Giuliani Plans to Publicly Embrace Abortion Rights [Rudy declares war on conservatism]

New York Times ^ | May 10, 2007 | By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MARC SANTORA

[Jim Robinson]

After months of giving ambiguous signals on abortion, Rudolph W. Giuliani is planning to offer a forthright affirmation of his support for abortion rights in public forums, television appearances and interviews in the coming days, despite potential consequences among some conservative voters already wary of his views, aides said yesterday.

At the same time, Mr. Giuliani’s campaign — seeking to accomplish the unusual task of persuading the Republican Party to nominate an abortion rights supporter as its presidential candidate — is eyeing a path to the nomination that would try to de-emphasize the early states in which abortion opponents wield a great deal of influence. Instead they would focus on the so-called mega-primary of Feb. 5, in which voters in states like California, New York and New Jersey are likely to be more receptive to Mr. Giuliani’s social views than voters in states like Iowa and South Carolina. They said that approach became more appealing after Florida, another state they said would be receptive to Mr. Giuliani, voted last week to move its primary forward to the end of January.

The shift in emphasis by Mr. Giuliani comes as his campaign has struggled to deal with the fallout from the first Republican presidential candidate debate in which he gave a halting and apparently contradictory responses to questions about his support for abortion rights. Mr. Giuliani’s aides were concerned both because it opened him up to a new round of criticism from abortion critics — who have never been happy with the prospect of a Republican presidential candidate who supports abortion rights — while threatening to undercut his image as a tough-talking iconoclast who does not equivocate on tough issues.

[LetsRok]

Good for Rudy. There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank. Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

[WalterSkinner]

[NapkinUser]

“Good for Rudy.”

I agree, he is finally being honest. Now if Giuliani will stop lying and talking out of two sides of his mouth and admit he is pro-gay special rights, pro-illegal alien and anti-second amendment too, all will be dandy.

I feel those three things are what he’s going to get ripped apart next. The anti-Rudy crowd won on abortion, and really hurt Giuliani too. Now it’s time to get him on other things. I suggest his distaste for gun rights, but that is just me.

[hellinahandcart]

You can ASK who added the keyword. (The mods know, but may or may not tell.)

[LightBeam]

Good for Rudy. There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank. Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

Yeah, those 40 million dead Americans are such a non-issue.

[dirtboy]

Good for Rudy. There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank. Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

First of all, abortion kills more Americans every day than who died on 9-11.

Second, by the time all the planks are ripped out of the GOP platform to conform with Rudy's liberal views, there won't be enough wood left to feed a termite colony for a week.

[NapkinUser]

Jake The Cooked Goose

[Beagle8U]

“Good for Rudy. There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion.”

Great, Rooty doesn’t want questions about his abortion position.

We’ll move on to the Gun issue, the queer agenda issue, the sanctuary city issue, the mobbed up friends issue, the illegal kickbacks issue, the.....

[Alberta's Child]

Rudy Giuliani fails miserably on quite a few issues in the Republican Party platform. His stances on gun control, illegal immigration and constitutional law, for example, put him far to the left of most people — Republicans and Democrats alike — in this country.

[hellinahandcart]

There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank.

Rudy is wrong on more than just abortion.

Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

If it's a non-issue, then let the pro-choicers "move past it". I won't.

[dirtboy]

I suggest his distaste for gun rights, but that is just me.

Let's save that one for June.

Right now, Fox is reporting that the three Fort Dix terrorism suspects who were illegal aliens had 19 traffic violations between them.

But they were never reported to the INS because the violations happened in sanctuary cities.

And who is the king of sanctuary cities? Rudy G, of course. Time to show the country just what his rabid defense of that policy, in defiance of federal law and federal court orders, means to national security.

[Spiff]

Good for Rudy. There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank. Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

Giuliani/Clinton/Dem vs. GOP Platform Comparison
Issue	Giuliani	Clinton	Dem Platform	GOP Platform
Abortion on Demand	Supports	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Partial Birth Abortion	Supports Opposed NY ban	Supports	Supports	Opposes
Overturning Roe v. Wade	Opposes	Opposes	Opposes	Supports
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	Varies Voted for it	Supports Weak support	Supports
Patriot Act	Supports	Supports Voted for it 2001 & 2006	Opposes	Supports

"Most of Clinton's policies are very similar to most of mine." - Rudy Giuliani

[Lucky9teen]

Giuliani's Pro Choise Stand: Abortion Cuts Dem Voters

[dynachrome]

You and others were right about roooody from the beginning. Without your good work we could have been stuck with that POS as the standard bearer for the 'pubs in 2008. (could still happen).
A suggestion for a sidebar poll: "If Roooty runs as an independent, would you still vote for him?"
Would be interesting to see the FR member percentage on that one.

[Chuck Dent]

Rudy is very strongly pro-choice. No other GOP candidate is. Your spin is pure nonsense here.

In the event that Roe is overturned, are you in favor of a national amendment prohibiting abortion, or an individual state-state process? Which candidate(s) for the 2008 GOP nomination supports either of these prohibition alternatives? How does your favored candidate stand?

If they don't support prohibition, they are implicitly supporting choice (the existing de facto position absent criminalization), regardless of which organization chooses to attempt to frame the issue.

As to picking away at Rudy regarding the WoT, go for it. I'm not one opposed to revealing the truth about anyone on any matter. I'm just skeptical that anyone is going to care.

Personal anecdote: I've had a chance to be within 30 yards of both RR & Arnie during their respective political moments. The crowd reaction was the same - the same animal instincts of being emotionally attracted to a 'winner'.

For good or bad, Rudy has the same appeal. It's something going for him that can't be quantified, but for some reason, people tend to drawn to his dynamism. Now, you are free to deny that he has any or that it exists, but that doesn't make it so.

[dirtboy]

In the event that Roe is overturned, are you in favor of a national amendment prohibiting abortion, or an individual state-state process?

State by state process, as it was before Roe.

However, that cannot happen until Roe is overturned. And Rudy has spoken out in favor of Roe and in favor of abortion "rights". No other pubbie candidate has. It's that simple.

[Spiff]

In the event that Roe is overturned, are you in favor of a national amendment prohibiting abortion, or an individual state-state process? Which candidate(s) for the 2008 GOP nomination supports either of these prohibition alternatives? How does your favored candidate stand?

The Republican Party platform makes this clear enough for anyone who bothers to read what the party actually stands for. It says that a Human Life Amendment should be passed to recognize unborn children, from the point of conception, as human beings deserving the protection of the law. It further says that legislation should be passed to ensure that unborn children are fully protected in their rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. All Republican candidates should stand for this or they have no business calling themselves Republicans.

[cpforlife.org]

Will Rudy support abortion of homosexual babies?

[cpforlife.org]

Will Rudy support abortion of homosexual babies?

Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.

[Spiff]

There’s a lot more to be conservative than abortion. That is only 1% of the plank. Abortion is a non-issue with the more important issues facing the country.

The silly part in the Constitution about guaranteeing your freedom of speech makes up only about 1% of the document. Same goes for the part saying that your right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Who needs them?! They're such a tiny part of the Constitution and there are more important issues facing the country. /sarc