Giuliani's Conservative Credentials

Record of leadership
Historian Fred Siegel's book of Rudy Giuliani's record as mayor, The Prince of the City, describes the holistic dysfunction that greeted Giuliani.

Today, New York City thrives. Unemployment one month after 9/11 stood at 6.3 percent. Homicides had plummeted 65 percent, mainly in once-crime-infested black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Asked once what he had done for minorities, Giuliani responded: "They are alive, how about we start with that?"…

The city is visibly cleaner and more robust. Amazingly enough, Reader's Digest in June dubbed once-abrasive New York the world's politest city, a notch above placid, fastidious Zurich.

The City’s path from chaos to courtesy closely parallels Giuliani's journey from freshly minted mayor to globally lauded leader. How did he do it?...

Giuliani, who considers himself a Reaganite, did so largely by applying conservative principles of tax reduction, fiscal responsibility, privatization, law and order, and colorblindness. He sounded Reaganesque as mayor-elect when he said to balance the city budget, "we have to increase the number of private-sector jobs." Central to this was "to reduce the size and cost of city government…."

Pro-growth tax-cutter
Rudy Giuliani has proven, both during his tenure as mayor of New York and through his subsequent rhetoric, that he is a pro-growth Republican in the mold of Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, and Newt Gingrich. As mayor, Giuliani cut city taxes by more than eight billion dollars, reducing the tax burden on New Yorkers by 22%. Giuliani’s low-tax views remain intact. As Race42008.com noted, Rudy’s recent visit to Minnesota included an emphasis on achieving economic growth via low taxes and less regulation on the economy.

Giuliani cut the commercial-rent tax; he cut sales taxes, including taxes on clothing; he cut the marriage penalty on taxpaying couples; he cut taxes on commercial rents everywhere outside of Manhattan’s major business districts; and he cut various taxes on small businesses and self-employed New Yorkers. He cut NYC's hotel tax from 6% to 5%. Consequently, hotel tax revenues increased from $135 million in Fiscal Year 1995 to $239 million in FY 2001.

"The thing that probably disturbs me the most when I read the New York Times editorials, they've kind of turned around the whole idea of cutting taxes, and they make tax increases morally courageous," Giuliani said. "I have no idea what is courageous about raising taxes. I understand it's courageous to run into a fire and take somebody out, but I can't figure out what's courageous about raising taxes. I don't understand why you would think that in an economy that's essentially a private economy, it makes more sense and is more efficient for the government to confiscate more of that money."

Giuliani made these remarks to the Manhattan Institute, an influential think tank well regarded by conservatives and libertarians alike. He credits the organization and its quarterly magazine, City Journal, with inspiring many of his reforms.

Giuliani's tax record matches his rhetoric. He cut or eliminated 23 levies totaling $8 billion. He slashed municipal tax revenues' share of personal income by 18.9 percent and the top local income-tax rate by 21 percent. Asked after September 11 if he would hike taxes, Giuliani was refreshingly blunt, calling that "a dumb, stupid, idiotic, and moronic thing to do…."

Rudy Giuliani characterized his economic philosophy this way: “City government should not and cannot create jobs through government planning. The best it can do, and what it has a responsibility to do, is to deal with its own finances first, to create a solid budgetary foundation that allows businesses to move the economy forward on the strength of their energy and ideas. After all, businesses are and have always been the backbone of New York City.”

Government reformer
Conservatives who liked Newt’s welfare reform and President Bush’s attempt at entitlement reform have an ally in Rudy. Giuliani launched a welfare revolution, removing illegal recipients, cutting the rolls by 20% the first year alone and dropping the welfare rolls by 600,000 over the course of his plan. He launched a work requirement program for the remaining welfare recipients. The New York Times called his program “slavery.”

As mayor, Giuliani reformed welfare in New York with the same tenacity as the class of ‘94 in Congress. A President Giuliani means a conservative reformer who will fight for market-based revisions to our age-old bureaucratic messes in Washington.

Fiscal conservative
As mayor, Rudy Giuliani cut the New York City government payroll by 19%, eliminating unnecessary civil servants from the public dole. Can anyone remember the last time a Republican president was able to send lazy federal workers packing? While hiring 12 percent more police officers and 12.8 percent more teachers, Giuliani sliced municipal manpower elsewhere by 17.2 percent, from 117,494 workers in 1993 to 97,338 in 2001. Inheriting a multi-billion dollar deficit, Rudy turned it into a surplus, delivering eight consecutive balanced budgets.

Giuliani's expenditure growth averaged 2.9 percent annually, while local inflation between January 1994 and December 2001 averaged 3.6 percent. His fiscal 1995 budget decreased outlays by 1.6 percent, while his post-9/11 fiscal 2002 plan lowered appropriations by 2.6 percent.

Conservative judicial philosophy
Social conservatives who want to see Roe v. Wade overturned and who fear the imposition of same-sex marriage on unwilling populations by judicial fiat have a friend in Rudy Giuliani. He has now explicitly voiced support for the appointment of strict constructionists to the federal bench. He recently committed to appointing justices like Roberts and Alito. He also confirmed that he believes that legislatures, and not judges, should set public policy. A Giuliani presidency would almost certainly fail to yield judicial rulings from the federal bench in favor of gay marriage, and would be at least as likely as any other Republican presidency to see abortion returned to the legislative process, where it belongs.

Pragmatic traditional values – with results
Minors in foster care fell from 47,509 in December 1993 to 28,700 in 2001. While only 2,312 children were adopted in New York City in 1994, cumulative adoptions swelled to 27,949 between then and 2001. This effort was led by Nicholas Scoppetta – a one-time Justice Department colleague of Giuliani's and current FDNY commissioner – himself a former foster child.

Giuliani has also spoken in very traditional terms about parental responsibility. "Seventy percent of long-term prisoners and 75 percent of adolescents charged with murder grew up without a father," Giuliani said in his January 14, 1999 State of the City speech. “So, I guess if you wanted a social program that would really save these kids, a lot better than the City of New York, the United States Congress, the Social Welfare Agency, and Administration for Children Services, I guess the social program would be called fatherhood.”

As mayor, Giuliani made clear his belief in traditional marriage only; that marriage should be defined as being between a man and a woman, and in no other form. Said Rudy: “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, that it should remain that way, it should remain that way inviolate, and everything should be done to make sure that that’s the case.”

Some social conservatives are uncomfortable that Rudy doesn’t support amending the Constitution to make sure this definition of marriage stands. But many conservatives also oppose amending the Constitution toward this end. But Giuliani has made clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to maintain the traditional definition of marriage; he just thinks the constitutional amendment is the wrong strategy right now. As long as judges like Roberts and Alito are on the bench — the type that Rudy would appoint as president — a constitutional amendment would be unnecessary.

"He is America's most successful conservative currently in office," columnist George Will wrote in 19989. "He understands that culture, more than politics, determines a community's success, and he has devised policies to dirve cultural change in a conservative direction."

Privatization
Giuliani shrank the 33,000-unit portfolio of city-owned apartments by 69.8 percent. Families and individual residents now occupy those private homes. He sold WNYC-AM, WNYC-FM, WNYC-TV, and NYC's equity in the U.N. Plaza Hotel. He let the private Central Park Conservancy manage all 843 acres of Manhattan's beloved urban forest. He divested the city from the New York Coliseum adding $345 million to the city treasury.

Racial quotas
Giuliani ran on the slogan “One standard, one city,” in 1993, and then immediately implemented it. During his first month as mayor, Giuliani scrapped the city's 20 percent set-asides for minority- and female-owned contractors, and a 10 percent price premium that such companies could charge above the bids of white, male competitors.

Rudy rejected the idea of lowering the job requirement standards for minorities and woman. He said, "It was unfair to expect middle-class kids to work their way through college by holding down jobs and going to classes while exempting students on welfare from working.”

As Giuliani explained at a December 3, 1997 Manhattan Institute forum, “I, number one, thought that was very bad public policy. The city shouldn't be paying 10 percent more. Remember, I was dealing with a city that had about a $3 billion deficit at the time. How we could possibly pay 10 percent more for anything seemed incomprehensible to me.

“And second... the whole idea of quotas to me perpetuates discrimination. It has exactly the opposite effect on people who support quotas think it would have. So, I did away with it.”

Crime and Quality of Life
Giuliani has said that "government exists above all to keep people safe in their homes and in the streets, not to redistribute income, run a welfare state, or perform social engineering." And he backed this all up by going after both quality-of-life crimes and serious crimes.

During his tenure as mayor, total crime went down by some 64 percent in New York City, and the incidence of murder went down 67 percent. Auto thefts went down on average about 80,000 per year.

Giuliani went after both low level and high level drug dealers for the first time in the city’s history. He had zero-tolerance for quality of life crimes such as squeegee extortionists, graffiti vandals, panhandling and public urination.

Anyone who thinks Giuliani is a liberal should walk through Times Square. A dozen years ago, it was a gritty, dangerous place, brimming with litter, vagrants, and pornography shops. It now teems with tourists, restaurants, concert venues, broadcast studios for ABC and MTV, and the NASDAQ market site. At the Minskoff Theater, Disney's “The Lion King” thrills moms, dads, and kids. Next door, at the Amsterdam Theater, Mary Poppins opens this fall.

Education
Giuliani pulls no punches on schools, either. As he said in the June 16, 1994 Newsday, "If you give the Board of Education more money, you end up with something like the old Soviet Union."

Giuliani scrapped tenure for principals and dumped social promotion, which matriculated pupils even when they could not perform grade-level work. He also launched a Charter School Fund and openly advocated vouchers, traveling to Milwaukee in May 2001 to embrace its school-choice successes. Giuliani worked, as well, with John Cardinal O'Connor and Rabbi Morris Sherer in 1996 to make available to underachieving public-school students as many as 2,000 privately funded seats in Catholic and Jewish parochial schools.

"The one area that I would emphasize... is choice and vouchers," Giuliani said, warmly embracing the "V" word. "The only thing that I believe is going to change dramatically public education in this country is to go to a choice system and break up the monopoly,” he said, and, “The whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child."

Immigration and Terrorism
An essential component of national security includes securing America’s borders. While John McCain and Mitt Romney discuss “comprehensive” solutions, Rudy is ready to do what it takes to prevent individuals from illegally entering the United States. During a visit to Minnesota, he laid out his immigration plan, which begins with sealing the borders and also involves ensuring that immigrants learn English so that they can be better assimilated into American culture. As such, Rudy is to the right of President Bush on this issue.

Giuliani sees immigration and terrorism in tandem. "In an era of a War on Terrorism," he said, "how do we create more security?" He argues against what he calls the House of Representatives' "punitive approach." Giuliani worries law-enforcement officers will be so busy handling "a system that's already unenforceable" that they won't "focus on the people that we have to focus on who... might come here to carry out terrorist acts or to sell drugs or to commit crimes." He wants tighter U.S. borders and high-tech identification for immigrants.

Giuliani favors the U.S. Senate's proposal. "Give people a way to earn citizenship in which they have to demonstrate facility with English, and they have jobs, and they're paying taxes, and they've put themselves in an entirely legal status... It'll be much harder for terrorists to hide in a situation like that…"

Tough enough to take on the bad guys
Rudy tossed Yasir Arafat out of a city-sponsored celebrations saying, "I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there, if I have the discretion not to have him there. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to throw him out myself.” Rudy did the same to Fidel Castro. When a Saudi prince donated millions to 9/11 relief efforts and later suggested that United States policy in the Middle East may have been partially responsible for the attacks, Rudy returned the money.

Unlike the Democrats, who are too nuanced to acknowledge that the “bad guys” in life even exist, Rudy Giuliani knows how to identify a threat to safety and security and pound that threat into submission. Giuliani’s record on crime in NYC is well-documented; if Rudy is able to do to the terrorists what he did to the crime lords of New York City, Americans will once again be able to feel secure in an uncertain world.

Giuliani understands the party he’s leading
Having campaigned for Republican candidates in 42 states during the 2004 and 2006 elections, Rudy Giuliani understands that he’s campaigning to lead the party of the sunbelt — a party that is more pro-life and pro-gun than his New York constituents. As such, the mayor has given no indication that he will turn his presidency into some sort of pro-abortion, pro-gun control crusade, and every indication that he will defer to his base, and to the states. At the very least, Giuliani appears prepared to do no harm to conservatives on these issues while promising to advance their causes via the appointment of conservative judges.

Rudy Giuliani is absolutely electable
Rudy Giuliani is probably the most electable Republican in the country right now. In fact, it would be very difficult to imagine a scenario in which he would lose to any Democrat, and the mayor would easily trounce the Gore/Kerry sort of Democrat that the left insists on nominating time after time. If Hillary or Gore is the nominee in 2008, Rudy would win the electoral college in a walk (see the electoral map on http://www.surveyusa.com). Here’s why.

First, the impact of an ethnic Catholic leading a presidential ticket must not be understated. The entire industrial north is a region filled with Catholics of eastern and southern European descent. This includes states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, which went for John Kerry by only two and three percentage points in 2004, respectively. Identity politics alone would likely garner Giuliani a couple of extra percentage points across the industrial northeast, just as President Bush likely benefited from his southern evangelical status in states filled with southern evangelicals.

Secondly, Rudy’s fiscally-conservative profile is very similar to the Republican executives elected by the voters of states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. By reminding upper-midwestern voters of their favorite governors, like Tommy Thompson, John Engler, and Tom Ridge, Rudy would likely garner another few points out of the blue states of the north and northeast.

Rudy’s ethnic Catholic, working class background, combined with his Rust Belt-style positions on the issues, he should be able to increase the GOP presidential ticket’s vote share by five percent from 2004 across the Rust Belt, which includes the states bordered by Minnesota and Iowa in the west and New Jersey in the east. The result of this sort of a swing would send the following states into the “red” column: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.? That’s another 58 electoral votes for the GOP ticket.

Now, what if Giuliani’s northeast roots, and more benign views on socially conservative issues lose a few points across the South? Let’s assume that Rudy’s presidential ticket loses five points from Bush’s 2004 totals in every single southern state simply because he’s a) not an evangelical, b) he can’t call himself pro-life, and c) he’s not for amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Let’s see how many southern states Rudy loses with that five point loss across the South…

In fact, the only state that would be teetering on the edge with a five point reduction in the South from Bush’s 2004 numbers would be Florida, a state filled with ex-New-Yorkers who would almost certainly make up for any sort of Bush-Giuliani gap in the region. The fact of the matter is simply that the GOP has succeeded in Republicanizing the South to the extent that most southern states are simply no longer in danger of turning “blue” during a presidential election, especially against a Democrat like Hillary Clinton.

Social conservatives’ concerns
In an article entitled “Rudy’s Electoral Math,” a blogger for race42008.com made the comment that, “The notion that Rudy Giuliani will…mirror the Democratic nominee on social issues is just not correct…We’re running a candidate who, while personally not conservative on many social issues, will govern as a functional social conservative on most of the big issues cultural conservatives care about.”

On gun regulation, Giuliani has not proposed any new federal controls, and defers to the localities to determine what or whether to regulate firearms. On this, he is a solid proponent of states’ rights. So much for the “gun-grabber” charge.

The same with gay rights. Giuliani is on record saying that marriage is between a man and a woman, and that this distinction is to be respected. When he did not support the defense of marriage constitutional amendment proposal, neither did a number of conservatives who do not believe that the U.S. Constitution should be amended to address this issue. The fact of the matter is that voters in individual states – from Oregon, to California, to Ohio, to Michigan…27 states in all – are stepping up to either affirmatively declare marriage as between a man and a woman, or are specifically banning gay marriage. Giuliani’s stance on states’ rights would oppose federal action to overturn the state-led initiatives on this issue. So much for the “gay-lover” charge.

And the same with abortion. Despite his personal views, Giuliani has pledged to appoint originalists to the federal judiciary. In the 30-plus years since Roe v. Wade, there has been only one major pro-life legislative victory – the passage and signing by President Bush of a ban on partial-birth abortions. One victory in over 30 years – a span of time that saw two strongly pro-life presidents in Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, and 12 years of Republican control of Congress. The partial-birth abortion ban has been challenged in the courts, which indicates that it is in the courts that these issues will ultimately be won or lost. Hence, Giuliani’s intention to appoint originalists to the courts should be considered the most important pro-life impact that the next president will have. It may be that his appointments to the Supreme Court will be better, and more conservative, than Reagan’s. Giuliani has said that he will sign a partial-birth abortion ban which includes an exemption for the life of the mother. The pro-abortion Democrats want an exemption for the “health” of the mother. There’s a big difference. “Life” would provide an exemption where the mother’s life is in danger if natural delivery proceeds (and this should be rendered a non-factor because of cesarean delivery in the event of an emergency). An exemption from abortion prohibitions for the “health” of the mother, as favored by the pro-abortion Democrats, has been used as a catch-all exemption as “health” has come to include “mental health,” meaning that if a pregnancy or having a child might create “stress” for the mother, this is enough to fall within the “health” criterion, and would lead to aborting the child. He also supports parental notification before minors can obtain an abortion, which is a long-time goal of pro-life organizations. Giuliani’s position, from appointment of originalists to the courts, to the distinction in his position on partial-birth abortion from that of the pro-abortion left, is reason to calm the fears, and rebut the hysterical charges of rightist extremists, that he’s a “baby-killer.”

Rudy Giuliani’s approach to these socially conservative issues is to de-federalize the issues, take them out of the gridlocked politics of Washington, and allow the states to decide them. Rudy Giuliani is the most pro-states’ rights presidential candidate we’ve seen in decades…maybe ever. What’s not conservative about that?

It should be clear to all that our nation is deeply divided, right down the middle, ideologically. The presidential elections of 2000 and 2004 showed a deep schism among American voters, and that schism is getting harder and deeper. This division has turned American into two warring camps, and has made each election a nail-biter as results of the last two presidential elections could have turned on the shift of only about 1.5% of the vote. This divide has also imposed a rigid gridlock in Washington on the whole list of so-called “socially conservative” issues. There’s no budge on either side, and consequently the chances of enacting any of the social conservative agenda is worse than slim and none.

The only way to break this political and ideological gridlock isn’t to surrender socially conservative principles, but to move these issues through a different approach. It’s been said that “Only Nixon could go to China,” because of his life-long record as an anti-communist. It may well be that only Rudy Giuliani can move this nation away from the opposing political encampments it’s become, and allow the people – not the federal government, not the Congress – to make progress on issues that reflect what is the inherent social conservatism of the American people.

“It is the greatness of the United States that daunting challenges inevitably summon to the fore leaders with the steel to rise to the occasion and the grasp to raise us up with them. Leaders whose confidence and command cut through the noise and the naysayers. Leaders who stir us not only to the urgency of action but to the achievability of victory through America’s exceptional gifts. Rudy Giuliani is such a leader. In our perilous times, his is the unique combination of vision, guts, and perseverance that we need in the Oval Office. That’s why I hope we have the good sense to make him the next president of the United States.” -- Andrew McCarthy (“Giuliani for President: Leadership Inspires Early Endorsement;” NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE)

“Further, [the] argument that Rudy couldn’t survive without the support of the GOP base is very true. As such, it’s a good thing that Rudy has been able to attain the support of that very base. Rudy generally garners between 85% and 90% of Republicans in a hypothetical matchup against a standard blue-state Democrat like Hillary Clinton. These numbers are just ever-so-slightly shy of Bush’s 90-plus percent GOP support against Kerry in 2004. And while it’s true that Rudy’s support among independents and Democrats will fluctuate, it’s probably also true that Rudy will at least win independents in the general election, which the president couldn’t do two years ago. Given those considerations, it’s hard to see how Rudy can be viewed as anything other than supremely electable. -- race42008.com

“I've known (Rudy Giuliani) for 26 years and we've talked about this many times," Olson said. "He feels very strongly that people like Justice Scalia, Chief Justice Roberts, Sam Alito, Clarence Thomas, are the type of people that he would put on the court…I'm quite convinced that this is a genuine viewpoint that he has." – Ted Olson, Solicitor General of the United States

"Giuliani is perfectly suited to lead today’s sunbelt center-right GOP due to his belief in low taxes, fiscal responsibility, market-based government reform, traditional marriage, conservative judges, securing the borders, and, last but certainly not least, the destruction of the terrorist threat against America. Only Rudy can package all of this conservatism in a manner that appeals to large numbers of swing voters while still maintaining solid levels of support among the Republican base." -- "The Conservative Case for Rudy Giuliani in 2008"

"...When you talk about issues related to fiscal conservatism, which are important to Rudy, I don't know anybody in the public arena who has cut taxes 23 times as Rudy did when he was mayor of New York; who has shrunk the size of government, which he did when he was mayor of New York; reduced the welfare rolls by over 50 percent, which he did when he was mayor of New York. And that's not going into reducing crime by 65% and many other things that he did while mayor in a situation that, before he became mayor, was widely regarded as the second toughest job in American politics, and was widely regarded as an ungovernable situation." -- Bill Simon, GOP candidate for California governor in 2002.

“By the time Giuliani challenged Dinkins for a second time, in 1993 (his first try had failed), the former prosecutor had fashioned a philosophy of local government based on two core conservative principles vastly at odds with New York’s political culture: that government should be accountable for delivering basic services well, and that ordinary citizens should be personally responsible for their actions and their destiny and not expect government to take care of them." -- Steven Malanga ("Yes, Rudy Giuliani is a Conservative," CITY JOURNAL)

“[Giuliani] is positively Reaganite on taxes, spending, public order, quality of life, welfare reform, school choice, racial preferences, privatization, shrinking bureaucracy, Americanization of immigrants, fatherhood, moving foster kids into adoptive families, pulverizing Islamo-fascism, and maintaining peace through strength.” – DeRoy Murdock, (“Mean Mr. Giuliani’ Would Bring Toughness to Washington,” HUMAN EVENTS)

"Rudy Giuliani is the conservative in the race." -- Former Cong. Jim Nussle, pro-life fiscal conservative and one of the architects of the 1994 Republican Revolution

“SayNoToRudy.Org’s online retreat also impresses. As the Ohio-based website’s self-described, social-conservative organizers stated November 5: ‘We sought to do everything legally possible to prevent [Giuliani] from becoming the Republican presidential nominee. Unexpectedly, as we began to see more and more of who Mr. Giuliani really is, we found that Mr. Giuliani is truly a committed Republican and an accomplished conservative on many issues. Therefore, the creators of this organization, with much humility and apology, beyond all probability, hereby announce that we are willing to endorse Mr. Giuliani for the Presidency in 2008.’” -- Right Rudy, race42008.com

Articles about Rudy Giuliani
(The text of this document is a compilation of some of the following articles.)

Time Magazine's Man of the Year (2001) --
http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/poy2001/poyopener.html

Culture Warrior: Don't write off Giuliani's appeal to social conservatives. --
http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/bminiter/?id=110009659

Rudy's Right: What Makes Giuliani the Best Choice for America in '08 --
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12102006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/why_rudys_right_opedcolumnists_richard_brookhiser.htm?page=0

Yes, Rudy Giuliani is a Conservative --
http://city-journal.org/html/17_1_rudy_giuliani.html

Giuliani for President --
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjA5MzhhYTk5N2E2NzI3MTgwYWU4OTNkMWEyYWNhZWQ=

Rudy’s Electoral Math – http://race42008.com/2007/02/23/rudy-electoral-math/

Giuliani's Record EXPOSED!

National Defense: Many people contend that Giuliani is the best Republican candidate for national security? But they fail to explain his national security superiority over the other candidates in light of the FACT that he twisted President Bush's arm to appoint Rudy's mobbed up, high school dropout, corrupt political crony and business partner, Bernard Kerik, to be the head of the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 attacks and during a time of war. How could someone who demonstrated that he is more interested in political cronyism in the selection of such a critical, national security position - after the 9/11 attacks and during a time of war - be better on national security than the other GOP candidates.

His preparations for possible terrorist attackss are also questionable. Despite getting the reports about comms not working between FDNY and NYPD during the 1993 WTC attack, Giuliani didn't fix the situation and 8 years later found the city unprepared for the 2001 WTC attack. Tell me how that helps his image on national security and war fighting issues. I mean, if a glaring security and safety deficiency, exposed by an attack on us, is found in our national security or our armed forces, will it take President/Commander in Chief Giuliani 8 years to fix it if he even attempts to fix it?

Giuliani agreed to give the New York Stock Exchange a $1.1 Billion dollar handout (which, by the way, is equal to the entire operating budget of the New York Fire Department) but he could never find it in the budget to upgrade the FDNY and NYPD communications systems even after the original WTC attacks demonstrated their deficiencies. How does this demonstrate the way he will act as Commander in Chief when determining priorities for the military and homeland security?

In truth, the whole national security thing with Giuliani is purely myth. Yes, he's a war hawk. Just like almost every other Republican Presidential candidate right now except for Paul and Hagel. But his actual record on issues that directly pertain to how he would operate as President is not going to help him.

Law and Order: His law and order record does not go well beyond clearing the streets of squeegee men, bums, and hookers. Some tout his efforts to go after organized crime, but he lost all credibility on that when it was exposed that he'd appointed a corrupt high school dropout with mob ties to be the Commissioner of the New York Police Department. Bernie Kerik, again. Giuliani went on to strong arm President Bush into appointing Kerik to one of the top law enforcement positions in the country - the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik had to withdraw his name when he was later indicted for his crimes for which he received an even later conviction. He avoided jail, but narrowly.

- Giuliani also continued the 'sanctuary city' policies of enacted by his Democrat predecessors. He welcomed hundreds of thousands of criminals - illegal aliens - into his city and refused to work with the INS on enforcing immigration laws. In fact, so annoyed with the pressure that INS was putting on him to cooperate and uphold law and order, he actually sued the Federal Government to try to be able to just ignore the law and continue coddling hundreds of thousands of criminal aliens. His lawsuit failed, and failed again on appeal, but he flouted the law anyway and continued to coddle the hundreds of thousands of criminals in his city.

Appointments/Nominations to his administration:First, I'll start with two words. Bernie Kerik. We know what a great job Giuliani did at getting Bush to appoint his mobbed up, high school dropout, corrupt business partner Bernie Kerik to head the Department of Homeland Security. Giuliani earlier appointed Kerik to head the New York Police Department And we know now how that all worked out. Kerik narrowly avoided jail, but he was convicted anyway.

Giuliani, in a quid pro quo for the New York Liberal Party's endorsement and support, appointed Liberal Party Chairwoman Fran Reiter as Deputy Mayor. He also appointed Russell Harding, the son of Giuliani's close friend Raymond Harding who also chaired the Liberal Party and was one of Giuliani's closest campaign advisers, to be the City Housing Director. Russell Harding had to leave office upon being arrested by federal law enforcement and charged with conspiracy, fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, receiving child pornography, and possesing child pornography. He was using his official credit card to pay for personal items including a car, 'Sopranos' and 'Sex in the City' DVDs, and a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. He later pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 5 years in prison and forced to repay $367,000 he embezzled from the New York City.

He also appointed hundreds of judges in New York during his term. You can count on one hand how many were "strict constructionists" and/or conservative.

Yes, Rudy Giuliani has a sterling record when it comes to appointing people to positions in his administration. One can only imagine the types of people he'd appoint to his administration and to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity. It would be wise not to give him that opportunity given his record.

Fiscal Conservatism: Rudy is barely a fiscal conservative. He's a big government Republican. Rudy got taxes cut $2.0 billion. But that only offset the $1.8 billion tax increase Mayor Dinkins signed off on a few years earlier. A modest $200 million tax cut. Rudy also froze the 12.5% surcharge on high income earners, but he didn't eliminate the surcharge. Nor did Rudy abolish the city income tax structure. Rudy also left NYCity saddled with a projected, pre-9/11 deficit of $2.0 billion and a $42 billion debt. Second largest behind the federal government. Rudy also added 15,000 new teachers to the city employment rolls, helping to increase the membership of two of America's largest liberal oraganizations. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Rudy also took all those savings from the cuts in welfare costs and applied them to other city welfare progarms. Really no savings whatsoever. The scope of city services wasn't reduced. In addition, Rudy almost doubled the costs of contractual outsourcing from $3.0 billion to $5.8 billion. Giuliani has also refused to sign the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge which has become a mainstay of Republican candidates for 2 decades. These are just a few of the things that demonstrate that the myth of Rudy's fiscal conservatism is just that - a myth.

Rudy Giuliani Supports Partial Birth Abortion...Conservatives Don't!?

[GEORGE] WILL: Is your support of partial birth abortion firm?
Mayor GIULIANI: All of my positions are firm. I have strong viewpoints. I express them. And I--I do not think that it makes sense to be changing your position....
ABC News February 6, 2000

TUCHMAN: Giuliani was then asked whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortions, something Bush strongly supports.
GIULIANI: No, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing.
- CNN December 2, 1999

BLITZER: If you were in the Senate and [President Clinton] vetoed, once again, the [ban on the] so-called partial-birth abortion procedure, you would vote against sustaining that against the -- in favor of the veto in other words, you would support the president on that.
GIULIANI: Yes. I said then that I support him, so I have no reason to change my mind about it.
BLITZER: All right. So the bottom line is that on a lot of these very sensitive issues whether on guns, abortion, patients' bill of rights, taxes, you are more in line with the president and by association, with Mrs. Clinton, than you are against them.
- CNN February 6, 2000

MR. RUSSERT: A banning of late-term abortions, so-called partial-birth abortions--you're against that?

MAYOR GIULIANI: I'm against it in New York, because in New York...

MR. RUSSERT: Well, if you were a senator, would you vote with the president or against the president? [Note: President Clinton was in office in 2000]

MAYOR GIULIANI: I would vote to preserve the option for women. I think that choice is a very difficult one. It's a very, very--it's one in which people of conscious have very, very different opinions. I think the better thing for America to do is to leave that choice to the woman, because it affects her probably more than anyone else....

MR. RUSSERT: So you won't change your view on late-term abortion in order to get the Conservative Party endorsement?

MAYOR GIULIANI: It isn't just that. We shouldn't limit this to one issue. I'm generally not going to change my views
- NBC Meet the Press, February 6, 2000

***Note: the version of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban that Giuliani opposed in 2000, that he said he supported Bill Clinton in vetoing the Republican-controlled Congress's legislation, contained the exception for the life of the mother that Rudy is now trying to pretend is a prerequisite for his support of it.

Giuliani/Clinton/Dem vs. GOP Platform Comparison
Issue	Giuliani	Clinton	Dem Platform	GOP Platform
Abortion on Demand	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Partial Birth Abortion	Supports Opposed NY ban	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Overturning Roe v. Wade	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Taxpayer Funded Abortions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Embryonic Stem Cell Research	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Federal Marriage Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Defined at state level	Supports
Gay Domestic Partnership/ Civil Unions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Openly Gay Military	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Defense of Marriage Act	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Tough Penalties for Employers of Illegal Aliens	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Sanctuary Cities/ Ignoring Immigration Law	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Protecting 2nd Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Supports bans	Supports
Confiscating Guns	Supports Confiscated as mayor. Even bragged.	Supports	Supports Supports bans	Opposes
'Assault' Weapons Ban	Supports	Supports	Supports
Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers	Supports Filed One Himself	Supports		Opposes
Gun Registration/Licenses	Supports	Supports		Opposes
War in Afghanistan	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports	Supports
War in Iraq	Supports	Varies Voted for it	Supports Weak support	Supports
Patriot Act	Supports	Supports Voted for it 2001 & 2006	Opposes	Supports

- Rudy tossed Arafat out of a city sponsored celebrations saying, "I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there, if I have the discretion not to have him there”.
Frontpage Magazine

- Rudy did the same to Fidel Castro at a Dinner.
Answers.com Personalities – Rudy Giuliani

- When a Saudi prince donated millions to 9/11 relief efforts and later suggested that United States policy in the Middle East may have been partially responsible for the attacks, Rudy returned the money.
CNN

- Rudy refused to meet with racial arsonist Al Sharpton.
Right Nation

- Rudy as mayor was strong on law and order. Rudy said that "government exists above all to keep people safe in their homes and in the streets, not to redistribute income, run a welfare state, or perform social engineering". And Rudy backed this all up by going after both quality-of-life crimes and serious crimes. Total crime went down by some 64 percent during the Giuliani years, and murder went down 67 percent. Auto thefts went down on average about 80,000 per year.
Bureau of Justice Statistics – U.S. Department of Justice
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy supported the police when the police had to enter and deal with Muslims at a mosque.
Village Voice

- Rudy closed down many porn shops across the city and specifically shutdown porn shops in residential neighborhoods.
Reference.com – Rudy Giuliani
Bureau of Justice Statistics – U.S. Department of Justice
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy went after both low level and high level drug dealers for the first time in the cities history.
City Journal
Bureau of Justice Statistics – U.S. Department of Justice
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy had zero tolerance for quality of life crimes such as squeegee extortionists, graffiti vandals, panhandling and public urination.
City Journal
Samoa
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy launched a welfare revolution, removing illegal recipients, cutting the rolls by 20% the first year alone and dropping the welfare rolls by 600,000 over the course of his plan.
NY POST
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy launched a work requirement program for the remaining welfare recipients. the NY Times called it slavery.
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
NY Times
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy constantly spoke out against illegitimacy and fatherless families. One of many things that Rudy said on the subject was the following: " If you wanted a social program that would really save these kids, . I guess the social program would be called fatherhood.
" Rudy Giuliani “State of the City” Address
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy objected to affirmative action. Rudy ended the cities set-aside program for minority contractors.
CA Political News

- Rudy rejected the idea of lowering the job requirement standards for minorities and woman. - Rudy said. "it was unfair to expect middle-class kids to work their way through college by holding down jobs and going to classes while exempting students on welfare from working.
" CA Political News
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy reformed the public school system and forced out liberal chancellors who wouldn't install his reforms.
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further

- Rudy tried to privatize 5 of the cities worst public schools.
Heartland
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further

- Rudy was for school vouchers Rudy said, "The whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child,".
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further

- Rudy fought against public money for an art display that defiled Christ and he fought against other obscene so-called works of art.
Daily Nebraskan

- Rudy played hardball with city unions winning concessions from city workers that other mayors had failed to do.
NY Times
Union Politicking in the N.Y.C. Elections
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy strong armed state leaders to merge the cities Housing Police and Transit Police into the NYPD saving the city hundreds of millions. Rudy did this by threatening to fire every housing and transit officer and rehire each as a city cop if legislative leaders did not go along.
NY Times
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy did the same with the city’s garbageman, many of whom worked only half days because the department was so overstaffed with union jobs. Rudy won $300 million in savings from them by threatening to contract out trash collection to private companies.
City Journal
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy cut or killed 23 levies and taxes, saving taxpayers $9.8 billion during his terms.
Manhattan Institute
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy cut NYC's top income-tax rate by 20.6%.
A Budget for a Strong and Stable Economic Future
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Local NYC taxes on a family of four dropped 23.7% during Rudy's term.
Manhattan Institute
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy cut the commercial-rent tax.
Columbia.edu
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy cut sales taxes, including taxes on clothing.
A Budget for a Strong and Stable Economic Future
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy cut the marriage penalty on taxpaying couples.
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review>

- Rudy cut taxes on commercial rents everywhere outside of Manhattan’s major business districts, and various taxes on small businesses and self-employed New Yorkers.
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy's expenditure growth averaged 2.9% annually, while local inflation between January 1994 and December 2001 averaged 3.6%.
Urban Futures
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy privatized municipal assets.
Reason Public Policy Institute

- Rudy sold WNYC radio for $20 million, WNYC-TV for $207 million, and NYC's share of the U.N. Plaza Hotel for $85 million.
Scripps Howard News Service

- Rudy divested the City from the New York Coliseum adding $345 million to city coffers.
Second Inaugural Address by Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani

- Rudy let the private Central Park Conservancy manage Central Park.
ABC News

- Rudy cut NYC's hotel tax from 6% to 5%. Consequently, hotel tax revenues increased from $135 million in Fiscal Year 1995 to $239 million in FY 2001.
The Entrepreneurial City Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani The Manhattan Institute
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- When asked if Rudy would raise taxes after 9/11 Rudy said that would be "a dumb, stupid, idiotic, and moronic thing to do.
" American Spectator

- A quote from Rudy on his economic philosophy: “City government should not and cannot create jobs through government planning. The best it can do, and what it has a responsibility to do, is to deal with its own finances first, to create a solid budgetary foundation that allows businesses to move the economy forward on the strength of their energy and ideas. After all, businesses are and have always been the backbone of New York City.
” City Journal

- Construction permits increased by more than 50% in the city per year during Rudy's terms.
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Tourism increased 50% in the city per year during Rudy's terms.
NYC.GOV
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- City jobs increased by 430,000 to an all time high of 3.72 million during Rudy's terms.
City Journal
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- City personal income increased 50% during Rudy's terms.
CapitalCA News
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- The percentage income that city residence paid in taxes declined from 8.8 to 7.3 percent during Rudy's terms.
City Journal
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Unemployment in the city went form 10.3% to 5.1% during Rudy's terms.
The Claremont Institute
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review

- Rudy was an outstanding leader during the 9/11 crisis.
Time Magazine

- Rudy has been a strong supporting in our WOT including supporting the mission in Iraq.
Counsel on Foreign Relations

- Rudy was chosen by Ronald Reagan in 1981 as an Associate Attorney General placing him in the third highest position in the Reagan's DOJ.
Wikipedia

- In 1983, Rudy was appointed by Reagan to be U.S. Attorney for the SD of NY. In that position, Rudy amassed 4,152 convictions including the heads of NY's so-called "Five Families". Rudy also prosecuted terrorists and illegal immigrants.
Wikipedia

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Giuliani's Record EXPOSED!

GREAT POST!