life candidate on the slate, then they will defect. Approximately 27% percent of conservative voters count themselves in this group. I'm guessing that roughly 7-10% of these voters will chicken out at the polls and vote for the mainstream candidate anyway, because they will come to their senses and realize that a vote for a third party candidate is a vote for a democrat.
If they're true to their word, history will repeat itself as it has twice in the past 20 years. Texas bazillion-aire H. Ross Perot handed Bill Clinton his victory in 1992 by splitting the republican vote away from George H.W. Bush. This phenomena is also responsible for the current occupation of the White House. If it had not been for Ralph Nader's run at the White House in 2000, Al Gore would be president, and our country would not be in the hellish mess it's in now.
So, the religious right has made its deal with the devil. Save the babies, even if it means having Hillary Clinton as president. Fine with me.
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