WASHINGTON — “The National Review,” a bible of conservatism founded by William F. Buckley, is calling on Newt Gingrich to drop out of the presidential race. Not that the magazine’s editors have any sway over Gingrich; no one really does, and he’s likely to stay in the race at least through Super Tuesday when several Southern states, including his home state of Georgia, cast their ballots. Still, what would the conservative movement gain if the race became a two-man slugfest between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum?

Romney’s superior money and organization might not withstand a concerted effort from the right, and maybe that’s the outcome that conservatives want. They have not been satisfied with Romney from the start, and Santorum is the latest in a long line of musical-chair candidates contesting for the anti-Romney slot. If Santorum sustains his candidacy and wins the nomination, the GOP will be left with a candidate even more flawed than Romney when it comes to winning the general election.

Romney’s greatest attribute is that he is not a threatening figure, and in a race against President Obama, the GOP would have an easier time making the election a referendum on the president. Santorum on the other hand has a record that has not been fully explored and scrutinized, and that squarely places him on the far right on cultural issues. A devout Catholic, Santorum has said that states should have the right to ban contraception, a position that elicited this response from the normally unflappable Romney at a debate last month in New Hampshire: “Contraception, it’s working just fine, just leave it alone.”

Romney has studiously avoided social issues since entering the race, placing his bet on the economy and his credentials as a CEO to carry the day. He may have an opening on the issue of birth control if voters worry that Santorum could be overly influenced by the pope and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. No other candidate in modern times has worn his religion as openly as Santorum, not even Mike Huckabee four years ago, who is an ordained Southern Baptist preacher.

The first image many voters have of Santorum is when he met with evangelical preachers, and was welcomed with a laying on of hands. This was remarkable in part because evangelical Christians have a history of anti-Catholicism. Santorum’s strong record on values issues, which includes opposition to gay marriage and abortion in almost all instances, is apparently overcoming any residual prejudice within the evangelical community toward Catholics.

So how does Romney respond? He is not in a position to debate religion since his own faith, Mormonism, is not well known to many people and can be misconstrued by his political opponents. Romney’s mode of operation is to give the go-ahead to unload a barrage of negative advertising on whichever candidate gets in his way. Santorum may not be prepared for how nasty this race could get. If he has any doubts, he should ask Gingrich, the first candidate to get the full negative treatment, and who lived to tell the story, and to call Romney a liar, among other things.

Polls show Romney’s 15-point lead in Michigan, where he was born, has vanished, and Santorum is now ahead by double digits. The same phenomenon is happening in Ohio, signaling a Rust Belt revolution among Republicans that could dislodge Romney from the race and make it possible for the most radical social conservative in the field to secure the nomination, underscoring just how far off the deep end the GOP has been driven.

U.S. News Syndicate, Inc.