Posted on 08/21/2006 6:16:02 AM PDT by areafiftyone
The S.C. Republican Party’s sponsorship of “An Evening Honoring Rudy Giuliani” last week spoke volumes.
It reflected what some said is a shift in attitude toward GOP candidates with more liberal views on social issues.
There’s a greater degree of tolerance and acceptance, party officials said.
Giuliani, who rose to national prominence for his take-charge performance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, supports gay rights, gun control and legalized abortion, which puts him at odds with most Republicans.
Nevertheless, he has traveled the country extensively on behalf of GOP candidates this year while acknowledging his own interest in a possible 2008 presidential bid.
Although his liberal stance on social issues is likely to disqualify him with religious conservatives, the former New York City mayor remains in great demand as a speaker before Republican groups.
In this visit — his first major political trip to South Carolina — Giuliani attended a fundraiser for conservative GOP congressional candidate Ralph Norman, the one-term state representative who is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. John Spratt, a 24-year House veteran in a hotly contested race in the 5th District.
Giuliani ended the day in Charleston at a star-studded $2,500-a-couple fundraiser for the state Republican Party.
He packed the place.
“Rudy is a very popular figure,” GOP chairman Katon Dawson said. “We didn’t have any problem with him coming.”
Giuliani, affectionately known as “America’s mayor,” is seen as middle-of-the-road by most voters nationally, according to Rasmussen Reports, an electronic survey company.
It found 36 percent of Americans see him as a political moderate, 29 percent said conservative, and 15 percent said liberal. Twenty percent are not sure.
Former state GOP chairman Barry Wynn said the party needs to take a fresh look at the way it regards new voters, especially those new residents who’ve settled along the coast and are starting to have an impact on state party politics.
Those voters tend to be more progressive in outlook and are more inclined to support someone like Giuliani.
“I think Rudy could be more popular in South Carolina than most people would think,” Wynn said.
The debate in 2008 isn’t going to be about tax cuts, abortion or Social Security reform — Republican favorites.
“The overarching issues this time will be national security and leadership,” Wynn said. “Everything else will fit under that.”
Such a scenario favors Giuliani, Greenville consultant Chip Felkel said.
Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen, a GOP activist, said Giuliani is in a “special category.”
He’s a “glittering personality” with star quality who can get away with supporting legalized abortion and gay rights.
His position on those social issues “would not hurt him as bad over the long haul as one may think. If John McCain had the same position, it would hurt him a lot worse.”
Needless to say, the hard-core religious right won’t surrender territory on social issues. They’d rather go down in flames than win.
But unless terrorists no longer are a threat to the United States, national security and leadership will be at the top of the issues heap in 2008.
Voters won’t be concerned about gay rights or abortion. What matters most will be their own security in a volatile world.
And the candidate who stands to benefit is Giuliani.
“If your house is on fire,” Wynn said, “you want a guy with the hose.”
Being appointed Associate Attorney General ain't exactly a big time endorsement of his conservative credentials.
Any far reaching consequences of a Guiliani presidency would pale in comparision to allowing Hillary to win
There is no credible argument that President Hillary would not be an unmitigated disaster, but substituting one disaster for another isn't much of a choice.
Dear justshutupandtakeit,
"He isn't MAKING you do anything of the sort. You are SPRINTING for the plank."
Nah, that's not true. Old Jake The Goose is trying to read us out of the party NOW, for the crime of not being willing to pledge allegiance to Mr. Giuliani, should this liberal win the nomination.
We're standing and fighting.
However, should we lose, then we will have lost. And I can accept reality. If the party chooses Mr. Giuliani, then it has turned its back on social conservatives.
At that point, we will have fought our fight, and I hope we will have given it 100%. But I won't call a defeat a victory, and I won't call evil good. If Mr. Giuliani wins the nomination, that is utter defeat for us social conservatives, and it is evil.
At that point, I will voluntarily walk the plank that Jake The Goose is trying to force us down right now.
"The #1 plank for social conservatives is PROTECTING the Nation."
I agree. The #1 plank for social conservatives is PROTECTING the nation from the further genocide of abortion, followed by PROTECTING the nation from the destruction of the family through special rights for homosexuals, followed by PROTECTING the nation by not vitiating the Second Amendment.
Protecting the nation from Islamofascists is also very important, but the Islamofascists haven't managed to murder 40 million folks, yet.
"My guess is that most of those claiming to speak for social conservatives never voted for President Bush either."
I don't think you're correct, however, I can only speak for myself. I actually began donating to Mr. Bush's campaign in 1999. Voted for him four times (twice in primaries, twice in general elections). Also voted for Mr. Dole, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Reagan. Before that, I was too young to vote. I've never voted for a Democrat in a presidential election.
sitetest
The only mention in that article of an indictment is one that RUDY obtained in the mid 80s.
Brilliant strategy, I remember it from the 50's then known as
Putting someone's name on a list years or decades later is not persuasive. There is no involvement by Guiliani in this group since his Mayorality.
Putting someone's name on a list years or decades later is not persuasive. There is no involvement by Guiliani in this group since his Mayorality.
But Bernie is clean as a whistle, too -- right? Rudy is known to have contacts with the anti-war crowd, and who knows, maybe even the moveon.org people. We'll see when the first reports of contributors is released.
Nobody is going to be "foisted" on religious conservatives.
But, if Guliani or McCain prevails, one has to assume that some number of religious conservatives supported them.
I certainly was, and if his spending and open borders position don't bear evidence that I was right, then you are just plain lost, and so is the party.
I don't think Rassmusen is right about the 29% who think Rudy is conservative. Nobody is that dumb, those are probably Democrats trying to convince moderate Pubs that it's safe to nominate Rudy.
I know plenty of local and state Democrat politicians and officials around my area who are far less liberal than Rudy.
Dear qlangley,
I think that Mr. Giuliani's crossover appeal is wildly overestimated here. The fact is that the vast majority of folks who think that Mr. Bush is right on the war on terror are already in the Republican camp. Most of the folks who are liberal are dead-set against Mr. Bush's handling of the war on terror, and if Mr. Giuliani is going to run as the successor to Mr. Bush's war efforts, he stands to pick up very few liberal votes at all.
In fact, Mr. Giuliani, to the degree that he identifies himself as the most hawkish candidate on the war on terror, substantially reduces his crossover appeal, especially if the Democrats don't do something stupid and nominate a pure cut-and-runner.
There are plenty of Democrats who can make a very credible appeal to moderates on the war on terror, including Mrs. Clinton.
sitetest
We fight for conservative principles, values and causes. We defend the Constitution. We defend our borders. We defend our God-given rights. We are opposed to the liberal/socialist/Marxist agenda for America. We do not willingly give up ground to the Marxists.
We fight on. We hold the majority. We continue working as hard as we possibly can to elect as many conservatives as we possibly can. We build a conservative majority that can overcome the Democrats and the RINOs.
We do not willingly give up any seats to Democrats. We add seats. Preferably, conservative seats. I would also like to remind everyone, that Free Republic does not condone racism and does not advocate violence. We exercise our first amendment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly.
We do not condemn people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, skin color, etc. We do not advocate civil war, anarchy, or an overthrow of the government.
And, yes, we are at war. And we do support our troops and their mission. We also respect our commander-in-chief and are mindful that when people disrespect him, it hurts troop morale.
We do not appreciate the mainstream media's attempts to destroy America's will to fight and we do not do anything to assist the Democrats and their accomplices in the media in their treasonous mission of undermining the war effort by providing aid and comfort to the enemy.
I'll list a few issues (by no means and exhaustive list) that will be adversely affected by Marxist/Democrats in power:
The Supreme Court
The federal judiciary
The legislative agenda
The right to life
Marriage between one man, one woman
The family
Education
Health care
Private property
Taxation Oil/energy
The right to keep and bear arms
The right to freedom of religion
The right to self-governance
All of our God-given rights
The Constitution
The Republic
Liberty itself
Do not get so discouraged that we give it all up. It could take generations to get it back. If ever.
"Securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" is our duty.
Rudy Giuliani was mayor up until 2001. The GiulianiPartners.com website and business was created in December 2001.
After creation, GiulianiPartners.com became an active partner of the STONEWALL Veterans' Association and is still active today.
>>>There is no involvement by Guiliani in this group since his Mayorality.
Now I call your BS
Dear justshutupandtakeit,
Social conservatives, as identified by the proxy of those who just won't vote for a pro-abort candidate, comprise about 20% of the entire electorate. In presidential races, consistently, exit polls identify about 20% of the electorate who just will not vote for a pro-abort. This is the core of socially conservative voters, folks who are first and foremost social conservatives.
Conversely, about 10% of the electorate just won't vote for pro-lifers.
It's clearly a minority of the electorate, social conservatives, and not even a majority of the Republican Party. However, it is difficult to imagine that a Republican candidate could lose a substantial proportion of this group and still win a presidential election.
sitetest
The Rudy haters are obsessed with gays. Rudy is for gay rights (i.e. workforce, etc) but not for gay marriage. He has said so that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The Giuilani bashers think this will kill the Giuliani presidency but it won't. This obsession with gays is silly and stupid. They seem to care about gays more than anyone else on this forum. Its becoming worn and thin. Gay Gay Gay.
It is an example of the judgment of RR.
Whatever Guiliani will or won't do he will not sell our military secrets to the Red Chinese. He would be FAR superior to Hillary.
Jim Robinson does not support your crackpot views so don't try and use his good name to support your contentions. He has repeatedly said that no democrat can be allowed to obtain the White House. It is dishonest of you to attempt such a distortion.
"Nobody is going to be "foisted" on religious conservatives."
You're correct. They're not. Which leaves me to wonder, why attempt doing so, to attract votes? Does someone think the grass is greener without? Looks that way.
Now why would an "Officer" in such an organization write a letter congratulating it. This shows that my interpretation is closer to the truth than yours.
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