[TommyDale]

Rudy should have dressed differently

[EagleUSA]

"it's going to be virtually impossible for Giuliani to woo voters who put the Second Amendment and family values as their top issues."
-------
Two of his most unattractive features.

[100-Fold_Return]

If this CNSNEWS is against him--he's a winner!!!!!

[EQAndyBuzz]

The second amendment kills the deal.

I like Rudy but not if he is in favor of taking away my guns.

Then again, McCain wouldn't take away my guns, only the guns of the military.

Gee, do I want to eat cat food or dog food.?

[Wombat101]

"While serving in that post, Giuliani saw his private life become a regular subject of media scrutiny, especially in 2000, when he announced at a press conference that he was seeking a separation from his second wife without first telling her of his decision.

"Despite Giuliani's charm and his obvious leadership abilities, as far as social and cultural issues are concerned, not only his personal life but his public views make him unacceptable," Parro said."

Hmmm, whatever happened to "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?" Oh, I forgot; that pearl of Christian wisdom only applies to people the perpetually-panty-bunched actually like.

My bad, thinking Jesus meant for that to be applied across the board. (/sarc).

[HEY4QDEMS]

Giuliani will only have strong returns in the open primary states, in the closed states, he won't have a prayer IMO.

[Miss Marple]

All I see here is one comment by one Republican Right to Life committee member. It is followed by a long-winded quote by someone from the DNC.

Pretty imaginative headline, when one reads the whole article.

[DTogo]

So the Religious Right doesn't like Rudy, doesn't like Mormon Romney, doesn't like McCain, doesn't like Newt.

Looks like Clinton '08!

[areafiftyone]

((((((Rudy PING)))))

[Noumenon]

Giuliani is a statist. It's as simple as that. He will never be my President.

[popdonnelly]

Say "Hello" to President Hillary.

[BibChr]

Duh.

[TitansAFC]

---"clearly has a lot of good will with Republicans, and his goal should be to shore up his conservative credentials on the issues of federal spending and anti-terrorism,"---

Okay, for the last time:

Being strong on national defense and being fiscally responsible is basic REPUBLICANISM, not CONSERVATISM.

Conservatism is term descriptive of social/moral/cultural right-wingers, individuals, and voters. It applies to issues outside of the basic "social libertarian/fiscal restraint/states' rights" platform that is the basic blueprint for being a generic Republican.

Rudy has no Conservative credentials, none.

And HALLELUJAH for somebody finally saying Rudy is unacceptable, outside of the blogosphere folks like myself!!!! It's about damn time somebody point out his goodwill does not suddenly make him an acceptable candidate outside of NY.

[bushfamfan]

I like Rudy but we're going to need every vote in 2006 and I think Duncan Hunter will be the strongest candidate.

[medscribe]

Just like Reagan was unacceptable in 1980 because he was a divorced man.

[JFC]

This conservative... has no problem with Rudy.

I would vote Rudy for President in a NY minute!

[Izzy Dunne]

If the headline is Giuliani 'Unacceptable' for President, Conservatives Say, then how come the article says: It's unclear whether or not Rudy Giuliani will be able to [ whatevr} " said DNC Communications Director ???

Couldn't they find someone JUST A TEENY BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE than a DNC flak?

[Halls]

I will never vote for a President who is pro abortion!

[TruthWillWin]

Giuliani vrs. H Clinton. Somehow that makes him sound much more acceptable.

[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
  

  - Attended and marched in every gay pride parade in NYC while mayor (even one in 1992 that included a NAMBLA contingent of pedophile activists)
  - Attends and supports many functions and fund-raisers held by radical gay organizations (even did a cross dressing act at Pride Agenda fund-raiser)
  - Openly opposes Constitutional Amendment to protect tradition marriage which is supported by President Bush and the Republican Party Platform.
  - Supported "domestic partner" and "civil union" bills in City Council while mayor of NYC.
  - Submitted Gay "Domestic-Partner" Rights Bill to City Council giving gay and lesbian couples the same benefits reserved for married couples.
  - Said, "I'm proud of it" when referring to the gay "domestic partner" bill he submitted. Said, "National Republicans can lump it if they don't like this new domestic-partners bill...I think it puts New York City ahead of other places in the country."
  - Has received awards from several radical gay agenda organizations who support gay marriage for his support of their cause. Is considered a "champion" of gay "rights."
  - Lived with a gay "married" couple in Manhattan when he moved out of Gracie Mansion during his second divorce.
  - Said that homosexuality is "good and normal"
  

• 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.