Posted on 02/16/2007 5:51:56 PM PST by MilesBennell
Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who favors abortion rights, said Friday if elected in 2008 he wouldn't hesitate to appoint anti-abortion conservatives such as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito to the federal bench.
Giuliani headed a fundraiser in Richmond organized by Jerry W. Kilgore, the anti-abortion Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2005, and attended by several social conservatives who oppose abortion.
"They share the kind of overall judicial philosophy that I have," Giuliani said during an impromptu news conference just before the fundraiser.
Giuliani said he helped select U.S. attorneys and federal marshals during his service in the Reagan administration. People who filled those positions were "strict constructionists" in their approach to constitutional law, he said.
"What I mean by strict constructionist, or using the plain language or meaning of the Constitution, is judges should try to interpret the Constitution, not make it up to fit their social preferences," Giuliani said.
Though not officially declared as a candidate, the popular former New York mayor is trying to win over social conservative Republicans, who can dominate primaries, particularly in Virginia and the South.
Giuliani's assurances that he could appoint federal jurists who disagree with his pro-choice stand on abortion cause social conservatives like longtime GOP activist Wayne Ozmore embrace Giuliani.
"I'm pro-life, so it's hard for me to accept that, but I'm also a veteran _ a veteran of (operations) Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Provide Comfort," said Ozmore, a veteran of the Iraq war in the early 1990s who attended the fundraiser.
Ozmore, GOP chairman for the 4th Congressional District, said he was comforted that Giuliani's assurances that he would appoint "strict constructionists" to federal judgeships without using positions on abortion as a litmus test.
"Right now, this country really needs leadership and Rudy Giuliani knows how to win the war on terror," Ozmore said.
Other abortion opponents at the event included the state's Republican lieutenant governor, Bill Bolling and Kilgore, who lost the governor's race to Democrat Timothy M. Kaine.
Giuliani also said he is through accepting payment for speaking at motivational seminars, speeches that reportedly net him $100,000 apiece.
"What we've done is we're taking no new ones, and we're going through the ones that exist to see what the commitments are, but we're not going to take any money for them," Giuliani said.
"I have to devote my full-time attention to this (candidacy)," he said. "This has all happened, as you know, a lot faster than we thought it would."
Where's that ping list?
Ah yes. The Attempt of the RINOs to sell Giuliani as a conservive continues.
The Republican Party Platform for 2008: "Our candidate isn't Hillary Clinton."
The same fools who led us to disaster last year are still in charge. Republican Party, R.I.P. Load of big govt liberals.
Guliani's judges aren't going to be worse than Hillary's.
So any conservative that embraces Guiliani is now a RINO? That list must be getting very lengthy!
So it seems. I can't imagine any good coming of this.
Nothing is more repulsive than a liberal pretending to be conservative. Rudy has become a political whore, like most politicians. Enough said....
That list isn't as long as the "Conservative commentator ______ dared to criticize Bush?? HE'S A LIBERAL TRAITOR!!"
Pssst: Guliani ain't gonna get to pick ANY judges. True conservatives will choke on a Guliani nomination. It's not gonna happen.
EXCERPT:
"I'm pro-life, so it's hard for me to accept that, but I'm also a veteran _ a veteran of (operations) Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Provide Comfort," said Ozmore, a veteran of the Iraq war in the early 1990s who attended the fundraiser.
Ozmore, GOP chairman for the 4th Congressional District, said he was comforted that Giuliani's assurances that he would appoint "strict constructionists" to federal judgeships without using positions on abortion as a litmus test.
"Right now, this country really needs leadership and Rudy Giuliani knows how to win the war on terror," Ozmore said.
Let's win it and then get back to showing the world that the conservative way is the real..."the narrow but right"...path
I'm going to find all those comments others have mentioned about G.W.Bush in '99 and 2000 and the same group here predicting he could never win etc.
Oh, oh. Throw this poor man under the bus too.
Depends on what happens in the next year. My guess is that Guliani will be the only shot of the GOP holding the Presidency.
And he has no chance of losing to Obama or Hillary in the general election.
A detail lost on the pro life side is that a person can be pro choice and still against the Roe decision. A judge can be conservative, liberal, pro life, or pro choice and still vote to strike down Roe as bad law, provided that they see things that way.
Some conservatives want activist conservative judges. That's a no-no and about as unprincipled as you can get.
Yep...Miles....I agree.
If we lose the WOT none of the other issues will matter!
As a conservative...saving Western Civilization from the Islamofacsists is the SOCIAL issue!
So anyone who doesn't agree 1000% with every "conservative" principal is a witch to be condemned to the lib camp?
Have you been smoking skunkweed?
A detail lost on the pro life side is that a person can be pro choice and still against the Roe decision. A judge can be conservative, liberal, pro life, or pro choice and still vote to strike down Roe as bad law, provided that they see things that way.
Do you honestly believe that once we 'go along' with the liberals on social issues in order to fight the war on terror that we are going to be able to take back the social ground we have lost? The only chance we have to keep anything conservatives hold dear is to prevent liberal Republicans from holding as many offices as possible, especially the presidency.
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