The Conservative Case for Rudy Giuliani in 2008

Race 4 2008 ^ | August 31, 2006 | Dave G

[VictoryIsInevitable]

The Conservative Case for Rudy Giuliani in 2008

John Hawkins of Right Wing News makes the conservative case against Rudy Giuliani for 2008. Hawkins’ piece largely consists of the same old anti-Rudy arguments wrapped in slightly new packaging, focusing a lot on Rudy’s decade-old socially liberal positions on a few cultural issues, as well as his Manhattanite personal life and some nonsense about unelectability (more on that later). As such, I think this is a great opportunity for someone to lay out the conservative case for Rudy in ‘08. And that someone might as well be me.

Giuliani: 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 correspondent Kavon noted yesterday, Rudy’s recent visit to Minnesota included an emphasis on achieving economic growth via low taxes and less regulation on the economy. Rockefeller he ain’t; Rudy’s a Reagan Republican.

Rudy: Gingrich-style government reformer

Conservatives who liked Newt’s welfare reform and GWB’s attempt at entitlement reform have an ally in Rudy. As mayor, Giuliani reformed welfare in New York with the same tenacity as the class of ‘94 in Congress. Once again, this ain’t Christie Whitman we’re dealing with; Rudy’s a Newt Republican who also made a serious attempt to take on the teachers’ unions in NYC and fund school choice via charter schools. A President Giuliani means a conservative reformer who will fight for market-based revisions to our age-old bureaucratic messes in Washington.

Rudy Giuliani: Fiscal conservative

As mayor, Rudy Giuliani cut...

[George W. Bush]

Valley Forge Gunshow

Notice that flamethrowers are on the list of prohibited items along with all the other legal (but prohibited) items for this show.

I think we'll find that even the weird antigun states like NY and CA haven't banned them yet.

[Wombat101]

"Yes Hillary is a dangerous choice for president..."

Stop right there. The Hildebeeste is irrelevant to this discussion,except as the boogey-man-type symbol of fear. Her name is used tobeat non-conformists into shape.
The truth is that Hilary Clinton will NOT run for President in 2008, if:

a. there is still a shooting war in Iraq,
b. Unless the economy takes a massive nosedive, or
c. The Dems do not manage to make massive gains in the 2006 mid-terms (i.e. more than 15 seats in the house and 4 or more in the Senate).

She will not want the helm while bullets are flying because there's too much that can go wrong. First rule of a Clinton Presidency; make sure you can blame your predecessors for bad stuff when it happens (i.e. Somolia).

She will not want the job if the economic situation is such that drastic measures will be required to correct it. Second rule of a Clinton Presidency: inherit only good things from your predecessors, do nothing to upset the status-quo, and then take credit for it all (i.e. the economic growth that resulted from Reagan-Bush policies,the relative peace that came from winning the Gulf and Cold Wars).

She will not run with an opposition-controlled congress in place because even her small ideas will not get past the press-release statge. Third Rule of a Clinton Presidency: advance on small ideas that have a chance of getting through congress, play them up as much as possible, and give the impression that you are making progress on your agenda. Perception is everything (i.e. The Era of Big Government is Over, Ending Welfare as We Know It).

Without a massive sea-change in the circumstances underlying the 2008 election, I'd bet it's safe to say she will stay out of the fray.

[Wombat101]

My bad, I should have put a sarcasm tag on the flamethrower statement. I would have thought it would be obvious that it was sarcasm, but apparently, no.

[Wombat101]

Appropos of nothing, but something which needs to be said in any case; there has been a tendency on the part of some here to characterize all New Yorkers as liberals. This is patently false.

Here in my neck of the woods (Staten Island, the fifth borough of New York) we have sent republicans to Congress for the last 20 years (Vito Fosella, and prior to him, Susan Molinari -- who gave the Keynote address at the Republican National Convention in 1996). The voters of this island also put both Giuliani and Bloomberg into office after decades of the likes of Beame, Carey, Koch and Dinkins.

Staten Island also engaged in a committed campaign to secede from New York City in the late 1980's-early '90's. This effort was stonewalled by upstate REPUBLICANS in the Assembly (who feared that if Staten Island left the City, they would have to send even more of their tax dollars to NYC), and finally torpedoed (no pun intended) when the cabal of Cuomo, Dinkins, the No Nukes crowd and Clinton, conspired to close the $300 million Naval Station Staten Island in 1994, which had only been officially opened six years before -- this naval base would have had 5,000 sailors and their families living here, and pumped $2 billion into the local economy. More than enough for a population of 400,000 to support their own city and city services.

What many here refer to as the "NY limousine liberal" is the popular characterization of the Manhattanite, not the majority of the citizens of the Outer Boroughs. The sad part is that nowadays, most Manhattanites are not even native-born New Yorkers anymore, but transplants from other parts of the country who come here to work. You are just as likely to find the San Francisco suburbanite, the Farmer's daughter from Kansas, the Pacific Northwest tie-dye and sandals set, and the southern belle living in Manhattan as you are natives. These, incidentally, are the people who become "limousine liberals" because it's what's expected of them; the image of the Manhattanite, the latte-sipping, culturally sensitive, oh-so-worldly is the image they have been force fed by movies, novels and television, and when they get here, they do their best to "fit in". Which typically involves adopting more socially-liberal attitudes as part of the fairy-tale "New York Experience".

[stockstrader]

If it's true that Rudy actually voted for George McGovern,,,,well,,,,I don't think I could EVER vote for someone who even thought about voting for McGovern, much less actually did.

[Peisistratus]

"Appropos of nothing, but something which needs to be said in any case; there has been a tendency on the part of some here to characterize all New Yorkers as liberals. This is patently false."

Compared to the rest of the country, it's patently true.

BTW, why does your web page show a North Carolina flag?

"The voters of this island also put both Giuliani and Bloomberg into office after decades of the likes of Beame, Carey, Koch and Dinkins."

Guiliani and Bloomberg are both liberals. That they are arguably slightly to the right of Ed Koch doesn't change that. BTW, "limousine liberal" only really applies to the rich libs like Bloomberg. There are plenty of other types.

[Wombat101]

My page shows a NC banner because I happen to have lived in Charlotte, NC for two and half years (home of the lovely Mrs. Wombat), before we returned to New York and I never got around to changing it, as if that makes any difference. We still maintain a home outside of Charlotte (Lake Norman), where we summer, and where our two lovely daughters attend school at NC State, Wilmington.

[Capn TrVth]

If you remember, the Archbishop of St. Louis said he would refuse to give Kerry Communion.

[Capn TrVth]

Your post was appropriate, much of the same holds true for Boston.

[Wombat101]

"If it's true that Rudy actually voted for George McGovern,,,,well,,,,I don't think I could EVER vote for someone who even thought about voting for McGovern, much less actually did."

Am I'm sure you never did ANYTHING in your youth that you now regret, either through stupidity or idealism?

I'm not boosting Rudy for Pres at all, I just find your reply to be a very interesting statement on many levels.

[Wombat101]

Yeah, I find that fascinating. The other states ship their "liberals" here to work on Wall Street or go to college and such, and then call us a whorehouse.

[stockstrader]

To equate a vote for President of the United States when you are 31 years old--with any possible youthful ind-indiscretions,,,well....to borrow your words for a minute if I may,,,,a very interesting statement on many levels.

[Wombat101]

I would tend to doubt that Mr. Giuliani was 31 years old when McGovern was on the presidential ballot. That would be, what, 1972, if memory serves?

[stockstrader]

I stand corrected, he was 28.

[Wombat101]

PS, unless I'm wrong about Giuliani's age, quite possible.

[Wombat101]

Okay, 28. I'm sure at 28 you were a died-in-the-wool conservative at 28, no doubt. Having been a 28 year old man myself at one point, I think I safely assume that neither of us was a paragon of virtue at that age, so why should Rudy be held to a different standard?

As Winston Chuchill once said "Any man under the age of 30 who is not a liberal has no heart. Any man over the age of 30 who is not a conservative has no brain". Translation: people very often grow up and leave youthful idealism behind. Not everyone grows up on the same schedule.