Posted on 04/23/2007 2:17:05 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
Judging by the cranky feedback, supporters of Rudy Giuliani's bid for the Republican presidential nomination did not like my column last week. To sum up, I argued that Giuliani was pro-abortion and therefore did not deserve support from conservatives.
Rudy backers offered three comebacks. Some simply chose to ignore his shameful pro-abortion record. Others proclaimed that abortion was just one issue and Rudy is a conservative on most others, especially fiscal issues. Finally, another group decided that his policy positions really don't matter because Rudy is the only guy who can beat Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Since we dealt with Giuliani's sordid abortion background last week, let's move on to the other two responses. Is Rudy a conservative on most other issues? Based on his record, he is, at best, a mixed bag.
He does deserve a conservative thumbs-up in a few areas. Obviously, crime in New York City declined by big numbers while he was mayor from 1994 to 2001, due, in part, to policing changes during his administration. Mayor Giuliani also frequently spoke about school choice. While not investing any real political capital, his stance took courage as mayor of the big-union Big Apple.
For good measure, Giuliani put together a deal to privatize the city's bloated, patronage-ridden Off-Track Betting Corp., but his successor dropped the ball....."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
IMO, that is exactly the purpose. Marginalizing all other candidates at the Rudy alter is what his supporters are all about.
WHAT RINOS ON FREE REPUBLIC?...
( the vapours, swooning, PASSED OUT, dull thud)..
Many were banned in last night's bloodbath. Be happy.
As I said, purely anecdotal on my part. That's been my experience, from talking to folks here in central Texas. I don't say that to in any way influence others, I was merely explaining to that other person why I remain unconvinced that all social Cs will refuse to vote for Rudy.
And since Rudy also seems to be tops of most polls, perhaps my experience isn't so far off . . .
But who knows? I could easily be wrong. It's just I tend to trust my own experience over what some folks with an agenda on the internet say.
Perhaps.
Altho since you're completely misrepresenting what that study says, forgive me if I don't exactly bet money on your prediction!
Personally, I'm fascinated by this entire mob thing, the 'peasants with pitchforks' campaign against Rudy. It's failed every time it's been tried, in the past. In the past, it only lead to ruin for the peasants, who after losing had found they spent all political credibility.
Maybe, this time, things will be different?
Somehow I doubt it. But who knows?
Au contraire. We need to be attacking liberals, not conservatives.
Au contraire encore. The conservatives must come up with a CONSERVATIVE who can WIN THE GENERAL ELECTION.
Nope. if I wanted to vote for a traitor, I would have voted for Kerry in '04.
Yep, Ron Paul was in the Air Force. And Benedict Arnold was a war hero, right up until he decided to help our enemies.
You need to do a little reading. I’m opposed to Rudy because he is a liberal.
Oh man, I am dying laughing! You are too funny!
I’ll pass on the isolationist nutbars, thanks.
BULLONEY! I've been posting that MI info/data on RudyG for the last eight months here on FR. A few posters, and I do mean a few, have attempted to debate my posts and refute the facts. They didn't succeed. You're the only one who has said I'm misrepresnting the facts as contained in the article. Fact remains, I'm misrepresenting nothing. The analysis stands on its own. If anything, you're the one misrepresenting the facts of the MI critique by Edmund J. McMahon.
>>>>>Personally, I'm fascinated by this entire mob thing, the 'peasants with pitchforks' campaign against Rudy. It's failed every time it's been tried, in the past.
More whining. I have no idea WTF you're talking about. Rudy`s hardcore support among FReepers is less then 10%.
One more time. You RudyBoosters can spin, obfuscate and shill for Giuliani and give all the political cover to his campaign that you can muster. You can deny his life long support for liberal issues and liberal causes. The fact remains Rudy is no conservative, never has been and never will be. His final fiscal record as mayor might impress his supporters, but conservatives find it abysmal.
Again, the Manhattan Institute critique of Rudy`s record is a devastating testament to his liberalism. It clearly spells out in no uncertain terms Rudy`s final fiscal record of big deficits ($2.0 billion), huge debts ($42 billion), spendthrift policies and out of control hiring practices that made liberal organs like the NEA and AFT overjoyed.
One more time:
"The scope of government was not reduced at all. ..... money saved on social services has only helped to subsidize big increases in other categories. Today the array of social services sponsored and partially funded by the city—from day care to virtually guaranteed housing—is as wide as ever."
"In the final analysis, Mayor Giuliani sought to make the city deliver services more efficiently—not to make the city deliver fewer services. ..... the city instead failed to reduce spending."
"Even with the tax cuts of the last several years, New York remains by far the most heavily taxed big city in the country."
This is the key excerpt from the piece:
“But wasn’t Giuliani a great tax cutter? He likes to present himself that way on the campaign trail. He deserves credit for cutting some taxes, including the city’s hotel and commercial rent taxes.
But he also worked hard for high taxes. In 1994, Giuliani endorsed Gov. Mario Cuomo, a Democrat, for re-election against then-challenger George Pataki, the Republican. Why? In part, it was because Giuliani opposed Pataki’s proposed tax cuts.
And in 1999 Giuliani fought against the State Legislature’s repeal of a commuter income tax.
In fact, Giuliani’s rather smallish tax cuts were swamped by his tax increases. New York City’s personal, corporate and unincorporated business income taxes, on top of state income levies, have long hampered entrepreneurship and economic growth, chasing away individuals and businesses. Giuliani’s budgets called for continuing a temporary personal income tax surcharges when they were to expire. Those are big tax increases Giuliani does not bring up when he’s campaigning.
In 1998, Giuliani reneged on his promise to eliminate the commercial rent tax and opposed the Democrat-led city council’s effort to allow one of the income tax surcharges to expire as scheduled. He wanted to use the commercial rent tax revenue to build new stadiums for the Mets and Yankees, and was holding the income tax surcharge hostage to get the city council’s support. That surcharge expired, despite Giuliani’s opposition.
So much for Rudy the tax cutter.”
What exactly would he fight the democrats for he has the same exact policies? He’s pro-choice, he’d like to see a ban on firearms, he’s pro-illegals and he’s pro-gay rights. In what way does he differ from the dems?
Um, we should like R.G. because he is, um, ah, more conservative than NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg?
As we speak, Bush and Cheney are in danger of getting impeached and doing nothing about it. Bush is being vilified and demonized much like Nixon was. Rudy would be ripping them new ones over this.
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