Posted on 05/01/2006 1:55:12 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
DES MOINES, Iowa - Raising money for local Republicans even as he ponders his own political future, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Monday that Republicans must increasingly be "a big party" that accepts divergent views.
Giuliani said that broad-brush themes, like limited government, ought to define the Republican Party — not hot-button social issues like abortion and gay rights.
"The major thing that we organize around as Republicans is government that puts more reliance on people than government," Giuliani said. "They (Democrats) tend to think of government solutions as most of the answers."
Giuliani was in Iowa to raise money for Jeff Lamberti, a Republican candidate for Congress, and Rep. Jim Nussle (news, bio, voting record), who is running unopposed for the Republican nomination for governor.
Giuliani was also clear he's considering his own future ambitions.
"I am interested in public service again," he said. "My effort this year will be to help Republicans get elected and, quite honestly, a part of it also is saying to myself 'Does it look like I have a chance in 2008?'"
Some strategists believe Giuliani will face significant hurdles in Republican politics because he supports abortion rights and favors tough gun control laws, views that contrast those held by many core Republican voters.
Giuliani is working hard to counter that notion by helping other Republicans get elected, while reaching out to conservatives to ease their concerns.
"I've got a lot of places to go and a lot of people to talk to and a long process to go through to see if it makes sense for me to run for president in 2008," Giuliani said.
Iowa Republican Chairman Ray Hoffman, of Sioux City, declined to handicap Giuliani's outlook in a state where the conservative wing of the party is dominant.
"I hope to really be able to talk to him at some point and say where do you stand on gun control, where do stand on this, where do you stand on that," Hoffman said. "I haven't done that yet."
Meeting with reporters, Giuliani took an immigration stance likely to cause heartburn with GOP conservatives — arguing for a pragmatic approach that both toughens border security but also sets up a mechanism for illegal aliens to earn citizenship.
"If you try to deal with it through either extreme, I think you would make a terrible mistake," Giuliani said. "If you were to pass a law making everybody who is here, allegedly, illegally a criminal with a penalty of five years in jail, we would become a much more insecure country. You drive them farther underground, you push them more toward criminal activity."
Giuliani's swing through Iowa was lucrative. He raised $40,000 for Lamberti's bid to oust Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell (news, bio, voting record), and later raised $25,000 for Nussle.
so says he..
Some strategists believe Giuliani will face significant hurdles in Republican politics because he supports abortion rights and favors tough gun control laws, views that contrast those held by many core Republican voters.
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Heck, he's almost a perfect match for what the Ca GOP stands for today, even tho they haven't yet updated the party platform to reflect what they are become these days..
It's gonna be a lovely New World Ordor....
One if by land, two if by sea,three when they come from Washington,D.C.
imo
See, here we go. The RINO invasion is starting. We will soon have European style political parties that are all socialist but have different bases.
Us moderates vote too Big tent or no tent.
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, the G.O.P. is not the Democrat party.
Smaller govt. is better govt. Better govt. is less intrusive govt.And no one has the right to kill babies.
And one of the very reasons that I am no longer a member of the RINOcrat party. Sorry Rudy, I will NOT vote for you or McScreamingManiac.
Like I said, he's very electable in California.
That's sarcasm, right?
The GOP pile looms large of those who would be Prez and thought that the "Big Tent" really meant that the grass roots embraced the idea. We didn't then and we still don't.
Ronnie had to go up against the Big Guns in the Big Tent (back room king makers) but he persisted and won big majorities.
Doesn't matter if the gubmint is big or small if it doesn't work right.
What this self-serving politician thinks is meaningless.
When will Rudy come to grips with the fact that the Most Important Thing is what Republican voters think?
Rudy always does what he feels in HIS best interests----like endorsing Dimocrat Mario Cuomo for governor b/c Rudy calculated it was in HIS best interests to have a Dim in Albany to further HIS political ambitions.
Rudy stepped on so many in his search for power....including the unborn.
Listen up Rudy: "You should be careful who you step on on the way up---because you are going to meet them on the way down."
No thanks Mayor RINO, stay in New York where you fit in better.
Drive-by media thinks that Guliani, McKennedy, and other rino's are the only legitimate spokesmen for the GOP.
The problem is either temporary or permanent, depending upon only one thing. Will something be done to staunch the flow? There *should* be a wall - everything else is a distraction (for now).
It is almost as if nobody is interested in actually dealing with the problem.
Put up the damn wall and send every illegal immigrant who shows up on police radar (theft, murder, rape, traffic violation, parking ticket, vandalism, etc) back to Mexico or wherever their home country is.
Who said this? Rudy who?
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