Posted on 01/22/2008 4:51:53 AM PST by StatenIsland
Rudy Giuliani may have made a great mistake by not campaigning in New Hampshire, Nevada, Iowa and South Carolina. But between Rudy Giuliani (and, for that matter, Mitt Romney) on the one hand and John McCain on the other, there is little question as to who more embodies mainstream conservative and Republican principles.
But Giuliani is not merely more of a conservative than John McCain. In fact, if it is Ronald Reagan that Republicans want, Giuliani is extraordinarily close to that venerated man. Ronald Reagan stood for two great beliefs: that big government is a big problem for a free society and that America must be militarily strong and lead the war against global communism.
Substitute "global jihadism" for "global communism" and you have Rudy Giuliani's twin pillars. His one major weakness in appealing to all conservatives is that he is for abortion rights. Let me, then, briefly address all those who, like me, consider nearly all abortions immoral.
Ronald Reagan was pro-life, and it mattered little to the pro-life cause. Concerning abortion, what matters most in a president is the type of judges he appoints to the Supreme Court. As George Will wrote on behalf of Giuliani, "The way to change abortion law is to change courts by means of judicial nominations of the sort Giuliani promises to make." It is extremely unlikely that John McCain would appoint similarly conservative judges. After all, why would he appoint judges like Scalia and Alito who apparently differ with him on the constitutionality of McCain's own "campaign finance reform" laws?
Pro-life Republicans need to ask themselves: Will a Democrat or Giuliani as president render abortion less common in America? The best is the enemy of the better. And Giuliani is far better on abortion than any Democratic nominee.
Giuliani is for school vouchers, against bilingual education, for reducing taxes further, for reducing government spending. And he has well-thought-out positions on how to achieve these things. He also has the experience of cleaning up the most liberal major city in America.
I write this column aware that Giuliani may have lost his chance at getting the Republican nomination. But I could not live with my conscience if I did not articulate one week before the potentially decisive Florida primary why I believe Rudy Giuliani would make an excellent president of the United States.
None of this makes Rudy one whit more acceptable. He's done the same and worse.
I said last summer before Fred entered the race that I could vote for Giuliani under some circumstances. I respect his administrative skills but I have issues with many of his policy stances. While it will probably cost him my vote, I appreciate Giuliani standing by his convictions even though it puts him at severe disadvantage in the Republican primaries.
We are in complete agreement on that.
Rudy Giuliani, the man I intend to vote for.
Post long enough in my experience, and you always find common ground.
I think we might have been talking past one another. It was clear to me that you didn't quite get the point of my posts and I sensed from your responses that I was missing yours. Anyway, peace.
Yep.
Live long and prosper....(chuckle)
Promise!
Am feeling the same way. After eight years of Mr. Nice Guy, I am ready for a Tiger. And one who is not afraid of the media.
About Rudy’s cross-dressing... there is something about that image that says to me “I cannot be blackmailed; I am afraid of nothing.”
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.