Crossposted at DKos

Roy Moore as the Constitution Party's candidate.

The right is already badly split with John McCain as their presumptive nominee. But if the right-wing Constitution Party can finally attract a presidential candidate with some name recognition it would open that split so wide you could drive a truck through it.

And they might be on the verge of doing just that. What follows is said to be from an email sent out by the party.

As the date of the Constitution Party National Convention (April 23-26 in Kansas City, Missouri) approaches, several prominent Americans have expressed an openness to considering the possibility of seeking the Constitution Party Presidential nomination. Among those are former United States Senator Bob Smith; former Alabama Chief Justice, Roy Moore; the 2004 Vice-Presidential Nominee of the Constitution Party, Chuck Baldwin; WorldNetDaily. com writer and author of the best selling “The Late, Great USA”, Dr. Jerome Corsi; and former Ambassador to the United Nations, Alan Keyes. This is is not a closed list and it is possible that there may still be others who are considering the possibility of seeking the 2008 Constitution Party nomination.

Several points can be made about this:

1. Two names especially jump out -- Roy Moore and Bob Smith. Moore, of course, is the Ten Commandments judge who ran a quixotic campaign for governor against a popular incumbent in his own party. he got 153,000 votes in the GOP primary -- about 33 percent. Smith is a former senator from New Hampshire who ran for president in 2000 first as a Republican then as the U.S. Taxpayers Party candidate then as an independent. Ultimately he dropped out.

2. Corsi, of course, is a hard-core ideologue best known for his involvement with the Swift Boat Veterans. He has written numerous books, has a PhD and a lot of dangerous and wacky ideas. If he ever got elected he would make Cheney look like a progressive.

3. Alan Keyes gives a good right-wing, red meat speech but never gets any traction in any of the campaigns he has ever run.

The best of this bunch has to be Moore. The Constitution Party tried to recruit him in 2004 but he was planning his campaign for governor at the time. Durin that election he felt betrayed by the state GOP establishment which -- to no one's surprise -- backed the GOP incumbent. Still, Moore got a third of the vote and was bitter about how the party treated him.

He is a theocrat who became a national figure when he was removed as chief justice for refusing to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama Supreme Court grounds. This made him a hero and a popular speaker among evangelical groups among whom he has rock-star status.

Unlike Corsi and Smith, Moore does not seem to have any personal baggage. There are no messy personal scandals attached to him like Corsi and he isn't a flighty flake like Smith. And he has not yet worn out his welcome like Keyes.

How would Moore do in November?

Well, for starters, the Constitution Party was on the ballot in 36 states in 2004 with Michael Peroutka as their nominee and got 144,000 votes. They hope to be on the ballot in 40 states this year.

Moore polled more votes in 2006 in Alabama than Peroutka did nationwide. he also won his chief justice race with more than 800,000 votes in Alabama.

If he does run, his biggest effect would be in states like Missouri and Florida, swing states where a significant drain on the evangelical vote would doom McCain in November. Just losing those two states would cripple McCain.

But there are also significant evangelical blocs in states like Iowa, Virginia and Arkansas that could tip those states.

Another strong reason for the party to nominate Moore is ballot access. In many states, ballot access for the next election depends on how you did in the previous election. Moore's name recognition would boost the party's vote and make it a lot easier to get on more ballots in 2012.

Could he swing a dark red state to Obama?

Maybe. Alabama might just become competitive. Moore has powerful name recognition in Alabama. He lost badly to Gov. Bob Riley, but he still drew 153,000 votes against a popular incumbent. He should be able to improve on that against an unpopular presidential nominee.

So, let's say he draws 200,000 votes in Alabama. Bush won 1.1 million in 2004 to Kerry's 693,000. Moore would cut that margin in half. If Obama could boost black turnout and improve on Kerry's anemic appeal to white voters in Alabama -- both very real possibilities -- Alabama would be competitive. The standard formula for a statewide Democratic win straight up against a Republican is strong black turnout plus about 37 percent of the white vote.

I wouldn't hold my breath about winning, but the odds are a whole lot better than hitting the lottery. Most significantly, the GOP would have to actually campaign in Alabama and spend valuable resources -- money that would be unavailable for states like Ohio and New Mexico and Florida.

Mississippi -- home state of Oprah Winfrey (she's from Kosciusko) where a third of the population is African-American -- also becomes competitive for Obama.

I say Obama because I really don't see Hillary Clinton ever winning a state like Alabama or Mississippi. Not even Roy Moore on the ballot can help.