Culture Warrior (Rudy Giuliani)

The Wall Street Journal ^ | February 13, 2007 | Brendan Miniter

[Clintonfatigued]

The book on Rudy Giuliani is that he is too liberal on social issues to win the Republican presidential nomination. Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, put it succinctly: "I don't see anyone getting the Republican nomination who is not pro-life and a staunch defender of traditional marriage."

But Mr. Giuliani is running strong in Iowa and New Hampshire polls and leading most national surveys of Republicans. He's charming crowds of conservatives everywhere he goes. So it's worth wondering if Mr. Perkins is missing an undercurrent coursing through conservative politics.

Republicans have just experienced a bruising midterm election defeat. The president is suffering dismal approval ratings, and the party's erstwhile front-runner for the presidential nomination, Sen. John McCain, made his national reputation as a "maverick." The Giuliani rise evident now may be more than name recognition and residual support from his stalwart leadership following the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Giuliani's support may also arise from his having successfully moved an entrenched political culture in New York City, something national Republicans have not been able to do in Washington.

Mr. Perkins has publicly predicted that Mr. Giuliani's support will evaporate once voters learn more about him. And Mr. Giuliani's track record, both political and personal, may hurt him in the primaries. He's been divorced twice, opposes banning abortion, supports gun control, and for a time as mayor lived with two gay men and (as Time magazine noted recently) their frou-frou dog, Bonnie. None of this will endear him to the party's values voters. But it also may not be what tips the scales in the primaries.

Take South Carolina. The state's influence in presidential politics has only grown since it derailed Mr. McCain's Straight Talk Express in 2000. Two weeks ago, Mr. Giuliani made a trip to the state

[Clintonfatigued]

This is another interesting outlook on consevervatives giving the Giuliani candidacy a serious look, not ruling him out.

[pissant]

He's been ruled out by 75% of freepers, I'm guessing.

[Dreagon]

Yawn. You are going to see all kinds of people try and tell you that Rudy's liberalism isn't going to hurt him. And this early in the election, it probably won't as most don't even know about him.

But times will change. And all he can do is lead the Republicans to disaster if he were to win the nomination.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

I'm not voting for a liberal.

[goodnesswins]

Between a Democrat, Guiliani, and McCain.....I'll vote Guiliani!

[Dreagon]

I won't. Between a Democrat, McCain, and Guiliani....I would sit home.

Far better for the Democrats to win the election than for the Republicans to lose their soul.

[dirtboy]

Between a Democrat, Guiliani, and McCain.....I'll vote Guiliani!

If the Republic comes down to that list ... God help us.

[rwh]

I'm not voting for a liberal.

Nor I. I don't care what party he belongs to.

[XR7]

Between a Democrat, Guiliani, and McCain.....I'll vote Guiliani!

How about a Mormon?

[right-wingin_It]

I said this late on another thread. But allow me to repeat, that the real battle is within the Republican party, not between the parties. A Rudy victory will mean the religious conservatives will forever be shut out.

I'd rather see a Hillary victory than our ideals die a slow death under moderate Rudy, only to be followed by a Dem win in '12.

[Clemenza]

Oh, PUH-LEEZE! The Noo Yawk/Cosmopolitan wing of the GOP is REALLY getting desperate to shove this thrice married, gay loving, gun grabbing, Rockefeller Republican down our throats! YEECH!

[Spiff]

Giuliani supports Partial Birth Abortion

TUCHMAN: Giuliani was then asked whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortions, something Bush strongly supports.
GIULIANI: No, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing.
- CNN December 2, 1999

---

BLITZER: If you were in the Senate and [President Clinton] vetoed, once again, the [ban on the] so-called partial-birth abortion procedure, you would vote against sustaining that against the -- in favor of the veto in other words, you would support the president on that.
GIULIANI: Yes. I said then that I support him, so I have no reason to change my mind about it.
BLITZER: All right. So the bottom line is that on a lot of these very sensitive issues whether on guns, abortion, patients' bill of rights, taxes, you are more in line with the president and by association, with Mrs. Clinton, than you are against them.
- CNN February 6, 2000

---

[GEORGE] WILL: Is your support of partial birth abortion firm?
Mayor GIULIANI: All of my positions are firm. I have strong viewpoints. I express them. And I--I do not think that it makes sense to be changing your position....
ABC News February 6, 2000

---

MR. RUSSERT: A banning of late-term abortions, so-called partial-birth abortions--you're against that?

MAYOR GIULIANI: I'm against it in New York, because in New York...

MR. RUSSERT: Well, if you were a senator, would you vote with the president or against the president? [Note: President Clinton was in office in 2000]

MAYOR GIULIANI: I would vote to preserve the option for women. I think that choice is a very difficult one. It's a very, very--it's one in which people of conscious have very, very different opinions. I think the better thing for America to do is to leave that choice to the woman, because it affects her probably more than anyone else....

MR. RUSSERT: So you won't change your view on late-term abortion in order to get the Conservative Party endorsement?

MAYOR GIULIANI: It isn't just that. We shouldn't limit this to one issue. I'm generally not going to change my views
- NBC Meet the Press, February 6, 2000

***Note: the version of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban that Giuliani opposed in 2000, that he said he supported Bill Clinton in vetoing the Republican-controlled Congress's legislation, contained the provision for the life of the mother that Rudy is now trying to pretend is a prerequisite for his support of it.

[SaxxonWoods]

"He's been ruled out by 75% of freepers, I'm guessing."

Guess again:


Free Republic Opinion Poll: If Romney, McCain, and Giuliani were the only names on the ballot for the GOP 2008 nomination, whom would you vote for?

Composite Opinion
Giuliani 44.7% 3,250
Romney 28.6% 2,080
Sit it out 21.3% 1,546
McCain 5.4% 395
100.0% 7,271

Member Opinion
Giuliani 44.6% 1,359
Romney 31.1% 949
Sit it out 19.5% 596
McCain 4.8% 146
100.0% 3,050

Non-Member Opinion
Giuliani 44.8% 1,891
Romney 26.8% 1,131
Sit it out 22.5% 950
McCain 5.9% 249
100.0% 4,221

[right-wingin_It]

I just realized I called Rudy a moderate, which was way too generous of me. He's not a moderate..he's a communist.

[pissant]

A sad state of affairs.

[stockstrader]

Maybe Rudy will use Elvis's song, "KISSING COUSINS" as his campaign theme song!!!...lol

[Enosh]

He's been ruled out by 75% of freepers, I'm guessing.

I've seen the number 200,000 to tally the total number of freepers.

I've seen about 5 who staunchly support Rudy.

That's .000025% in favor and 99.999975% against.

(The 200K figure, I'm sure, is somewhat skewed by attrition and zots. But, hey.)

[vetsvette]

"He's been ruled out by 75% of freepers, I'm guessing."

Unless, of course, he wins the nomination and his opponent is Her Royal Heinous Hildabeast.

Conservatives can be pretty tough on Republicans, but they've got to be smarter than to concede the election to someone that holds views that are 100% in violation of their own, just so they won't have to vote for someone they disagree with 50% of the time.

"Stupid is as stupid does."

[pissant]

perhaps.