Massachusetts is a liberal state yet it voted for Republican governors, so your theory that a liberal city voted for Rudy because he was liberal doesn't hold water. So is Romney a liberal? He must be, because liberal Massachusetts voted for him !! That theory about Rudy doesn't hold up. I remember how the liberal despised him in NYC, especially his crime-fighting MO, which ultimately worked. And he did support school choice, too.
You haven't refuted my argument at all. Rudy is a NY liberal and was elected as one. Romney campaigned as a RINO to win in MA also, yet is now running as if he were a conservative. That's why I can't trust either one.
There used to be plenty of liberals who were strong on national defense by today's standards. That's all Rudy is. If we back him, we are telling the whole world that the Republican Party is just "Leftism lite," and merely a few years behind the Demonrats on the road to perdition. That's exactly what the Libertarians have been saying for years, and I used to hate them for saying so, but I fear maybe they were right, judging by the Rudy-mania here.