Posted on 10/20/2007 10:21:39 AM PDT by Ol' Sparky
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, walking into a political lion’s den, told the year’s largest gathering of social conservatives that he is “not always the best example of faith” but that their similarities are much greater than their differences.
“Isn’t it better that I tell you what I really believe instead of changing all my positions?” Giuliani told an audience of 2,000 at the Family Research Council's Values Voters Summit at a Washington hotel. “I believe trust is more important than 100 percent agreement.”
The audience, generally hostile to Giuliani, recognized the shot at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and laughter and a few cheers spread across the room.
The former mayor, who left the stage grinning amid applause after his 40-minute speech, went for an authenticity contrast with Romney, substituting his law and order credentials for the family values emphasis of Romney, a long-married father of five.
Giuliani paid obeisance to the group’s concerns by speaking at length about his support for school choice, home schooling, conservative judges and Israel.
All drew earnest – even enthusiastic – applause. He also gave a detailed plan for reducing abortions and increasing adoptions, the meatiest policy element of his speech.
It was the “everything but” approach – he could agree with the audience on almost everything except whether a woman should be able to choose an abortion, which he supports.
"You and I know I’m not a perfect person,” he said. “I pray for forgiveness, I pray for strength.... I feel my faith deeply, although perhaps more privately than others, because of the way I was brought up.” He said he had prayed to God at the toughest parts of his life.
“During our lives, at some time, all of us need forgiveness,” he added. “If we expect perfection from our political leaders, we’re just asking for disappointment .... We lose trust when they’re not honest with us.... I don’t always agree with myself. [Laughter] … You’ll always know where I stand.... I will continue to extend my hand to you. I hope you’ll take it.”
Giuliani showed humor, noting that he almost entered seminary: “I know that’s hard to believe.” Noting that he attended Catholic school, he said the first school he attended where a prayer wasn’t said at the beginning of the day was the New York University School of Law.
He said that on the first day, out of confusion, he made the sign of the cross. “I looked around and realized people were staring at me,” he joked.
Giuliani pointed out that as New York mayor, he reduced murder, drugs, prostitution and other vices. "I don't believe in inevitable decline," he said, adding he shares President Ronald Reagan's belief in optimism.
"You put Republican ideas into action.... We got results. Humbly, I would say, the best results anyone in that time got in government."
"We drove pornography out of Times Square and other public spaces," he said, drawing hearty applause. "The pornographers lost and they were driven out of Times Square."
Instead of pandering to the group, Giuliani held his ground.
“We’ve got to find a way to be more inclusive,” Giuliani said. “Christianity is all about inclusiveness. It’s built around the most profound act of love in human history, isn’t it? … I’m running for president of the United States because I believe I can bring us together. Strong leadership can help us find common solutions to our problems.”
Giuliani drew laughter by saying he spends as little time in Washington as possible: “I’m afraid there’s something in the air here.”
“I’m not going to pretend that I can be all things to all people,” he declared. “I’m just not like that.”
But he added, in another dig at Romney, “I’ll always be honest with you.... You will always know where I stand.”
“You have absolutely nothing to fear from me,” Giuliani went on, adding that he was puzzled by those who make him out to be some kind of liberal activist: “Just read any New York Times editorial when I was mayor of New York City.” That got a big laugh.
Giuliani was speaking to one of the most conservative audiences in American politics. During a Christian worship service from the podium an hour before Giuliani spoke, leader Ron Freeman interspersed the praise hymn “Blessed be the Name” with the hopeful wish:
“We’ve got the right Senate and the Congress!” The prayer included: “We’ve tried hard to make your agenda, our agenda.”
Politico’s Jonathan Martin contributed to this report.
I neither believe that Rudy is such a sinner, nor others running for the nomination so perfect. All have sinned. No one is perfect. But Rudy is better, far better, than Hillary.
People like you are the ones who are causing problems for conservatives. I will not vote for a liberal in either party.
I agree 100%. Why can't these Rudy apologists understand that??
Then why did the NYTimes and the hollywood left hate his guts?
As I've said many times in this thread, I've not decided who I'm going to vote for in the primary. But I do promise to support the nominee and fight to oppose Hillary, the person that the NYTimes and hollywood left loves.
Trashing Rudy today will bite us in 2008.
But, you apparently don't give a rat's behind about throwing social conservatives, gun owners, etc. under a bus and demanding they vote for Giuliani.
Get it through your head. If there is a split in the GOP, it will SOLELY be the fault of those that decided the party could abandon multiple principles and force with those principles to vote for Giuliani. That takes a lot of gall.
A split is guaranteed to happen unless someone other than Giuliani is the nominee. The Republican party is doomed unless it returns to the principles of Reagan.
Don't like, then avoid the scenario by finding an acceptable nominee that can unify the party.
You can just blame the kooks who want a liberal like Rudy as a conservative candidate. That I will not support. That is what is wrong with the party today. They never support real conservatives. It is always the best of the 2 candidates. I was a Rudy fan when he announced but when I started learning more about him, that view changed.
No. I just mean the vitriol. The "my way or the highway" attitudes. People saying what they will *never* do. etc.
There is a lot of emotion here, and it's not becoming of FR.
Who isn't? Which is why it is absolutely ridiculous for any conservative to even CONSIDER supporting a liberal like Rudy who will SPLIT and DIVIDE the Party WIDE OPEN (helping to elect Hillary).
Trashing Rudy today will bite us in 2008.
Supporting Rudy today will bite us in 2008. Fixed.
Rudy does not even straddle the fence, he is clearly on the left side of it. He is above lukewarm, he is spewing material.
CONSERVATIVE TALIBAN???
CONSERVATIVE TALIBAN--just because you oppose a liberal????
You're right--it's tough to find much more vitriol than that!!!
“Spreading division in the Republican party helps Hillary.”
IOW “support my liberal or you’re part ofthe problem.”
Think not.
“And you think I’m a baby raping drug addict why, exactly?”
It was what came to mind at the time. I am sick of being told to vote for the damned liberal or the other (slightly) more evil liberal might win. If that is your best argument FOR Rudy you WILL lose and you will deserve to.
Isn't that what Rudybots are doing when they are stating certain principles can be abandoned and those with those principles have no choice but to vote for him?
I bet if Giuliani were running as a tax-and-spend Republican, you wouldn't even consider voting for him if he become the nominee.
Why on earth do you expect others to sell out their principles to support someone just because he is running as a Republican?
Actually, you will.
Not voting is voting.
How do you know you're not getting help from the Hillary campaign right here? Don't doubt for a second that they've got disruptors and trolls on FR, helping to stir up any potential divisions among conservatives. Are any of them on this thread trashing Rudy? I don't know. But I'm sure they're out there.
We just will not support a liberal and that is what Rudy is.
Liberals coddle terrorists. Rudy does not. The NYTimes loves liberals, but they hate Rudy. Why is that?
“What I actually see is a bunch of people SCARED TO DEATH to find out that their intimidation didn’t work.”
All I see is intimidation from the pro-fruity Trudy side. I CANNOT vote for him, I WILL actively campaign AGAINST him should he win the nomination.
I think you're confused. If Rudy was a socialist, then socialists such as the NYTimes and Hollywood would support him, but they do not.
“There is Christian Jews, I also hate to point that out.”
LOL, guilty and I have the beak to prove it.
Thank you very much but I do my own research about candidates. I am not getting any help from anyone connected to Hillary. WOT is not the only belief of any candidate so I investigate the whole package. That is how I came to the conclusion that Rudy is just another liberal from the NE. WOT is the first thing I supported about Rudy but then the more I read, the more negatives he had. So, he will not be getting any support from me.
That's not very nice.
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