Posted on 02/16/2007 4:56:04 AM PST by Spiff
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who said Wednesday night he is making a bid for the White House, will not be America’s 44th president because he supports abortion rights and gay rights and has been married three times.
At least so says Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.
Land is considered an influential evangelical leader, and he has a new book, due out next month, entitled The Divided States of America? What Liberals and Conservatives Are Missing in the God-and-Country Shouting Match — with a foreword written by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn).
Land told The Hill in an interview this week that as it stands now, the top tier of Republican presidential hopefuls lacks a candidate social conservatives can be fully comfortable voting for.
Beginning with Giuliani, Land said “the vast majority” of social conservative voters will not vote for the former mayor even if he gets the nomination and faces off against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
“If he wins, he’ll do so without social conservatives,” Land said.
While Giuliani’s moderate to liberal stances on social issues are beginning to be discussed more and more in conservative circles, Land said the mayor’s annulment, divorce and subsequent third marriage will seal the deal against hizzoner for social conservatives.
“It’s got to surface at some point,” Land said. “There are too many social conservatives talking about it, and it applies to [Newt] Gingrich, too.”
Land talks often about the weight social conservatives carry within the Republican Party, citing exit polling and warning GOP candidates that they can “no more win without conservative voters than a Democrat can without overwhelming support from blacks.”
“That’s the reality of politics in the early 21st century,” he said.
Land looked at the current field of Republican candidates and offered his appraisal — not endorsement — of those he views to be in contention.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has to “convince” social conservatives his conversions on issues such as abortion and gay rights are authentic rather than politically motivated, Land said, adding that many conservatives will likely give Romney the benefit of the doubt on his changed abortion position.
“Conservatives would see that as ‘He’s seen the light,’” Land said. “They would see it as less of a flip-flop than as a journey.”
Of Romney’s Mormon religion, Land said it’s not a “deal-killer.”
Land said he has encouraged the former governor to reach out to social conservatives about his religion and appeal to “the American people’s sense of fair play,” much as President Kennedy addressed his Catholicism in front of the Greater Houston Ministerial Association in 1960.
As for oft-perceived Republican frontrunner Sen. John McCain, Land paused, then said the Arizona senator’s strengths with independent voters are what is hurting him with socially conservative voters.
McCain’s “maverick” streak may be a winning personality trait for reporters and independents, but social conservatives consider it to be a sign of unpredictability.
“They don’t like being surprised,” Land said.
Though Land doesn’t question McCain’s consistency on abortion issues, he said McCain’s involvement in the “Gang of 14” — the bipartisan Senate group that prevented the “nuclear” option on judicial nominees — and his refusal to support anti-gay marriage proposals severely hurts his chances with traditional-values voters.
In the end, Land said, social conservatives are concerned about the kind of judges a President McCain would nominate.
“Voting pro-life is not enough,” Land said. “He has got to express himself in other venues.”
Add that to the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform law, legislation that sparked an outcry in religious organizations, and McCain, despite a conservative record and his continued, loyal backing of President Bush, does not come in as a favorite of the religious right.
But Land said the second tier of candidates offers voters of his ilk two contenders so-called values voters could get behind — Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R).
Both men are considered long-shots at this early stage of the game, but Land said impressive fundraising or gains in the polls could open a door to either candidate through which social conservatives might run.
“They don’t have to convince other social conservatives they’re one of them,” Land said. “They just have to convince other social conservatives they can win.”
Land called Huckabee a “Republican Bill Clinton,” praising the longtime governor’s charisma and affability with voters.
“I think he could catch fire,” Land said.
As it stands today, probably a good 10 months away from the first votes, Land said Romney and McCain “get the first chance to close the deal,” but concedes with those two as the frontrunners, social conservatives are left without a candidate who makes them 100 percent comfortable.
“That’s why if I were a Brownback supporter or a Romney supporter, I wouldn’t be all that discouraged,” he said.
As for Democrats, Land challenges the assumption held by many that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, giving her “50-50” chances.
He said as he talks to conservative voters, he hears the word “calculating” used most often to describe the former first lady and cites “Clinton-Bush” fatigue as one of the factors working against her.
“When people talk to me about her, their facial expressions change,” he said.
"The vast majority here knows that Rudy Giuliani is not a conservative on about 90% of the issues." FALSE. He is a moderate conservative and is right on the MOST important issues.
If those threads you whine about where ignored they would not be posted so often. But noooo every one is met by hundreds of posts from Rudyphobes attacking him. Rather than ignoring them YOU do your share of keeping them bumped.
Plus, there would be equal numbers of threads from other candidates if there were any credible ones out there. But when his main competition is McCain silence reigns.
Well said.
We're told we're liberals because we like Rudy, which is such absolute hogwash that I'm embarrassed for the people who say it.
It's the sign of a weak mind that they must resort to such namecalling. He is a Republican and he is conservative, just not in the area of conservatism (socially) important to them.
It's been well documented that he is a fiscal and law and order conservative, but sometime in the last several years, Republicans have moved away from that which is most unfortunate for our party.
As Michael Reagan said today, it will doom our party.
Who is this Richard Land person who is all of a sudden self annointing himself? Furthermore, "the Hill" is a democrat magazine, clearly out to smear Guiliani.
Are you trying to tell us that Rudy does NOT support partial birth abortions now? When did he change his position? He has recently stated that he would oppose a ban on the procedure, did not support President Bush's ban, and supported Clinton's vetoes of the ban.
Rudy said an overwhelming majority of scientists say some of the global warming is man made, and he is not a scientist, and that some of the measures regarding global warming should be done anyway on pollution grounds. He also criticized Gore's movie for not offering any positive and constructive suggestions, that were practical. Rudy is not a global warming kook, and this is yet another charge against Rudy that is simply not going to get any traction with voters, including GOP voters.
You are on a CONSERVATIVE site!! What part of that do you not understand? When you promote a liberal, expect to get hammered!
In many ways my brither is the future of gun owner/voters. He does not hunt, hates the outdoors, but owns 4 pistols. He is a member of the nra and shoots. He also has told me he will nto vote for Rino Rudy but may vote of Richardson. He has become a 1 issue vote, guns.
If Rudy believes that the climate changes that we are experiencing are man-induced, he is a global warming kook.
NRA2BFree wrote the above, and that's what I was commenting on.
Those who threaten to get their way, won't get my support.
I, too, think it's out of line to question the faith of a fellow conservative just because they disagree over which BASCALLY conservative candidate they support.
But, that is why we have PRIMARY elections.
Aren't Bush pere and fils "liberal" in your universe? LOL.
By "ilk" you mean Christians, right?
Most atheists, such as yourself, often have a very dour and scornful opinion of believers.
You think most scientists are kooks eh?
Way to young to vote for Reagan.
Far too true, but what are you going to do about it? You, and a bunch of others here, seem ready to bolt the party in a completely futile temper tantrum. You're smart enough to know that won't accomplish anything productive.
We need better, more conservative, and viable candidates within the GOP. Few here will argue with that.
At this point, I think it's a given that we will elect a President next year who is not as conservative as President Bush, who isn't conservative enough for many of the people here.
That's just a fact, because we don't have anyone we can turn to, it seems, that can move the party and the country to the right at the Presidential level.
But I refuse to make it easier for the far left to accomplish its goals by voting for them or casting a protest vote.
Democrats must be stopped, because they hate America. Nobody can accuse any of our crop of GOP candidates of that.
George W Bush does not strike me as a conservative.
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