Posted on 01/26/2007 12:29:42 PM PST by Ol' Sparky
WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani came out yesterday against President Bush's call for a ban on gay marriage.
The former mayor, who Vice President Cheney joked the other night is after his job, vigorously defended the President on his post-9/11 leadership but made clear he disagrees with Bush's proposal to rewrite the Constitution to outlaw gays and lesbians from tying the knot.
"I don't think it's ripe for decision at this point," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"I certainly wouldn't support [a ban] at this time," added Giuliani, who lived with a gay Manhattan couple when he moved out of Gracie Mansion during his nasty divorce.
Giuliani took his gay rights stance just as speculation hits a fever pitch that he's in line to replace Cheney on Bush's ticket.
Cheney and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton fueled the vice presidential talk at Saturday night's Gridiron Dinner in Washington.
To a mock question from the audience asking Cheney to step aside for someone with "new energy and vitality," the veep turned to Giuliani and zinged: "You need to do a better job of disguising your handwriting."
Asked yesterday whether he would run with Bush if Cheney stepped aside, the mayor-turned-businessman mimicked Marlon Brando in "The Godfather": "An offer I couldn't refuse, right?" But he didn't say no.
Giuliani conceded he's "out of sync" with his party's conservative base, but likened himself to other moderate GOP stars like Gov. Pataki and Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
And while he was cagey on the veep talk, the former mayor said he will run for elected office again, but didn't say which one.
Giuliani is considered a leading GOP hopeful in the 2008 presidential race, though he may decide to challenge Clinton in her 2006 Senate reelection bid.
But for now, Giuliani has been making the rounds burnishing the President's terror-fighting credentials and joining in Republican attempts to portray Kerry as a would-be waffler-in-chief.
He once more defended Bush's use of footage of a flag-draped coffin coming out of Ground Zero in controversial new political ads.
"To leave [Sept. 11] out of a political campaign when you're running for reelection cuts out half your leadership," he said. "I mean, it would make no sense."
But Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who ran against Bush in 2000, disagreed.
"I might not have used the ad of the coffin coming out, or the body coming out of the ruins with a flag on it," he told ABC's "This Week."
Originally published on March 8, 2004
Tell them he has a good sense of humor?
I guess the Swift boat veterans were out of line?
RUDY IS AT THE TOP OF MINE! :-)
Rudy is a RINO. He cannot get the votes necessary to win the presidency.
From the beginning I have had the solution to the gay marriage issue, I hope Rudy or someone else is listening and take this common sense position:
GO GET A FREAKIN' LAWYER AND HAMMER OUT WHATEVER AGREEMENT YOU WANT CONCERNING WILLS, DISSOLUTION OF YOUR COMMITMENT OR WHATEVER!!!!
Homosexual marriage is an oxymoron and won't be considered.
Why are you posting another one of his flip flops?
You rudy cheerleaders are a funny bunch.
I didn't agree it should be a Constitutional Ban either as did a lot of others. States Right's Issue IMHO and Congress should spend their time on imporant matters to this Country not on the issue of Gay Marriage which has been decided in State after State to ban it. I strongly supported the Gay Marriage Ban in my State of OK but do no believe it belongs in the Constitution. Some of you folks are going so far over the edge it is getting funny as you dig up articles and make it sound like this was made following the President's State of the Union.
These are not Swift Boat Veterans by any means. The guys who do this consistently on every Rudy thread are nothing but desperate people that are afraid of Rudy and his high poll rating. Smell the fear!
They could win big! If only the personal baggage they hold could be forgiven...
Protecting MarriageWe strongly support President Bushs call for a Constitutional amendment that fully protects marriage, and we believe that neither federal nor state judges nor bureaucrats should force states to recognize other living arrangements as equivalent to marriage. We believe, and the social science confirms, that the well-being of children is best accomplished in the environment of the home, nurtured by their mother and father anchored by the bonds of marriage. We further believe that legal recognition and the accompanying benefits afforded couples should be preserved for that unique and special union of one man and one woman which has historically been called marriage.
After more than two centuries of American jurisprudence, and millennia of human experience, a few judges and local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental institution of civilization, the union of a man and a woman in marriage. Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country, and anything less than a Constitutional amendment, passed by the Congress and ratified by the states, is vulnerable to being overturned by activist judges. On a matter of such importance, the voice of the people must be heard. The Constitutional amendment process guarantees that the final decision will rest with the American people and their elected representatives. President Bush will also vigorously defend the Defense of Marriage Act, which was supported by both parties and passed by 85 votes in the Senate. This common sense law reaffirms the right of states not to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in other states.
And this is not the only area of the Republican Party Platform that finds Giuliani in opposition.
How am I going to explain to my children the President Giuliani thought that it would be okay for their mommy to kill them while they were still in her womb?
How will I explain to my kids that Rudy outlawed dancing in NYC bars (by dusting off & enforcing its ancient cabaret law)?
OH BROTHER! GET A GRIP! Did you vote for Reagan??? How could you vote for Reagan who signed one of the biggest abortion and marriage laws in the state of California??? He sure changed his tune while running for president didn't he?
Well said, but then you ARE the word warrior.
(((( CONSERVATIVE PING ))))
If a picture existed of Bill Clinton in drag it would have been posted on FR 100 times a day for the last ten years.
However, the problem is that the picture of Rudy in Drag will be highlighted in Hillary's campaign commercials.
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