Rudy Giuliani Could be Just the Ticket for Social Conservatives

American Thinker ^ | March 19, 2007 | J. Peter Mulhern

[FairOpinion]

Can America's mayor win support from enough social conservatives to win the Republican nomination?

Maybe not, but social conservatives should think long and hard before they decide to pass on Giuliani. This may be difficult advice to credit. Giuliani is thoroughly alienated from the dominant concerns of the social right.

Mayor Giuliani delivered what they needed most. He reclaimed New York City from the toxic leftism of his predecessors but in the process identified himself with the moral elements of their leftism.

social conservatives are concerned about social rot and Giuliani is one of the very few executives in the history of the world with a record of reversing rot. This is appealing.

On September 11, 2001 and the days that followed he auditioned for commander in chief and the audition went well. This too is appealing. If we don't bestir ourselves to win our war with Islamic fascism, the moral state of our civilization won't matter. We won't be around to wallow in sin.

Social conservatives could benefit from the presidency of someone who agrees with them less but fights for them more. This is the crux of Giuliani's appeal to the social right and every other Republican constituency. He is a fighter, and Republicans of all sorts are sick and tired of turning the other cheek and seeking common cause with the enemy both at home and abroad.

[dirtboy]

Can't anyone here disagree with Rudy without you calling them a Rudy hater?

That's the standard Clintonista technique that some Rudy boosters, to their shame, have adapted for their own use - call critics "haters" so you don't have to address the valid points being raised by the critics.

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Thing is, judges that are in-line with Giuliani's beliefs might not be what we're looking for.

FYI, IIRC, I hear often that Rudy's judge selections are predetermined to be those that the judicial committee in New York selects...which would be okay, if the committee members weren't appointed BY THE MAYOR.

[EternalVigilance]

You're dreaming.

[B4Ranch]

Look at it again!

The only difference in a Liberal Rudy Giuliani and Liberal Hillary Clinton is the fact of which bathrooms they select to use and there are some who are willing to even question that.

Giuliani/Clinton/Dem vs. GOP Platform Comparison
Issue	Giuliani	Clinton	Dem Platform	GOP Platform
Abortion on Demand	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Partial Birth Abortion	SupportsOpposed NY ban	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Roe v. Wade	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Taxpayer Funded Abortions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Embryonic Stem Cell Research	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Federal Marriage Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Defined at state level	Supports
Gay Domestic Partnership/ Civil Unions	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Openly Gay Military	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Defense of Marriage Act	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Amnesty for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Tough Penalties for Employers of Illegal Aliens	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
Sanctuary Cities/ Ignoring Immigration Law	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Protecting 2nd Amendment	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes Supports bans	Supports
Confiscating Guns	Supports Confiscated as mayor. Even bragged.	Supports	Supports Supports bans	Opposes
'Assault' Weapons Ban	Supports	Supports	Supports
Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers	Supports Filed One Himself	Supports		Opposes
Gun Registration/Licenses	Supports	Supports		Opposes
War in Afghanistan	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports	Supports
War in Iraq	Supports	Supports Voted for it	Supports Weak support	Supports
Patriot Act	Supports	Supports Voted for it 2001 & 2006	Opposes	Supports

[WhistlingPastTheGraveyard]

Thank you for flying into my web, little fly....

My God, you get gayer with every post...

[Revenge of Sith]

When Giuliani was mayor, he was attacked by the liberal press for not reaching out to constituencies (i.e. blacks)that didn't vote for him. In a presidential election, the Democratic activists will be united behind the Democratic nominee.

[EternalVigilance]

So?

That doesn't change the fact that Giuliani is as hard left as any conceivable Democrat nominee. Why in the heck do you want two hard-left evil parties in America?

[Revenge of Sith]

"Why in the heck do you want two hard-left evil parties in America?"

Who says I do? I don't see "compassionate" conservative Republicans standing up to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. There's pros and cons with all the Republican candidates.

[Alberta's Child]

Here's where social conservatives can get tripped up. If Rudy is truly committed to appointing strict consructionist it doesn't matter if he's not a social conservative because in the long run those unelected judges can yield enormous dividends.

Social conservatives don't get "tripped up" here at all -- because that's a very, very big IF you've posted there at the start of the second sentence.

The notion that a person in public office who has a well-documented track record of adamant opposition to a "strict constructionist" approach to constitutional law would take it upon himself to nominate strict constructionists to the Federal judiciary is downright silly.

[Alberta's Child]

Rudy is a fiscal conservative and a REAL law and order guy.

No, he's not. Rudy Giuliani threw away every shred of credibility he had as a "law and order guy" when he openly (and proudly) announced that he would violate provisions of the 1996 Federal immigration reform law for the sake of political expediency.

Between this story and the bizarre circumstances surrounding Bernie Kerik, he's got way too much baggage on the "law and order" front.

[THEUPMAN]

Drama queens
?

From your posts I'd have to say that if there is any kind of queen around here you would be the one to have the inside info ...

Pro abortion, gun grabbing, gay loving liberals are not what the GOP needs to put forth . If thats the best we have to offer .... we're done.
period
And the fact that so many people can't see that is just a symptom of the problem.

I don't care if everyone else in the entire world wants to call rudy a conservative ..... call him a duck if you want , it dosen't make it so.

[Peach]

Rudy's frontrunner status among Republicans and conservatives tells quite a different story. Thankfully.

[BohDaThone]

But if New York has had strict gun control since 1911, it means that the gun control laws did not keep the crime rate from soaring 1960-91, nor did they keep it from falling very sharply (and more than most, though not all, other cities), 1993-2005.

In other words, you can blame gun control laws for the LEVEL of crime, but not for the changes that occured at times that the gun control laws did not change.

[wouldntbprudent]

Also, the Bush administration caved when the Republican base didn't get on board with the Miers nomination.

Can anyone in this universe imagine the Witch caving to the Republican base if they tried to raise hell about one of *her* nominees?

[wouldntbprudent]

Exactly. A justice doesn't have to be pro-life to view Roe v. Wade for what it is: an outrageous and embarrassing power grab by the Supreme Court that had no underpinning in the Constitution.

I'd take a pro-abortion justice who read the Constitution as leaving abortion to be regulated by the States or the feds---or not, as those governments were persuaded to do---any day.

[wouldntbprudent]

You certainly know a lot. And certainly, too.

[wouldntbprudent]

You're wrong. There've been at least a couple of folks on FR saying they'd vote for MRS BILL CLINTON over Rudy Giuliani.

[BigTom85]

New Yorkers are strictly forbidden to carry handguns for their personal defense and Rudy supports that position 110%. He was also responsible for stripping New York residents, including one Freeper, of their legally owned firearms.

Lets clarify what you said. People in NYC are not allowed to carry guns (or own them for that matter) unless they are rich or politically connected. People living upstate NY (north of westchester) can get a carry permit pretty easily and can carry as long as it's concealed. The process up here is ver similar to what most states have in place.

If a person owns guns and subjects themselves to the draconian gun laws in NYC, they deserve what they get for being foolish. All a person has to do is pick up and move (as I did). there is a mass exodus from large cities in the northeast- many people are voting with their feet.

With that being said, Rudy should NOT be the GOP candidate. He is a true liberal and can not be trusted.

[wouldntbprudent]

That's preposterous.

[wouldntbprudent]

Yep.