The Washington Post reports tonight that Gary Bauer is set to endorse Rick Santorum for the GOP nod.
Bauer is the evangelical leader/ GOP activist/ onetime presidential contender himself/ board member of Christians United for Israel and co-founder of the Emergency Committee for Israel.
On the one hand, the endorsement makes sense: Santorum’s pro-Israel, pro-settlement, Iran-confrontational views probably make him the candidate closest to the views of Bauer and some of the groups he is associated with.
On the other hand, Bauer just recorded an ECI ad targeting Ron Paul, ahead of the South Carolina race.
Up until two minutes ago that ad looked like an impassioned critique of Paul’s foreign policy record from a hawkish pro-Israel perspective.
As of tomorrow, when this endorsement becomes official, it starts resembling a partisan salvo at a rival in the race for the number two spot in the New Hampshire race, and for the coronation of "the candidate more conservative than Romney" ahead of South Carolina.
Especially after tonight’s New Hampshire debate — no two candidates seemed to love each other less than Paul and Santorum.
Did Bauer give ECI a heads up on this endorsement?
