NEW RULE

Conservatives must learn math.

This weekend, the Council for National Policy met. The Council’s principal members? Conservative anarchists James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), and Richard Viguerie. If Mayor Rudi Giuliani is nominated, conservatives may bolt. They may form a third party. Evidently, Giuliani insults Republican ideals.

Dobson, Perkins, and Viguerie are an insult. They are also stupid. The Presidency requires 270 electoral votes. Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming do not have this. Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Ohio are the prize. Unfortunately, they possess common sense. They are not mindless druids.

Conservatives can mock the middle. They can abhor bipartisanship and compromise. However, the middle is coveted. The middle is valued. The middle wins elections.