[NormsRevenge]

Rudy Giuliani, left, and his wife Judy Nathan pose for a photographer after the inaugural fundraiser of the 2006 election cycle for his political action committee, Solutions America PAC's for in New York in this June 13, 2006. National polls have consistently found Giuliani leading for the GOP presidential nomination, and early surveys in key states show him ahead or competitive. Giuliani travels to one important state, New Hampshire, the weekend of Jan. 27-78, 2007, where he is scheduled to give the keynote address at the state GOP's annual meeting. (AP Photo/Shiho Fukada, File)

[FairOpinion]

Let's see Rudy or Hillary, Rudy or Hillary, Rudy or Hillary -- what a tough choice for a conservative. (/sarc)

[BunnySlippers]

Very nice.
Go Rudy Go!

[onyx]

But history has never presented us with someone whose favorability numbers are as high as Rudy's."

And there you have it. He is very well liked.

[Jrabbit]

I like Rudy...

[kinoxi]

I think his pictures in drag might have something to do with that.

[weegee]

When you ask "CAN" this person do the job, Rudy can, Hillary and Obama don't have the experience.

Then it comes to politics. His divorces are considered a "negative". McCain has more negatives.

I'd like a solid conservative myself but don't know if we will see one take the national stage for 2008. I think that Rudy has a shot. Winning isn't everything, I agree. But Carter showed us how much damage can be done in 4 years as President. We can be picking up the pieces for generations.

Ultimately, while I am against abortion, I don't see the President's position on the issue to be of highest priority. The Supreme Court is not infallible and I do not see the issue being settled by judicial nomination. It is going to require a Constitutional amendment to clarify the protection of life (such an amendment could also address cloning and genetic screening as pretext for discrimination in employment and insurance, for example).

[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.

[Talking_Mouse]

The former mayor's support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control conflict with the hard-line positions of the GOP's right.

He is a gun grabber who thinks it's okey to kill babies in the womb. Even for small government and tough on crime, I don't know if I can support someone who wants to take away my guns AND who can't recognize that abortion is murder.

[aynrandfreak]

Note to conservatives. AP is the one trashing Rudy. They don't want conservatives to vote for him because they know he's the best chance we've got to take the White House. This is just like when the Drive-by media did everything they could to keep conservatives home this past November.

[baubau]

Two virtues that define Rudy: indefatigable and Mr. Teflon. The latter reminds me of Ronald Reagan.

I could vote for him, but I'll wait it out until a real conservative comes along.

[Xenophon450]

And so the Rudy propaganda blitz continues...

[Salvation]

Bump.

[PGalt]

You think Rudy is a tough sell to Conservatives? Wait until you see what we do with Hillary!

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Impossible sell.

[narses]

I’m pro-choice. I’m pro-gay rights, Giuliani said. He was then asked whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortions. “No, I have not supported that, and I don’t see my position on that changing,” he responded. Source: CNN.com, “Inside Politics” Dec 2, 1999 http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Rudy_Giuliani_Abortion.htm

ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES (November 14, 2006)

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: I'm pro- choice. I'm pro-gay rights.

KING: Giuliani supports a woman's right to an abortion, and back in 1999, he opposed a federal ban on late-term abortions.

GIULIANI: No, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing.

KING: Immigration could be another presidential landmine. Back in 1996, Mayor Giuliani went to federal court to challenge new federal laws requiring the city to inform the federal government about illegal immigrants.

JEFFREY: He took the side of illegal immigrants in New York City against the Republican Congress.

KING: Giuliani opposes same-sex marriage but as mayor, he supported civil unions and extending health and other benefits to gay couples. He also supported the assault weapons ban and other gun control measures opposed by the National Rifle Association.

GIULIANI: I'm in favor of gun control. I'm pro-choice.

Republican Big-Wigs Support Pro-Abortion Event in NY

Pro-abortion Governor George Pataki and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also supports unrestricted abortion, are co-chairs of the 2000 Choice Award Presentation to be held on May 30 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. The event is sponsored by the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition, a group that is campaigning for the removal of the pro-life plank from the Republican National Platform.


http://www.nationalreview.com/murdock/murdock200503010743.asp

[TheLion]

Rudy is a leader. I even read his book on leadership. I hope he will come out and tell us where he stands on these issues, Should he get the nomination, I will back him all the way. Sure better than a possible Hillary.

[garylmoore]

I hate to say this, but I think that I would vote for McCain first.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Good heavens, did no one think to ping you to this thread ? ;-)

[prisoner6]

Conservatives are between a rock and a hard place and it's because the one thing we NEVER do is groom a strong canditate ahead of time.

I don't like htis any better than any other conservative but here's what I think we have to do. Quit the infighting and support a Rudy/Romney ticket. At least Rudy has proved that he's a leader. Romeny will appeal to "moderates" of both persuasions, and would help make an eventual transition to a conservative candidate easier.

Then while we endure a RINO Rudy presidency, maybe even a Romney administration, we get together and find a strong conservative candidate to run in the next available cycle.

Of course this all assumes things remain pretty much status quo globally and economically in the US.

FWIW In typing this I just noticed a Rudy/Romney ticket is RR, not that they come close to The Man. I've been watching RR clips on YouTube overnight, especially the tributes and the ones with his "Tear down this wall" speech.

Good Lord I miss The Gipper...

prisoner6

[highlander_UW]

Is it REALLY too much to ask for the republicans to nominate a solid conservative? Must they continually provide choices that we have to vote for as the lesser of two evils?