Posted on 02/09/2007 6:22:55 AM PST by BunnySlippers
[snip]
Giuliani transformed a city whose budget and workforce were larger than those of all but five or six states. He and police chief William Bratton famously cracked down first on quality of life crimes like panhandling and public urination. Teenagers who leaped over the turnstiles at subway entrances were arrested — a departure from the practice under Mayor David Dinkins. Giuliani later quipped that the police under his predecessor had become "highly skilled observers of crime." Those turnstile jumpers turned out to possess a huge number of illegal guns, which were confiscated, and criminals throughout the city discovered that the New York police were breathing down their necks. The number of murders dropped from 1,960 in Dinkins's final year in office to 640 in Giuliani's last year. The overall crime rate dropped 64 percent, to levels not seen since the 1960s.
Giuliani accomplished this in the teeth of a genuinely ferocious assault from liberals, so-called "civil rights" figures like Al Sharpton (with whom Giuliani declined to meet), the New York Civil Liberties Union and the New York Times. Actors and artists protested in the streets, and leading chin pullers in national magazines pronounced themselves troubled by Giuliani's "tactics."
[snip]
His approach toward the homeless was similar. Those who were able to work were encouraged to do so. Those who rejected an offer of shelter and insisted upon blocking public spaces and harassing passersby were issued summonses. For this Hillary Clinton lectured the mayor that Jesus was a homeless person.
There is no question that Giuliani's position on abortion and gun control will offend many Republicans. But let's be clear, he is no liberal. His conservatism has been tempered in New York City — so it is steely indeed.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Read the whole article for lots more details
Good morning.
Needs pinging. :)
Is Guiliani a conservative?
No.
If you have to ask, he isn't conservative. However, he is strong, and right, on national security and I'll take that if Newt doesn't run.
Yeah, sure. Pro-choice to the point of getting awards and campaign contributions from NARAL. Pro-gun-control to the point of revoking permits from long-term holders. Pro-gay-rights. Pro-amnesty to the point of defying federal court rulings to stop NYC's sanctuary city policy.
In favor of CFR. Out of sixty judicial appointments while mayor, two were pubbies. Endorsed Cuomo over Pataki in 1994.
Nah, he's not a liberal.
I'm really getting sick of spinnners thinking we are dumb enough to join them at the Koolaid trough.
Nice try, Mona, but the definition of "conservative" only stretches so far. At best, he can be called "moderate." Maybe an unofficial libertarian.
His stances on abortion, gun owner rights, and gay rights disqualify him from legitimately being called a conservative.
His stance on gun rights disqualifies him from being a libertarian. But the truth is, if he is our candidate in 2008 we HAVE to vote for him because the alternative will be so much worse.
Sure is easy to manipulate people. We hear a couple of pundits shilling for this leftist, and within minutes we have a bandwagonful of FReepers willing to shed blood for him. Unreal.
Hell No.
Fixed it! :)
So, if the final choice is Guiliani or Hillary?
and we conservatives sit home, guess who wins?
Good catch on the gun issue. And I agree about supporting him vs. whatever Dem ends up in the race. I'm thinking it'll be Richardson when the dust settles from Hillary's run. Problem is, I don't think we can win with a candidate like Giuliani who is simultaneously "liberal light" and "conservative light." We're going to need someone who stands in sharp contrast on the issues and can articulate the differences as well as the consequences of the choice. Running a "moderate" is an attempt to sway voters from the left by playing nice, and that's proving increasingly hard to do. Being nice to their Dem counterparts during the years of Republican majority just left them looking like incompetents, and left them with no ammo to repel the Dem takeover last November.
No doubt Rudy has a terrifc record and he is a strong leader.
No one is asking to drink the Koolaid, my friend. Those of us here who support Rudy do so for two reasons. He's right on national security, the War on Terror, and that is the ONE overriding issue in 2008. And he can win the election. All we're asking of you is that you listen to Rudy, with an open mind, as he tries to win your vote..No more, no less. Is that too much to request?
(((((PING))))
There is no question that Giuliani's position on abortion and gun control will offend many Republicans. But let's be clear, he is no liberal. His conservatism has been tempered in New York City — so it is steely indeed.That is the problem that many conservatives have with Giuliani. On issues imperative to the preservation of our Constitutional, he is on the wrong side.
Good Morning Bunny Slippers! I'm pinging away! ;-)
You cannot really call a guy a moderate who is a full conservative on cutting taxes, arresting criminals, and defending the country, but doesn't care about social issues.
If the Federal government resumed its proper functions, abortion and gun control would not be a Federal issue at all.
People have a right to vote form whom that wish without threats and intimidation. Are do you not believe that?
But he can beat Hillary and that is the most important issue.The Duncan Hunters out there are all losers and spell disaster for the Republican Party.
Thanks for posting this. I saw it on Townhall.com and was just reading up on posting an article - never done it before. I like Mona and it's good to know she likes Rudy.
My gawd, asking us to believe that Rudy is conservative despite his long record to the contrary? THAT is Koolaid. I'd almost prefer he say "I'm a liberal, what ya gonna do about it?"
All we're asking of you is that you listen to Rudy, with an open mind, as he tries to win your vote...
Joe Isuzu would be more believable, quite frankly. Nothing in Rudy's past makes me believe he means a single word he is saying to convince us his spots have changed.
Sure I can. We're talking about his overall position on the liberal-conservative spectrum, not on a specific issue or two. That's like saying I can't call Hillary a liberal because she voted for the war. But if you don't like the term, fine. Call him Susan, for all I care. He is what he is, and it ain't a conservative.
All I want to know is Rudy TOUGH ENOUGH TO TAKE ON THE ISLAMOFASCHISTS.........imo, yes, he has proven himself many times over.....BEFORE 9/11 AND AFTER 9/11.
He couldn't even outpoll Hillary in the NY Senate race in 2000 before he withdrew. In other words, he can't even beat Hillary IN HIS HOME STATE.
Wash your mouth out with soap. Libertarians would have absolutely no truck with this gun grabbing fascist.
He's the only one besides Bush who has proven that he can.
That is exactly backwards. The fact if the matter is that running a liberal spells the disaster.
I could still vote for him though.....
Yes, I already got taken to the woodshed on that one. If I were less literate, I'd say "my bad."
Rudy is no Conservative...
Taking the statement by Mona "His conservatism has been tempered in New York City — so it is steely indeed." and modify it to read,
His conservatism has been tempered in the state of MA — so it is steely indeed.
Does not make Mitt a Conservative, or McCain...the only true Conservative is Duncan Hunter.
..in school, I always liked tests with easy questions
hope I don't need the /s/ for some people to wake up and realize that Rudy saved NYC from itself. When he won against Dinkins it was true that most felt that city was unmanageable, that there was no hope, and NYC could never regain it's cache!
OK, then...I guess I'll have to move you to my list of "undecided" ...
"And he can win the election" Based on what??
All a moot point, if he can't win the election. And Duncan Hunter has the military credentials to take on the WOT.
This is the beautiful thing about Rudy.
He doesn't give a ___ about being popular with the leftist whores.
If he decided to secure the border and continue to fight the WOT to win I could see he topping W's major weakness, the sincere desire to be liked.
Social conservatives would get solid judges, and we would win in the great struggle of our time.
I agree at best he's a "moderate" in the modern political sense of the word - Not as pro tax as Hillary, but not pro business either and a ruthless anti-capitalist ( look what he did to Michael Milken)
As usual, an argument with all the analytical substance of a bumper sticker.
Rudy is also a good law and order guy who allows his law and orderliness to trample on the second amendment if one doesn't live in the right part of the country.
Like President Bush Rudy is also good on the WOT except he is reluctant, like POTUS, to seal the borders in time of war which has a negative effect on keeping Americans cognizant that we are indeed in a WOT.
And finally, friends don't let friends vote for "conservatives" who support leftists like Mario Cuomo for Chief Executive offices.
JMHO of course.
The sad thing is most people ARE that stupid, or just dont' care enough about America, and will vote for this disaster.
Contrary to what the New York Times editorial page would have you believe, conservatives are not lemmings ready to line up for anyone with an R on their chest.
Either Rudy starts paying attention to us, or he really might NOT be able to win.
In New York State, the polls show Hillary crushing Rudy in a matchup.
2000? You might want to work on updating your criticism to something a little more current...a lot has happened in the interim...
Can you share some of that proof with me? I don't recall seeing any.
Not NO, but...
HELL NO!
I think you need to add "When Pigs Fly" as a column as well.
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