Posted on 05/16/2007 6:11:22 AM PDT by GMMAC
Giuliani's words have hollow ring
Presidential hopeful keeps flip-flopping
Steven Edwards, National Post
Published: Wednesday, May 16, 2007
With flip-flopping a sure way to ensure rejection at the polls, what's a presidential candidate to do when his political record clashes with the bedrock beliefs of the party he seeks to represent?
Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, is taking on the Republican rank-and-file when he asks them to nominate him despite his refusal to renounce his support for abortion.
He claims this shows he has the courage to state his views frankly, regardless of their popularity.
It's a strategy rooted in the premise that people are tired of nuanced answers from politicians and prefer a straight shooter -- even if they don't entirely agree with him.
In fact, Giuliani is showing less steel than if he had simply declared himself against abortion in line with essential Republican party thinking.
Like many abortion supporters, he reconciles the fact that it involves eliminating a life by saying that while he is opposed to abortion personally, he believes in a woman's right to it as a family planning option.
Of course, it all comes down to weighing the right to life of an unborn child against the right of a woman to make choices about her body.
For abortion supporters, the less developed the life in the womb, the easier it is to deny it rights that override the mother's.
Until ultrasound imaging shows a clear human form, it's easy to forget that something more than cellular fusion has taken place.
By saying he is "personally" against abortion, Giuliani clearly accepts the argument that life begins at conception. He must also believe the extension of that argument -- that the fetus at this stage has the same right to life as any human.
Giuliani is therefore being disingenuous when he recently asked Republicans to "respect" him for "telling? the truth."
If he were truly honest about where he stands, he would admit he seeks a free pass on the abortion issue so that he can pander to abortion supporters.
His message not only falls short of the truth-- which would reflect his convictions -- it contradicts the line promoted by both him and his supporters that his position on abortion is clear and free of variation.
He's on record as saying abortion is an "issue of conscience" and a decision to have one is a matter of "personal choice."
But he has also shown he's indifferent to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in the United States.
"It would be OK to repeal," he said during the first debate between Republican hopefuls.
"It would be OK if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent," he added, using a conservative-friendly adjective that describes judges who feel obliged to uphold only the specified rights in the U.S. Constitution.
Such wavering is inconsistent with the principles Giuliani champions in his book Leadership, a central one being strong self-definition.
And how can he claim to be adhering to the truth when, in his mind, there are several versions of it on this issue?
Giuliani's brand of Republicanism -- conservative on fiscal and security matters but socially liberal -- was always going to be problematic nationally, though it earned him the maximum two terms as mayor in Democraticleaning New York.
As campaigning continues, he will face increasing questions from the Republican right over his liberal stances on several other issues, such as gay rights and gun control.
There's also his tumultuous domestic life.
He's married to his third wife, and has a difficult relationship with his two children, reportedly because of their dislike for their current stepmother, also in her third marriage.
Opponents of all political stripes will attack him over his former close association with his last police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, who last year pleaded guilty to misdemeanour ethics violations.
Giuliani's bid to take on the Republican party over abortion rights contrasts with the approach of fellow presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, a Mormon.
While Romney declared himself pro-abortion when running for state senator and later governor in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, he has now flipped back to his earlier antiabortion position.
While Giuliani's wavering is far from Romney's credibilitydeficient about-turns, his claim that his determination to stick to his convictions makes him a strong leader rings hollow.
© National Post 2007
Here is a quandry. Inasmuch as the forum is in text, it would be quite impossible for me to "mouth" anything. But then, the proper analogy wouldn't be "type" because "mouth" implies a lack of sound and I can assure you that what I typed indeed appeared right there on the screen.
What would your years of study and your profound intellect suggest in this situation?
I really don’t feel good about matching wits with you, an unarmed man.
Since you asked, I would suggest a psychoanalyst, Prozac, and a beer.
When the shrink holds up those little ink blots?, don't say Rudy to each of them.
No, the cliches don't work so well for you, unfortunately. But I admire the attempt. You are clearly working very hard at this and I must give you the A for effort, at least.
It takes some practice to perfect the backhanded complement. It's really what separates the champion from the amateur. If I may continue the tennis analogy, so many think they are professionals if they can master the serve, but the game is won in the volley. Or, more effectively, in making your opponent turn to one side and then, quickly, the other.
At some point, he simply becomes tired over the long game.
Sad, really.
A Pro-life position is not my only requirement for a candidate. But it is my first requirement.
Indeed.
And for me?
Yada, yada, yada. Why don’t you return to the DU forum and bash Jerry Falwell, or to the DNC and promote your candidate, Rudy Giuliani?
Ah, that was for you because you asked me what I would suggest.
You may need an extra beer, though
“Giuliani Up, McCain Up, Romney Down, and Ron Paul Out — Way Out”
Check out Byron York’s take at NRO.
And so it always happens when pearls are cast before such a lot. A pity, but predictable nonetheless.
Gotta watch that stuff...... saying nutsy-cuckoo things like that to a shrink could alert the men in the white coats. And for heaven's sakes, try not to say:
"Rudy, Tudy, he's my man,
If he can't beat 'em, nobody can."
Course, lotta the Rooty Rooter wideawake types been sipping stuff that makes their brains freeze. Now, because I am so nice, I am giving 'em a friendly warning:
WARNING TO WIDEAWAKES Two or three No-Doze tablets washed down with a six-pack of this
can affect cognitive ability (if you ever had one).
You have become a drolling worthless sound.
Here......(sob).
I don’t recall casting any pearls before you. Say, are you one of those “posse clowns”?
It’s so cute. Seeing you try so hard.
Damn Liz - you have seem my hat collection.
I had the tooth fixed however.
Ah. No, in fact, I am not. I do not mock people behind their backs, I do it right to their (virtual) face. Even if they do not realize how badly they are being mocked.
LOL———love ya, baby.
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