Ready for Rudy? (The cover story in the new American Spectator)

The American Spectator ^ | September 2006 | Deroy Murdock

[PDR]

SNIP...

Giuliani's national appeal has kept his at or near the top of the presidential-preference heap. Gallup found in June that 29 percent of registered Republicans surveyed favored him over Arizona Sen. John McCain, at 25 points, depsite claims that Giuliani is "too liberal" to play way off Broadway.

Is leadership enough? Do Giuliani's policies help or hinder his political future? Could he become the Great Right Hope in 2008? To paraphrase Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York": If he can make it there, can he make it anywhere?

SNIP....

[PDR]

It's on the newsstands now and is well worth ready. It makes the conservative case for Giuliani based on his accomplishments as mayor of New York while pointing out the two areas where he is, for the general conservative coalition, generally weak: abortion and guns.

And there are ways to fix those problems without either side having to surrender on principle.

And I think this is important enough a discussion that I am willing to take the slings and arrows I am certain to get for raising this issue.

[rhombus]

And I think this is important enough a discussion that I am willing to take the slings and arrows I am certain to get for raising this issue.

Man, why don't you just put a target on your head? :-) You are surely going to feel those arrows soon.

[RexBeach]

What mayor of any major American city ever made it to high national political office?

The only one I can think of is Hubert Humphrey. He was mayor of Minneapolis.

Thoughts?

[rhombus]

What mayor of any major American city ever made it to high national political office?

Teddy Roosevelt?

[RKV]

HHH was a US Senator before he was VP.

[PatriotEdition]

I am from Long Island, so being outside the 5 bouroughs, I never voted for Rudy or had the chance to. I do like the way he cleaned up NYC after the mess David Dinkins left him with. He's tough on criminals.

Yes, his stance on abortion and guns (and gay marriage for that matter) are liberal and that's what I don't like about him. I think abortion is the most important thing. If a candidate is not prolife, I don't want him. I hate to say it, because I do like Rudy, but his abortion thing is what ruins it for me.

It's like having a nice, sizzling serloin steak......... and putting ketchup on it.

Billy Kess

[BunnySlippers]

PING!!!

[BunnySlippers]

Go Rudy Go!
And he can win!!!

[Shermy]

It's Rudy by default.

He's not a sanctimonious backstabber like McCain and Hagel.

Doesn't say stupid things like Allen.

Isn't under investigation like Frist.

Doesn't pimp for the illegal immigration lobby like Pence.

Who else is there?

[RexBeach]

Police Commish. I don't think TR was a mayor of NYC.

[rhombus]

I think Bush handled the issue well. He said he was for life and sought to "change people's hearts". He then focussed on appointing judges that would strictly interpret the Constitution which means decisions like R v. W wouldn't happen.

[tkathy]

Hopefully Rudy could make guns and abortion a state's rights issue, which is where these issues belong.

[Spiff]

The Real Rudy Giuliani:

• Pro-abortion - He even opposes banning partial birth murder.
• Anti-2nd Amendment - supports gun grabbing legislation including the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapon Ban
• Pro-big government - amassed unprecedented debt as Mayor of NYC
• Pro-radical gay agenda
  

  - Supports gay marriage
  - Attended every gay pride parade in NYC while mayor (even one in 1992 that included a NAMBLA contingent of pedophile activists)
  - Has received many awards from radical gay groups
  - Attends and supports many functions and fund-raisers held by radical gay organizations (even did a cross dressing act at Pride Agenda fund-raiser)

• Pro-illegal immigration - said no one in New York City is going to assist the federal government with the enforcement of immigration law, sued Feds in 1997 to be able to ignore immigration law, lost in court, vowed to ignore law anyway
• Endorses liberal Democrat candidates over Republicans - endorsed liberal Dem Mario Cuomo over Republican George Pataki in NY Governor's race
• Ran for NYC Mayor in 1994 on Liberal Party ticket. Appointed Liberal Party State Chair to a Deputy Mayor position. Endorsed 3 times by the Liberal Party for his liberal views.
• Holds many other liberal views
• Republican In Name Only - opposes many major planks of the GOP Platform

Read more about Giuliani's liberal positions here and here.

Some people want Republicans to ignore his liberalism on almost every issue and, as a distraction, they try to pretend that Rudy is fiscally conservative. Again, his record shows that he isn't fiscally conservative either:

According to an article in The Nation from 2002:

It's now apparent that Giuliani purchased the city's good times partially with borrowed money and left his successor, Mike Bloomberg, holding a bag of debt. New York City went from a $3 billion budget surplus in 1998 to a $4.5 billion deficit after Giuliani left office. This mismanagement of prosperity is a big part of his legacy. Giuliani left the city's finances in a mess...

Here are some things Giuliani did as Mayor that were NOT anywhere near being fiscally conservative:

• New York City went from a $3 billion budget surplus in 1998 to a $4.5 billion deficit after Giuliani left office.
  
• Added 25,000 government employees patronage hires to the city's payroll after promising to cut the work force.
  
• Giuliani's borrowing practices increased the city's debt burden by 50 percent.
  
• Partly because of Giuliani, New York City is now the biggest debtor in the nation outside of the federal government with $42 billion in loans outstanding.
  

According to the article from The Nation:

During the 1960s Giuliani was a self-described "Robert Kennedy Democrat." He identified with RFK as a liberal Catholic prosecutor. He volunteered for RFK's 1968 presidential campaign while he was a student at NYU Law School. Giuliani also voted for George McGovern in 1972. During the liberal 1960s, he was a liberal.

But in 1975 Giuliani switched his party registration from Democrat to Independent when he got a job in Gerald Ford's Justice Department, according to his mentor Harold "Ace" Tyler.

On December 8, 1980, Giuliani changed his registration from Independent to Republican. This was one month after Ronald Reagan's election, and just as he was applying for a top job in the Justice Department.

So, to sum that up:

• Liberal Democrat until 1975
• Worked as volunteer for Democrat Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign.
• Voted for liberal George McGovern.
• Liberal Independent from 1975-1980.
• Did not register as a Republican until 1980 and only AFTER Ronald Reagan was elected and because he was applying for a top job in the administration.

He's a liberal. He's not even in the same building as conservative. He's only a Republican because...and this comes from his own mother, Helen Giuliani:

"He only became a Republican after he began to get all these jobs from them. He's definitely not a conservative Republican. He thinks he is, but he isn't..."

And as John Hawkins put it in an excellent article in Human Events:

Despite all of his charisma and the wonderful leadership he showed after 9/11, Rudy Giuliani is not a Reagan Republican. To the contrary, Giuliani is another Christie Todd Whitman, another Arlen Specter, another Olympia Snowe. He's a throwback to the "bad old days" before Reagan, when the GOP was run by moderate Country Club Republicans who considered conservatives to be extremists. Trying to revive that failed strategy again is likely to lead to a Democratic President in 2008 and numerous setbacks for the Republican Party.

[rhombus]

I just checked. You are correct. Roosevelt ran and came in third. Coolidge was a mayor but he was a Governor after that.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I admire Rudy, except for his stance on abortion and his non-committment to marriage. Those are 2 really big hurdles for him to reach the religious conservatives.

Like it, or not, the Republicans MUST keep the religious conservatives in their fold in order to win in 2008.

Yet, if the choice is between Rudy and Hillary, I will be rushing to the polls to vote for Rudy, even though I consider myself a religious conservative.

[BunnySlippers]

Do you have a link for this article?

[Jake The Goose]

Free Republic's own poll.

If Romney, McCain, and Giuliani were the only names on the ballot for the GOP 2008 nomination, whom would you vote for?

Giuliani
45.5%

Romney
28.4%

Sit it out
21.3%

McCain
- WHO CARES - 4% voted for him to just go away

[rit]

Anyone remember during the cleanup process when suddenly there were curtains put up to prevent gawkers from seeing what was being removed? I think rudy said it was for privacy of those that had come to mourn. That was right about the same time they moved the gold. He said it with such a straight face. Gotta love the man.

[since 1854]

Yes, TR was Police Commissioner of NYC, but not Mayor. Grover Cleveland was Mayor of Buffalo, is that city major enough?

[Jake The Goose]