Posted on 07/30/2005 5:55:36 AM PDT by Uncledave
With Gipper's game plan, Rudy can win it all
July 30, 2005
BY THOMAS ROESER Advertisement
As I write this I know my fellow social conservatives will get mad: There is no one in either political party who would be a more exciting candidate for president than Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City. I'll tell you his story -- the good and the bad -- and I'll tell you how he can solve his problems with you. And me. Incidentally, as you read, keep in mind the contrast with Mayor Daley.
The good and bad about Rudy is contained in a book, The Prince of the City [Encounter: 2005] by Fred Siegel, a hard-bitten teacher at Cooper Union University. The good: Rudy came into office in 1994 a Republican in a Big Apple that was rotten to the core, steeped with bosses, bagmen and racial arsonists, a hostile "combination of liberal consensus and helplessness [that] made serious policy debate seem irrelevant," and quickly brought in a band of brother prosecutors from the U.S. attorney's office. They gave up millions in private law firm salaries for the fun of working and drinking (after hours) with Rudy. Most never left his side until his two terms ran out in 2001.
Giuliani was an eerily compulsive hands-on manager. If you want to understand him, said an associate, remember that as a Yankee fan he's the guy who keeps score and writes down how each out and each run took place. Just as when he read The Godfather he diagrammed how the mob worked, for relaxation he would sketch on a pad how every department worked. He would explain to the public clearly what he wanted to do: cut the size of government, cut taxes to attract jobs "so people can work," consolidate or cut out city departments, introduce competition to delivery of services and work with the governor [Democrat Mario Cuomo] "to get our fair share of revenue."
He insisted on tough police standards, once jumping out of his limo in Times Square to chase a guy he saw grab a woman's purse. He was heedless of civil libertarians. It seemed like he wanted to offend all interest groups and took the heat, forgetting the polls. Crime in 1995 saw 163,428 fewer felonies, with murder dropping 16 percent in 1996. He trumpeted that work is the best social welfare policy, pushing welfare reform, announcing that 23 percent of the welfare recipients in Jersey City were also receiving New York City benefits. He balanced his budget, fought with Al Sharpton against what he called "racial racketeering," and grinned as he took heat from minority communities.
The bad? Giuliani was ego-driven. He got jealous of his police commissioner, who was getting more favorable press than he, fired him and hired another (who was just as tough). Giuliani's personal life fell into tatters: his first marriage annulled, his second wife was a TV anchor who drove him nuts. He spatted with her, kept public company with a divorcee, came down with prostate cancer, married again. His political career was pronounced over. Then came 9/11.
That tragedy redeemed him. When the first plane hit the north tower, Guiliani ran from the Pinnacle Hotel where he was at a breakfast, shouting over his cell phone that command headquarters should move from 7 World Trade Center to Barclay Street a block away. Good thinking: Just as they evacuated, the plane hit the south tower. The debris was so heavy his command center was inundated. With his cell phone deadened, Giuliani's staff thought he was dead as well, but a janitor found him dazed and led him out through a little-known passage in the basement.
Television captured the man at that moment, stumbling down the street in the smoke, his handkerchief to his mouth, directing his city through uncharted territory, ordering all bridges and tunnels shut down. Courage is the most important virtue, said Churchill: It guarantees all others. As Bush retires, he should be supplanted by a man of this valor.
Social conservatives will oppose Giuliani for his pro-abortion views. It's up to Giuliani to help himself with them, and here's how. As governor of California, Ronald Reagan signed the most permissive abortion law in the country. Rudy, can you hear me? If you want this thing -- this presidency -- you gotta change and mean it. Your marriages we can do nothing about. But your social views have to change. They'll say you're an opportunist, but you have heard that before. You can change. And mean it. We're waiting.
IMO Rudy's the one and only repub who would wipe Hillary off the map.
John Kerry was attacked because HE kept changing his stance. He was a joke of a candidate.
The worst they could say is that Republicans are able to accept disparate points of view within the party. And I don't see how that's an attack that would work, especially against someone like RG who has almost a larger-than-life image. But I guess we'll see how this all shakes out in the end.
Speculation is most of the fun!
Rudy is a quick-thinking manager who has an uncanny ability to see each problem clearly.....and the rare talent to get things done.
well there you go :)
Second amendment is a different matter, but he could beg off on that by punting to the courts. And it really is an issue for the courts.
What are his economic views?
It won't be as simple as that. The republican party will be divided and full of in-fighting. Remember, we'll have to fight in senate elections too. If we can't produce a united front, we'll be seen as disorganized and without a message. If the democrats get a stong nominee who pulls the party together, we'll get slaughtered.
I'd vote for Guiliani in a heartbeat.
And what would Hitlery be? Think Bill Clinton only worse!
You're from New York. You have to admit that Guiliani was the best thing that happanened to NY, right?
Rudy aside, I don't see any current candidate that will be able to "unite" us.
we are better off having fair primaries and debate, and all getting behind the winner, to stop Hillary.
Why would his personal history doom him? So he got divorced. SO FREAKIN WHAT. So did Reagan. People don't care anymore.
"Rudy aside, I don't see any current candidate that will be able to "unite" us."
We should at least go for one who won't divide us, then.
Thank you. You are truly a voice of reason. Hey Freepers pay attention!
McCain would. Allen believes in abortion for the first 8 weeks. So we are 0-2, 0-3 counting Rudy.
RKBA is not an issue for the courts, it is one of the inalienable issues. If you can't prove I'm insane, or a convicted felon, don't even approach me with more gun control nonsense.
And Hillary will?
So if we can't find someone who is perfect, we should go for the worst choice?
He was not a gun grabber per se but a proponent on gun licensing and "testing". The more troublesome Giuliani record is on abortion. Even though he did little as mayor to affect policy on it, he uttered statements which suggested he was very pro-abort and would even give his own daughter the money to have an abotion (a hypothetical, as he didn't have a daughter).
However Giuliani is by far the strongest candidate the GOP has to fight terror and take on our Islamist enemies. Unlike Bush, whose alliance with the Saudi family led to disturbing P.C. moments...you can be assured Rudy will never take his shoes of in a mosque or say the words "religion of peace". He despises Arabs, a pre-requisite for anyone leading our nation, in my opinion. His record with Arafat, Bin Talaweed and others makes that clear. We need someone who views Islam as the enemy and not a "great religion".
But the main problem with Giuliani is on abortion. It is not really a close call. He needs to do a serious mea culpa on it, show that he supports the PBA law, etc. Even then it will be tough for him to win evangelical support without some serious outreach. (Then again, with Frist out of the way....)
McCain will be 72 in 2008, and even nano robots can keep him healthy that long. Romney is inconsistent and odd. George Allen doesn't seem to have the mental capacity required. Condi Rice is an even worse speaker than Hillary. And Mike Pence is a mere Congressman. So besides Giuliani, who else is there? I am getting concerned.
Plus, the second amendment must have some limit (ie, nukes), which is also an issue for the courts.
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