Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
Posted on 05/07/2007 5:25:31 PM PDT by madprof98
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani in his campaign appearances this year has stated that he personally abhors abortion, even though he supports keeping a legal right to choose. But records show that in the '90s he contributed money at least six times to Planned Parenthood, one of the country's leading abortion rights groups and its top provider of abortions.
Federal tax returns made public by the former New York mayor show that he and his then-wife, Donna Hanover, made personal donations to national, state and city chapters of Planned Parenthood totaling $900 in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999.
The returns have been on the public record for years, but the detail about Giuliani's support for Planned Parenthood -- along with e-mailed copies of the returns -- was provided to The Politico by aides to a rival campaign, who insisted on not being identified.
Giuliani's old contributions could echo throughout the 2008 GOP nomination battle, as he seeks to lessen the political impact of his support for abortion rights -- an unpopular position among the social conservatives who in recent elections have weighed decisively in the primaries and caucuses. The issue was raised anew at last week's debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, when Giuliani gave a noncommittal answer to the question of whether it would be a good day for the country if Roe v. Wade were overturned.
"It'd be OK," Giuliani responded, adding that it would also be all right if the Supreme Court decided the other way.
On the campaign trail, Giuliani has a consistent mantra when the abortion issue comes up. "I'm against abortion. I hate it. I wish there never was an abortion, and I would counsel a woman to have an adoption instead of an abortion," Giuliani said last month in Columbia, S.C., in a typical comment.
He also frequently notes that, during his tenure as mayor, the number of abortions went down in New York City and that, as president, he would appoint "strict constructionist judges," a description meant to reassure social conservatives.
Asked how Giuliani could reconcile personal opposition to abortion with a contribution to Planned Parenthood, a Giuliani spokeswoman reiterated the former mayor's stump message and took what could be construed as a shot against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has recently become an opponent of abortion rights.
"Mayor Giuliani has been consistent in his position -- he is personally opposed to abortion, but at the same time he understands it is a personal and emotional decision that should ultimately be left up to the woman," said Maria Comella.
Comella added that, "from the start, Mayor Giuliani has been straight with the American people about where he stands on the issues and saying exactly what he thinks.
"Ultimately, this election is about leadership, and it's a sign of leadership to stand by your position in the face of political expediency."
Giuliani's bid will test how far an abortion-rights politician can advance within the GOP. Every Republican nominee since 1980 has opposed abortion.
Opposition researchers for other candidates hope to make Giuliani's life more difficult at regular intervals -- and to help them out, they have a trove of video clips and quotes from Giuliani's time in City Hall showing him to be a vocal advocate of abortion rights.
For example, in 2001, appearing at a NARAL/Pro-Choice America luncheon, he voiced the conservative case for abortion rights, arguing that it "might be more consistent with the philosophy of the Republican Party.
"Because the Republican Party stands for the idea that you have to restore more freedom of choice, more opportunity, more opportunity for people to make their own choices rather than the government dictating those choices," said Giuliani.
Told of Giuliani's contributions to Planned Parenthood, Clemson University political science professor Dave Woodard said, "If he actually gave money to Planned Parenthood, boy, that puts him in a very precarious position, at least in the South Carolina Republican Party."
A Republican, Woodard noted that a personal contribution is something that is difficult to explain away to abortion opponents. "This isn't something like where your position is misunderstood," he said. "An overt act of giving money shows support for a position. That can't be a mistake or misinterpretation."
Merle Black, an Emory University political science professor and author, along with his brother, of a new book on American politics, "Divided America," agreed that the contributions would again push Giuliani "on the defensive" on the issue.
"He's got to change the subject or come up with much more effective answers than he had (at the debate)," said Black.
Still, Black noted that there are "a lot more issues" than just abortion and that Giuliani's strength on national security -- along with the enhanced importance of more moderate states like California, Florida, New York and New Jersey in the GOP primary process -- could lessen the social litmus test.
Amy Walter, a political analyst with the Cook Political Report who is set to take over The Hotline next month, said Giuliani's past contributions and current rhetoric could combine to make him look like an opportunist. The issue threatens to go to "the heart of what opponents of Giuliani are hoping to do, which is undermine him on his greatest strength, which is his credibility and leadership."
The effort, Walter said, is not just to portray him as "not conservative enough, but to try to chip away at the image of a leader and nonpolitician."
Spokesmen for Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain said their candidates have never donated to abortion-rights groups. (Romney gave to a Massachusetts anti-abortion-rights organization last year.)
Founded in New York City by Margaret Sanger in 1916, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has 860 locations around the country. In addition to providing abortions, the organization also provides birth control, emergency contraception, testing for STDs and other gynecological services.
In 2005, the last year for which a Planned Parenthood representative could provide statistics, the organization performed 264,943 abortions and distributed more than 1.2 million emergency contraception kits.
How is pointing out that he’s a multi-time donator to Planned Parenthood name-calling, exactly? When did pointing out the facts, and pointing to someones real and obvious record become meanspirited dirty tricks?
I’m glad I clicked “view replies” and saw yours, cause I was going say about the same thing, only probably not as nicely as you did (lol)
Not a good sign at all. He should have known better. He has lost any respect I might have had for him.
Interesting. People don’t make a habit of giving money to organizations that provide services “they hate.”
What do you expect? The man embodies everything there is to hate about “politics” — the whole “say whatever it takes to score the election” attitude.
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List.
We knew he was for keeping abortion legal. However, recently he's been claiming that he personally hates it. This is evidence to the contrary, and thus, relevant.
And I've said positive things about a number of our GOP candidates.
“The topic contains no real relavant revelations. We all know that Rudy is weak on right to life. How ‘bout finding something good to say about a single candidate. The negativity does nothing but suppress turn out.”
I’ll say plenty of good things about Rudy. He’s strong on the war on terror. He was a wonderful mayor of New York. He got the bums off of the streets, and he’s terrific fighting crime in general.
However, he is pro-abortion (you CANNOT give money several times to Planned Parenthood and claim that abortion abhors you personally), he is wrong on the second amendment, he is for open borders, he is for “gay rights” or whatever the current euphemism is for promoting the homosexual agenda.
Rudy would be a fabulous Democratic candidate for president. And if he ran as a Democrat and won, it wouldn’t be terrible for the country. But he is wrong on so many core Republican issues that to make him the nominee would erase 50 years of gains by conservatives in the Republican party starting with Buckley and continuing with Goldwater and Reagan. But of course, that’s why so many of you are so adamant for Rudy. You hate conservatives and want to get back to the Rockefeller version of the party. Problem is, without us conservatives, the Republicans are nowhere. We are committed to principles, not party.
“Rudy would bring in the independents, the moderates, and the disaffected democrats.
That is the only way the reps are going to win a very very tough election in 2008.”
You posted the exact same comment on a previous thread to a different poster. Are you trying to sell your idea or just re-affirm your own beliefs?
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Giuliani has no credibility. He should end his presidential campaign.
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Giuliani has no place in a conservative administration.
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You're being disingenuous.
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They hate that they cannot have their free sex without consequences. They hate the guilt they feel for murdering what they know is their own flesh and blood child. They hate the fact the clock is ticking and the day closer that they will stand before the judgment seat of God and answer for their actions. They hate the huge weight and burden from their unrepentant sin.
-what is harsh about it? Abortion is murder, you choose to fund it......you are an accessory to it. I am using language Rudy understands.......and margeret sanger is from my hometown, I am ashamed to admit.
Prissy Matthews should stick to his LARDBALL show....but even then, he’ll never know when he may have to back down from a challenge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuBnlNjZq24
The way we come up with the strongest candidate is to spot and eliminate the weak and the frauds. Rudy Giuliani is a fraud and is in the process of being eliminated from the race by the people. This man says he is strongly personally opposed to abortion, yet donates money to the filthiest organization on earth, the baby slaughter machine called Planned Parenthood. Do you really want a man like this representing you?
If you take President Bush and strip away his anti-abortion stance, strip away his pro-2nd Amendment stance, strip away his faith and his family values, you then have Rudy Giuliani. No thanks.
Hanover, 50, had been in the headlines lately after announcing she would star in a sexually charged play, The Vagina Monologues. She subsequently canceled her role when the mayor reported he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/05/11/politics/main194350.shtml
I have seen several people say she starred in the role but this seems to indicate she never actually performed. Do you know the correct answer?
There aren’t many politicians who never supported abortion, and most of the politicians that have always been right to life, have other serious flaws that indicate a lack of true conservative philosophy, raising taxes, supporting global warming and campaign finance laws.
it’s not harsh...I think it sounds that way to someone who has let the darkside make plausible excuses in their minds about letting it be legal. It would be good if Rudy had a true awakening as to that fact and admitted it to everyone. Then I think no one could beat him...except maybe Romney.
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