Conservative think tank lends helping hand to Giuliani

Monterey Herald ^ | March 29, 2007 | William Douglas

[FairOpinion]

In his drive to be the first politician to go from City Hall to the White House, Republican Rudolph Giuliani is being schooled on issues by a conservative think tank that helped him dramatically reshape New York City's public policy during his mayoralty.

Giuliani is once again leaning on the expertise of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative brain factory. It was founded nearly 30 years ago by Antony Fisher, who was a mentor to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a friend to Reagan administration CIA chief William Casey.

Before Giuliani's first successful mayoral run in 1993, he sat through hundreds of hours of seminars set up by institute members, where he embraced a "zero-tolerance" approach to crime and a tough-love welfare policy that became hallmarks of his administration.

Giuliani says the new approach contributed to the huge crime drop that New York experienced while he was mayor. Homicides in the city plummeted from 1,927 in 1993 to 671 in 2000, according to FBI statistics. Major crimes - which include aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, rape - fell by 57 percent

Fans of the institute say it lives up to its motto of "Turning Intellect into Influence" by forcefully advocating a conservative free-market agenda of tax cuts, privatization, school choice and strict law enforcement - and by aligning itself with rising political stars such as Giuliani to carry it out.

[FairOpinion]

This should also please conservatives.

[Pox]

Not a chance in hell. RINO Rudy should never be allowed in the White House, IMO.

A vote for RINO Rudy is a vote for liberalism.

[FairOpinion]

Rudy ping.


"In his drive to be the first politician to go from City Hall to the White House, Republican Rudolph Giuliani is being schooled on issues by a conservative think tank that helped him dramatically reshape New York City's public policy during his mayoralty.

Giuliani is once again leaning on the expertise of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative brain factory. It was founded nearly 30 years ago by Antony Fisher, who was a mentor to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a friend to Reagan administration CIA chief William Casey."

[TitansAFC]

---"The Manhattan Institute has grown to a 25-scholar operation with a $12 million budget and a reputation for using New York City as a laboratory for its ideas."---

25 people? Wow!

All current New Yorkers, too. I'm shocked!

[FairOpinion]

I guess you don't let the facts stand in the way of your opinions, even if that will put Hillary into the White House.

You don't care how many conservatives endorse and support him -- even with shaping his approach towards conservatism.

[Sonny M]

This is pretty sad. He actually needs to learn "conservatism"?

Granted, thats just the tone the article gives off, he does know conservatism, he just disagrees with it on all social issues and agrees with Hillary and Obama on social issues.

I can't vote for him, because there are just to many issues where I disagree with him and since he has the same stance as liberals on those issues, there would be no point voting for him then.

[NeoCaveman]

and strict law enforcement -

Except for Immigration Law

Just ask Tamar Jacoby of the Manhattan Institute.

[FairOpinion]

"Giuliani is once again leaning on the expertise of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative brain factory. It was founded nearly 30 years ago by Antony Fisher, who was a mentor to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a friend to Reagan administration CIA chief William Casey. "

[sageb1]

"Giuliani is being schooled on issues by a conservative think tank"

reprogrammed?

[indylindy]

It a damn shame he has to be schooled in how to fool conservatives. Is he going to renounce and apologize for being a big ole RINO?

Maybe they are going to "man school" him.

[Peach]

Great news. They gave him good advice during his term as Mayor. They focus primarily on domestic and urban issues, so I wonder who he'll turn to regarding national security?

[mikeus_maximus]

Remind not to give flip for anything this "conservative" think tank every says again.

[WakeUpAndVote]

"Giuliani is being schooled on issues by a conservative think tank"

reprogrammed?

____________

Wasn't this what Al Gore (manbearpig) had done to him back in 2000 by the libs?

[ex-snook]

Maybe you mean a neo-con thinkless tank.

[TitansAFC]

---"You don't care how many conservatives endorse and support him -- even with shaping his approach towards conservatism."---

Good, then you accept the facts:

1.) Rudy's own team confesses serious problems getting Conservatives on board for the "ground game."

2.) A whole lot of SoCons and Gun Conservatives will work for his defeat (not Hillary's victory, Rudy's defeat) in the General Election if Liberals like yourself are successful in forcing an abhorrent candidate upon Conservatives.

3.) You see Hillary as much worse than Rudy - YOU DO. That does not mean that WE DO. He's not much better than Hillary at ALL, and the damage he would do to the Conservative movement in this country actually makes him the preferred losing candidate in a Rudy vs. Hitlery matchup in 2008 (or should I say Tag-Team instead of matchup?).

4.) You may not care that he lies, flip-flops, and holds staunchly Liberal views. It is probably the reason you support him. But many of us do care.

5.) You will meet with no more success selling Rudy to those of us who FEAR him as the GOP candidate during a General Election than you are having now during the primaries. You may dream that everyone will suddenly see what a stalwart, historic, unwavering Super-Conservative Rudy is (and suddenly see how ALL of our issues don't matter at ALL anymore), and come rushing to his rescue all for the virtue of his Authoritative leadership instead of Hillary, but it WILL NOT HAPPEN.

5.) Conservatives aren't supporting Rudy. That's why every time there is anyone even marginally Conservative who announces support for Rudy, there is a Press Conference, mass of blog postings at Conservative websites, and parades down Madison Avenue with Rudy in a float. "LOOK THERE"S A CONSERVATIVE IN AMERICA SUPPORTING RUDY, WOO-HOO!!!!!

6.) There will be few greater days in the HISTORY of the Conservative movement than the day that Rudy Giuliani is forced to waste his time going to the GOP Convention (remember how he said this?) to endorse the ticket of two Republicans who aren't him in 2008.

7.) Liberals like yourself will never have a candidate Liberal enough for you in the GOP. So why do you purists persist at Free Republic?

[dirtboy]

Giuliani is once again leaning on the expertise of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative brain factory

Heather MacDonald is one of the most well-known members of the Manhattan Insititute. Here's what she had to say about NYC's sanctuary city policy that Rudy championed:

http://www.city-journal.org/html/14_1_the_illegal_alien.html

Immigration politics have similarly harmed New York. Former mayor Rudolph Giuliani sued all the way up to the Supreme Court to defend the city’s sanctuary policy against a 1996 federal law decreeing that cities could not prohibit their employees from cooperating with the INS. Oh yeah? said Giuliani; just watch me. The INS, he claimed, with what turned out to be grotesque irony, only aims to “terrorize people.” Though he lost in court, he remained defiant to the end. On September 5, 2001, his handpicked charter-revision committee ruled that New York could still require that its employees keep immigration information confidential to preserve trust between immigrants and government. Six days later, several visa-overstayers participated in the most devastating attack on the city and the country in history.

New York conveniently forgot the 1996 federal ban on sanctuary laws until a gang of five Mexicans—four of them illegal—abducted and brutally raped a 42-year-old mother of two near some railroad tracks in Queens. The NYPD had already arrested three of the illegal aliens numerous times for such crimes as assault, attempted robbery, criminal trespass, illegal gun possession, and drug offenses. The department had never notified the INS.

[FairOpinion]

TitanAFC: "3.) You see Hillary as much worse than Rudy - YOU DO. That does not mean that WE DO. He's not much better than Hillary at ALL, and the damage he would do to the Conservative movement in this country actually makes him the preferred losing candidate in a Rudy vs. Hitlery matchup in 2008 (or should I say Tag-Team instead of matchup?)."

Thank you for admitting your support for Hillary. Anybody who doesn't think Hillary is the worst thing, the very worst thing that can happen to this country and isn't actively trying to prevent it, IS NO CONSERVATIVE. PERIOD.

[TitansAFC]

---"Thank you for admitting your support for Hillary. Anybody who doesn't think Hillary is the worst thing, the very worst thing that can happen to this country and isn't actively trying to prevent it, IS NO CONSERVATIVE. PERIOD"---

You're a fraud, LiberalOpinion.

Nobody has ANY legitimacy to even COMMENT on anyone else's Conservatism when they, like yourself, have come out in favor of the single most Liberal Republican Presidential candidate in history - during the PRIMARIES.

You're a Liberal pushing a Liberal, you think that crying "Clinton" excuses your Liberal-pushing. It doesn't.

[ClaireSolt]

I am impressed with this outfit and enjoy their website. phttp://www.city-journal.org

[azhenfud]

All we need to go along with this article is that pic of the pig in lipstick.

[FairOpinion]

Giuliani Top Choice Among Both Moderate, Conservative Republicans

http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=26911


80% of conservatives have a favorable opinion of Giuliani.

[KATIE-O]

Before Giuliani's first successful mayoral run in 1993, he sat through hundreds of hours of seminars set up by institute members, where he embraced a "zero-tolerance" approach to crime and a tough-love welfare policy that became hallmarks of his administration.

Giuliani says the new approach contributed to the huge crime drop that New York experienced while he was mayor. Homicides in the city plummeted from 1,927 in 1993 to 671 in 2000, according to FBI statistics. Major crimes - which include aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, rape - fell by 57 percent




I like the way Rudy Giuliani approaches problems, gets advice from many reputable sources then ATTACKS the issue head on.

Go Rudy!

[gesully]

You people are nuts. You'll go down the tubes with someone who cannot get elected like Duncan Hunter (Duncan who?) on issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc and let Hillary get elected who, no don't tell me, is pro choice and supports homo marriages. The real issues are taxes, the war on terror, immigration and judge nominations. If Rudy is the nominee he will be strong on those things.

Or you can just not vote and we'll end up with a POS like the Congress we have now because people stayed home.

[dirtboy]

The real issues are taxes, the war on terror, immigration and judge nominations. If Rudy is the nominee he will be strong on those things.

Let's see how your first statement meshes with your second statement.

Taxes: Rudy opposed the flat tax and opposed repealing the NYC commuter tax.

War on terror - Rudy pushed a corrupt crony for the most important anti-terror job in the country.

Immigration: Rudy defied federal law and federal court orders to protect NYC's sanctuary city policy, and favors shamnesty and a virtual fence instead of a real one.

Judges: Almost all of the judges Rudy appointed as mayor were liberals.

Four strikes. Rudy's OUT! By your own standards. And we haven't even gotten into his pro-abort, pro-gun-control, pro-CFR, pro-gay-rights and pro-global warming positions. Nine strikes!

[KATIE-O]

Conservatives aren't supporting Rudy. That's why every time there is anyone even marginally Conservative who announces support for Rudy, there is a Press Conference, mass of blog postings at Conservative websites, and parades down Madison Avenue with Rudy in a float. "LOOK THERE"S A CONSERVATIVE IN AMERICA SUPPORTING RUDY, WOO-HOO!!!!!

6.) There will be few greater days in the HISTORY of the Conservative movement than the day that Rudy Giuliani is forced to waste his time going to the GOP Convention (remember how he said this?) to endorse the ticket of two Republicans who aren't him in 2008.

7.) Liberals like yourself will never have a candidate Liberal enough for you in the GOP. So why do you purists persist at Free Republic?






Rudy Haters love to make up "stuff" just so they can vent. You are wrong about conservatives not supporting Rudy Giuliani:



....Dick Morris
excerpt of article dated March 29, 2007

The most recent Gallup polling still reflects broad support for Rudy. Not only is he leading among moderate Republicans, but he has a strong lead among conservatives as well. These data belie the contention of some commentators who say that when voters learn that Giuliani is pro-life, pro-gun control, and pro-gay civil unions that they will turn off his candidacy in droves. Despite extensive publicity of Rudy’s positions on these issues, he is holding a big lead among conservatives.

Giuliani leads McCain among self-described moderate Republicans by 48-26, but also leads among conservative GOP voters by 38-20, both very significant margins:

Republican Vote By Ideology

Moderate Conservatives

Giuliani 48% 38%
McCain 26% 20%
Romney 3% 8%
Gingrich 2% 14%

Source: Gallup poll
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=26911

Why the lead for Rudy among conservatives? Terrorism is the key conservative issue these days and, on that, he measures up to right wing expectations just fine. Even though Giuliani disappoints many on the right with his social positions, his toughness in dealing with terrorists attracts broad admiration.

Rudy is also increasingly seen as the most likely Republican to defeat Hillary Clinton. All the matchups featured in news media showing him ahead in key states like Florida and Pennsylvania also bolster his standing on the right.

Giuliani’s strong showing among conservatives could, as mentioned above, be seriously challenged by Fred Thompson, based on his true-blue conservative credentials.

[stillonaroll]

The real issues are taxes, the war on terror, immigration and judge nominations.

Rudy just said he's not supportive of a border fence.

Rudy is pro-abortion, pro-gay and anti-gun. Wouldn't his judicial nominations reflect that philosophy?

[stillonaroll]

...Anybody who doesn't think Hillary is the worst thing, the very worst thing that can happen to this country and isn't actively trying to prevent it, IS NO CONSERVATIVE. PERIOD.

Perhaps Hillary is the worst thing that could happen to this country (Hussein Obama wouldn't be the "worstest"?), but she'd be only marginally worse than Rudy.

[Pox]

And I'm of the opinion that you and yours are psychotic and delusional to believe that RINO Rudy will not continue his liberal record once you've put him in the WH.

Mr. Thompson is the best choice, IMO. But your faction is bound and determined to sell your souls to see that liberal RINO Rudy is nominated. Once that has occurred, don't be surprised when he loses due to apathy from the right that cannot be compensated from the moderate/left pool of voters.

There's still time to see a conservative nominated that can easily defeat the dim nominee, IMO.

[Pox]

LOL, your faction is pitiful, IMO.

[untrained skeptic]

Rudy's approach to fighting crime was more authoritarian than conservative in my opinion.

Despite the way some people like to define conservative, I still think of conservative in the political sense as a small government approach to issues.

Rudy's approach involved the government cracking down. He didn't support people's right to be defend themselves. He supported the government taking stronger control over the populace by enforcing laws more rigidly and consistently.

He actively fought against people's right to bear arms and tried to drive gun companies out of business with liability suits blaming them for the criminal actions of others.

He was more fiscally conservative than the New York Democrats.

He's not really conservative. He's not completely liberal. You can't to use the term fascism without invoking images of Hitler, and Rudy does not have the racist or ultra-nationalist tendencies that are inherent in fascism.

He doesn't easily fit into a category I guess, but he sure isn't conservative.

[Blackirish]

A whole lot of SoCons and Gun Conservatives will work for his defeat (not Hillary's victory, Rudy's defeat) in the General Election

---

Dude...your projecting. What your saying doesn't even make sense. That socons will campaign against Rudy but for no one in the general?

Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

Not one poll has shown that. Rudy's poll numbers have you unhinged.

[JohnnyZ]

come rushing to his rescue all for the virtue of his Authoritative leadership instead of Hillary, but it WILL NOT HAPPEN.

I think you mean Authoritarian.

"Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do" -- Rudy Giuliani

[TitansAFC]

You're not that dumb, so you must be spinning.

1.) Much of the Pro-Life, Pro-gun, pro-borders crowd has NO idea where Rudy stands yet. Every poll show that.

2.) Polls like this get skewed anyway, because FRAUDS like some Rudy supporters go around telling people they are "Conservatives." They're not. Just like I can tell any pollster that I'm an "African American," even though I'm not, just based on my own perception that my ancestors were once from Africa, so I must be. Rudophiles do the same thing - "well, I never called for the Impeachment of George W. Bush, so that must make me a Conservative!"

3.) That same Gallup poll shows him dropping a catastrophic 13 percent in one month. Trend? Since you believe the poll to be accurate, you must recognize that he's in a free-fall, right?

[imahawk]

Why is the rino being schooled by a "conservative" think tank?Answer: He doesnt have core conservative beliefs!Duncan Hunter would not require a"conserative" think tank because: Duncan Hunter is a conservative and doesnt need a script. So sorry roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooody

[freedomfiter2]

Granted, thats just the tone the article gives off, he does know conservatism, he just disagrees with it on all social issues and agrees with Hillary and Obama on social issues.


In all fairness to Rudy, he disagrees with conservatives on some Constitutional issues as well.

[ZULU]

More like "Conservative Sink Tank"

[mysterio]

Did the think tank tell him to stop grabbing guns?

[KATIE-O]

Rudy just said he's not supportive of a border fence.




Being a realist, Rudy is in support of a technological "fence" and so am I. You just can't fence the entire border. Technology has proven to be effective in the areas where it is used on a regular basis.

[KATIE-O]

You people are nuts. You'll go down the tubes with someone who cannot get elected like Duncan Hunter (Duncan who?) on issues like abortion, gay marriage, etc and let Hillary get elected who, no don't tell me, is pro choice and supports homo marriages. The real issues are taxes, the war on terror, immigration and judge nominations. If Rudy is the nominee he will be strong on those things.
Or you can just not vote and we'll end up with a POS like the Congress we have now because people stayed home.




Very logical opinion. Hopefully they will decide they are Republicans first and not allow Hillary to take the White House. The very thought makes me nauseous.

[JohnnyZ]

Did the think tank tell him to stop grabbing guns?

I think they suggested ways to more efficiently disarm the citizenry and supplement tax receipts with fees and fines for firearm possession.

It's part of the 'broken window' strategy, inspired when a grandma shot at a home invader and missed, shattering her bay windows. Rudy siezed her gun, billed her for cleaning up the glass on the sidewalk, and locked her up for attempted murder.

Then he married the guy who broke into her home.



I'm not sure where that story went from fact to fiction. That's the frightening thing.

[JohnnyZ]

Hopefully they will decide they are Republicans first

Silly Katie-o.

I'm Republican for a REASON.

BECAUSE I'm conservative.

BECAUSE I'm Catholic.

Which makes me a Republican 3rd at best.

As a Catholic I cannot and will not vote for Rudy or Romney. As a conservative voting for any of the Rudy McRomney trio is varying degrees of distasteful, though I could get drunk and vote for McCain (still not the other two).

"Republican-first" voters who support candidates who have very little connection to the Republican Party platform.... what is that? How much of an empty-headed fool can one be?

[tumblindice]

"Being a realist, Rudy . . . "

Yeah, you just can't fence the entire border. It's not realistic. And you can't round up all the illegal aliens and deport them, not 12 million or more.
The compassionate conservatives tell us that we can, however, identify our foreign friends for the purpose of sending them home for a little while, and to make sure that they pay a fine and, oh yeah--back taxes, too.
And they plan a rodeo for the purpose of bringing them into our gringo classes to teach them English and US civics. Eager minds anxious to soak up our culture! Si, como no!
And we are told we can supervise them to make sure that all 12-15 million of these unexpected, illegal permanent visitors are complying with these minor pre-conditions to the real goal: reaching the point where we can simply say,
"Ah ta hell with it: All-y all-y in come free!", and then we can brace ourselves for millions more (3 million in `86; 12 million in `06--gee, who knows how many in 10 years?) "undocumented immigrant guest workers", as well as their families--all these new citizens who successfully sneaked/skulked across our border and are currently living in violation of our laws.
We're going to give them citizenship and they are going to vote by gawd Republican. (Or join service unions.)

But it's not realistic--it defies common sense and it's impractical, as well--to have people we pay for the precise purpose (ICE) simply ask them (OK, here's an ID clue: as a rule they have nice tans, are of moderate height, black hair/eyes, tend towards stockiness and speak broken English) for their immigration cards. It's just too tough to deport illegal aliens home, according to law, then start admitting legal workers who follow the rules like legal immigrants from other countries (generally having high school educations and skills, and leprosy-free as well as uninfected with other 3rd world horrors) and enforce USC Code Title 8 as if it were, say, the Internal Revenue Code.

OK, now the 2nd Amendment . . . . Rudy just wants to regulate gun ownership. That's entirely reasonable.
Batteries . . . winding . . . down

[KATIE-O]

Hopefully they will decide they are Republicans first
Silly Katie-o.

I'm Republican for a REASON.

BECAUSE I'm conservative.

BECAUSE I'm Catholic.

Which makes me a Republican 3rd at best.

As a Catholic I cannot and will not vote for Rudy or Romney. As a conservative voting for any of the Rudy McRomney trio is varying degrees of distasteful, though I could get drunk and vote for McCain (still not the other two).

"Republican-first" voters who support candidates who have very little connection to the Republican Party platform.... what is that? How much of an empty-headed fool can one be?




If you want to discuss issues without the bullying and name calling, let me know. And if you can actually vote for a crazy, Kennedy-loving Rino dude like McCain, you should look in the mirror when you ask the question, "how much of an empty headed fool can one be?"


Go Rudy!!

[KATIE-O]

"Being a realist, Rudy . . . "

Yeah, you just can't fence the entire border. It's not realistic. And you can't round up all the illegal aliens and deport them, not 12 million or more.
The compassionate conservatives tell us that we can, however, identify our foreign friends for the purpose of sending them home for a little while, and to make sure that they pay a fine and, oh yeah--back taxes, too.
And they plan a rodeo for the purpose of bringing them into our gringo classes to teach them English and US civics. Eager minds anxious to soak up our culture! Si, como no!
And we are told we can supervise them to make sure that all 12-15 million of these unexpected, illegal permanent visitors are complying with these minor pre-conditions to the real goal: reaching the point where we can simply say,
"Ah ta hell with it: All-y all-y in come free!", and then we can brace ourselves for millions more (3 million in `86; 12 million in `06--gee, who knows how many in 10 years?) "undocumented immigrant guest workers", as well as their families--all these new citizens who successfully sneaked/skulked across our border and are currently living in violation of our laws.
We're going to give them citizenship and they are going to vote by gawd Republican. (Or join service unions.)

But it's not realistic--it defies common sense and it's impractical, as well--to have people we pay for the precise purpose (ICE) simply ask them (OK, here's an ID clue: as a rule they have nice tans, are of moderate height, black hair/eyes, tend towards stockiness and speak broken English) for their immigration cards. It's just too tough to deport illegal aliens home, according to law, then start admitting legal workers who follow the rules like legal immigrants from other countries (generally having high school educations and skills, and leprosy-free as well as uninfected with other 3rd world horrors) and enforce USC Code Title 8 as if it were, say, the Internal Revenue Code.

OK, now the 2nd Amendment . . . . Rudy just wants to regulate gun ownership. That's entirely reasonable.
Batteries . . . winding . . . down





Hope ya feel better now. :)

[Ultra Sonic 007]

You're pushing a liberal in the primaries. THE PRIMARIES.

And you wonder why people are upset?

[FairOpinion]

The purpose of the primaries is to select the person who is most likely to WIN, by BEATING the OPPONENT, NOT to select someone who makes you "feel good" but gets trounced in the general election by the opponent.

Obviously you either haven't figured that out yet, or you are paddling this nonsense to the gullible ones, because you want Hillary to win.

[MEGoody]

Doesn't change my views in the primary. Rudy is just too socially liberal for me.

[FairOpinion]

"Rudy is just too socially liberal for me."

And Hillary won't be, when because of misguided votes we may end up with an unelectable Republican candidate, who gets beaten like a drum by Hillary?

Can't you think two steps ahead and see the obvious?