Posted on 04/04/2007 1:03:30 PM PDT by Ol' Sparky
Ad Naseum conservatives are Free Republic are being told that they must abandon a "single-issue" mentality on more than a half-dozen issues that represent a good portion of the Republican party platform and support Rudolph Giuliani in an effort to avoid a Hillary Clinton Presidency.
But, who really are the single-issue voters here? I contend it is those supporting Giuliani.
Giuliani is further to the left on social issues such as abortion and the homosexual agenda. He is radically in favor of curtailing the second amendment. Giuliani has a record of aiding illegal immigrants, even to the point of filing lawsuits on their behalf. He has openly stated he believes in mankind is causing global warming, publicly supported minimum wage increases and McCain-Feingold.
How can it reasonably be stated that only single-issue voters have a problem with a liberal record that spans that many issues?
Rudy backers insist he is a fiscal conservative. But, is that true? Sure, he did cut taxes but he also proved to be another big-government Republican when it came to spending increases as mayor of New York. Consider the following:
Mr. Giuliani said the surplus from the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30, is projected to be $856 million, a record amount caused largely by higher-than-expected tax revenues from robust profits on Wall Street. He said for the first time that he wanted to use $99 million of that money to help the city adapt to the new strict Federal welfare rules by paying for child care, job training and other programs.
Source: New York Times, Clifford Levy, 5/9/97
Giuliani allowed spending to increase significantly faster than inflation during four of his last five years in office - and another big increase was in store for fiscal 2002 before the World Trade Center attack forced the city into an austerity mode.
Source: FISCALWATCH MEMO July 20, 2004
According to New York's Independent Budget Office, total budgeted expenditures grew from $31.8 billion in 1995 (Rudy's first budget year) to $44.6 billion in 2003, an increase of 40.3%. By comparison, the inflation rate from January 1995 to January 2003 was 20.89% according to this inflation rate calculator. Thus, New York City's spending under Rudy grew at a rate twice that of inflation.
Perhaps the biggest difference is on fiscal issues. Giuliani, who lost interest in curtailing the growth of city government in his latter years, left behind a fiscal catastrophe—a $6.4 billion deficit proportionately bigger than the hole that caused the 1975 fiscal shortfall. --- Jacob Weisberg, Slate magazine 2/21/07
So, strip away the illusion that Giuliani believes in limited government, what's left -- only two single issues remain that a conservative could justify a vote for Giuliani -- tax cuts and fighting the war on terror, two issues George W. Bush remained dedicated to and virtually every other Presidential candidate supports.
So, it appears that Rudy backers want to strip down the differences between the two parties to those two single issues -- tax cuts and the war on terror -- while morphing the GOP into a Democratic-lite party on every other.
The "hold your nose and vote to win" is so 2006.
“Perhaps the biggest difference is on fiscal issues. Giuliani, who lost interest in curtailing the growth of city government in his latter years, left behind a fiscal catastrophe—a $6.4 billion deficit proportionately bigger than the hole that caused the 1975 fiscal shortfall. -— Jacob Weisberg, Slate magazine 2/21/07”
You can’t post things from about rudy slate (or cnn, or nbc, etc), even if they’re true. And especially if they make rudy look bad!
It’s like their global warming true believers. Rudy is a religion to them, and no amount of facts can shake their faith.
- Rudy launched a welfare revolution, removing illegal recipients, cutting the rolls by 20% the first year alone and dropping the welfare rolls by 600,000 over the course of his plan.
NY POST
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy launched a work requirement program for the remaining welfare recipients. the NY Times called it slavery.
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
NY Times
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy constantly spoke out against illegitimacy and fatherless families. One of many things that Rudy said on the subject was the following: " If you wanted a social program that would really save these kids, . I guess the social program would be called fatherhood.
" Rudy Giuliani “State of the City” Address
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy objected to affirmative action. Rudy ended the cities set-aside program for minority contractors.
CA Political News
- Rudy rejected the idea of lowering the job requirement standards for minorities and woman. - Rudy said. "it was unfair to expect middle-class kids to work their way through college by holding down jobs and going to classes while exempting students on welfare from working.
" CA Political News
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy reformed the public school system and forced out liberal chancellors who wouldn't install his reforms.
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further
- Rudy tried to privatize 5 of the cities worst public schools.
Heartland
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further
- Rudy was for school vouchers Rudy said, "The whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child,".
A Plan to Reform our Public Schools-and the Commitment to Go Further
- Rudy fought against public money for an art display that defiled Christ and he fought against other obscene so-called works of art.
Daily Nebraskan
- Rudy played hardball with city unions winning concessions from city workers that other mayors had failed to do.
NY Times
Union Politicking in the N.Y.C. Elections
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy strong armed state leaders to merge the cities Housing Police and Transit Police into the NYPD saving the city hundreds of millions. Rudy did this by threatening to fire every housing and transit officer and rehire each as a city cop if legislative leaders did not go along.
NY Times
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy did the same with the city’s garbageman, many of whom worked only half days because the department was so overstaffed with union jobs. Rudy won $300 million in savings from them by threatening to contract out trash collection to private companies.
City Journal
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy cut or killed 23 levies and taxes, saving taxpayers $9.8 billion during his terms.
Manhattan Institute
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy cut NYC's top income-tax rate by 20.6%.
A Budget for a Strong and Stable Economic Future
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Local NYC taxes on a family of four dropped 23.7% during Rudy's term.
Manhattan Institute
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy cut the commercial-rent tax.
Columbia.edu
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy cut sales taxes, including taxes on clothing.
A Budget for a Strong and Stable Economic Future
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy cut the marriage penalty on taxpaying couples.
GoVote.com
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review>
- Rudy cut taxes on commercial rents everywhere outside of Manhattan’s major business districts, and various taxes on small businesses and self-employed New Yorkers.
Mayor Giuliani Delivers Eighth And Final “State Of The City” Address
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
- Rudy's expenditure growth averaged 2.9% annually, while local inflation between January 1994 and December 2001 averaged 3.6%.
Urban Futures
New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's Fiscal Record: 1993-2001 – Deroy Murdock – National Review
Everybody in the pool!
Ive never heard of a “fiscal conservative” who supported the pure socialism of rent controls.
Any links to your post?
How’s his fundraising going?
When “real” conservatives get a better sense of just how liberal rudy is,the numbers are going to tumble.Southerners are just not going to buy this guy.
Sadly I think this is becoming the norm for the GOP. Running on tax cuts both to help politically on the base and to actually help the economy, but to innoculate themselves against a backlash by not appearing to be a hawk on spending.
Bush is doing that, and even Ronnie caved to get his policies through a time or three.
Even the tough talkers, if/when they get elected, when push comes to shove, will they shut the govt down for spending control? Doubtful. Should they? Of course.
Just because someone watches FOX doesn’t make them a conservative. Just because someone has a screen name at FR doesn’t mean they’re a conservative. Conservatism is based on traditional and moral values that G has left behind. Lots of folks here will pull his handle just because he has an R. Unless something changes pretty quick we’re gonna be stuck with a flaming liberal, no matter what party wins.
Source: FISCALWATCH MEMO July 20, 2004
Your quote from the Fiscalwatch Memo is highly disingenious and resembles the kind of misleading and disceptive disinformation that I would expect from a member of DU.
The very next paragraph from that Memo reads as follows:
"Yet, at the same time, Giuliani’s budgets did not grow faster than the economy that was supporting them; several, in fact, reduced the cost of government relative to the underlying tax base. This was possible in part because city tax cuts enacted during his tenure, along with the general improvement in the city’s quality of life, contributed to some of the strongest economic growth New York has experienced over the last 54 years. The culmination of this positive trend came in 1999 and 2000, when New York City outpaced the nation’s private sector job growth rate for two consecutive years - the first time that ever happened in a post-World War II economic expansion. Bloomberg’s last two budgets, however, have grown considerably faster than the economy, as reflected when city-funded operating expenses are measured as a percentage of personal income."
Also, if you were to dig a bit further into the actual budget numbers, then you would find that a significant amount of the increases were attributable to non-discretionary spending such as contractual obligations and unfunded mandates that were dictated by the state legislature in Albany, not the Mayor of NYC.
Fiscal conservatives don’t support federal funding of abortion.
Nor do they waste taxpayer dollars on pork projects that primarily benefit campaign contributors and the lobbyists who represent them.
Barry Goldwater was very much pro-choice and supported gays being allowed to serve openly in the military. He would still be farther to the right then most of the so called “pure conservatives”. Remember, many of the southern democrats back in the day supported traditional and moral values, yet spending and the state exploded at record rates while the liberal social policy became the law of the land.
No, Barry Goldwater was not “pro-choice.” He was pro-abortion. His first wife Peggy was a member of the National Board of Planned Barrenhood (America’s national Murder, Incorporated, with apologies to Louis Lepke Buchalter) from 1940 to 1975 or so when she died. Barry bragged about taking his daughter for a convenience abortion when it was illegal in the 1950s. He was an enthusiast for the concept of so-called “gay” so-called “rights.” He stabbed Ronaldus Maximus at every opportunity. Conservatives have long since moved on from Goldwater and a good thing, too.
Eventually, you may recover and become conservative.
“When “real” conservatives get a better sense of just how liberal rudy is,the numbers are going to tumble.Southerners are just not going to buy this guy.”
That’s what I have been trying to tell these ########## rudypoots. The Heartland and the South aint buying the load that rudy is selling.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.