PING -- I think this is of interest to the Rudy ping list.
"For Republican candidates, the toughest litmus tests are not about any actual policy alternatives, foreign or domestic, but about "social issues." What most social issues have in common is that they are none of the federal government's business, let alone the president's.
polls show that a substantial majority of Republican voters approve of Giuliani's positions on all social issues, so the demand for ideological purity in these cases seems to require that candidates capitulate to a minority of the minority party. That does not sound like a recipe for success."
HArd to call the 2nd AMendment a "social issue". Or for that mater buying into ALgores global warming hysteria & Kyoto. Or wanting the Military to lift its ban on openly serving gays. Rudy and McCain are racing to see who can out-Gore Algore.
That won't fly in a debate with Hunter. Yep, just a bunch of pesky social issues.
Excellent article. Many of the issues that they claim he is weak on, he would have absolutely no bearing on.
I could see if he was running for Governor or Legislator or nominated to be a SCOTUS nominee but the President will never do anything meaningful on Abortion or Gay Marriage or Guns for that matter.
I quit eating cotton candy when I became an adult.
This piece would fit better on DU than FR.
Garbage.
polls show that a substantial majority of Republican voters approve of Giuliani's positions on all social issues
A Majority. Baloney!!
So now you're posting crapweasel commies from the Washington Post.
He's about as conservative as Trotsky.
The federal government will never pass a law banning or permitting abortion, so a presidential candidate's opinion on that subject has no practical relevance.
We have banned certain proceedures. We could ban a non-parent or guardian taking a minor across state lines. Things like the Mexico City policy, medicare funding for abortion all matter.
Some hope the Supreme Court judges might limit Roe v. Wade, and thus return some authority to the states, but the next president is unlikely to have many chances to change this relatively young court.
How old are Souter and Ginsburg?
The federal government will never pass a law banning or prohibiting states and religious organizations from defining marriage, and presidents cannot enact constitutional amendments, so gay marriage is not a federal issue, either.
What about something as pressing as whether New York now needs to recognize civil commitment ceremonies from New Jersey? That is a Federal issue.
The federal government cannot prohibit stem cell research from occurring somewhere in the world, and the Feds are unlikely to meddle in private or state efforts to either discourage or support such research.
1. We could ban Fetal stem cell research.
2. The federal government funds such research. We could stop doing so.
Licensing of handguns is mainly a local issue, and no candidate is about to push for ending the federal ban on machine guns and assault rifles.
We could end the stupid rules on banning semi-automatic guns that look like "assault rifles" to the ignorant.
We can protect the firearms industry against the unConstitutional legal assaults by cities like New York.
Yet polls show that a substantial majority of Republican voters approve of Giuliani's positions on all social issues, so the demand for ideological purity in these cases seems to require that candidates capitulate to a minority of the minority party. That does not sound like a recipe for success.
Really. I'd love to see those polls.
Reporters compiling lists of where candidates stand on the issues could simplify the process by asking where candidates stand on issues in which a presidential decision might actually be involved -- such as avoiding wars, establishing a workable immigration policy or restraining runaway federal spending.
Isolationism, open-borders lunacy, and a plug for fiscal restraint. Sounds liberal to me. Besides, most American like the Federal programs that benefit them.
I'm not surprise that the author is from Cato.
Ignoring the real pressure group is the Sheehan wing of the demonrat party. Soros funded and determined to bring downt he United States of America, sooner rather than later.
bump for later reading, adding Duncan Hunter keyword