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GOD, GUNS, AND ABORTION (AND RUDY GIULIANI). Peter J. Boyer's examination of Rudy Giuliani's surprisingly successful bid for conservative voters is a pretty interesting read. It starts off in South Carolina:
The lobby opens at either end to the state’s two legislative chambers, which, in March, ratified an amendment to the state constitution that bans not only gay marriage but gay civil unions. That month, the state house of representatives also passed a bill requiring any woman considering abortion to reflect upon an ultrasound image of the fetus.It was here that Rudolph Giuliani, New York’s thrice-married, anti-gun, pro-gay, pro-choice former mayor, found himself one morning in April, in what appeared to be a critical moment in his young campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination. The previous day, during a campaign stop in Florida, he was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash if he supported the public funding of abortions. Giuliani seemed flustered by the question and finally answered, “If that’s the status of the law, I would, yes.”
So how does that play in one of the most conservative states in the nation? Well, not so badly:
Giuliani finally arrived, and after a few remarks he asked for questions from the gathering. When the subject of public funding of abortion came up, Giuliani did not invoke Louis Lefkowitz. He said he knew that many people would disagree with his position on abortion and other social issues. “But what I ask them to do if they disagree is to take a look at my whole record and see if, in the context of my whole record, I still wouldn’t be the best person to lead the country right now, given the threat we have from terrorism.” Here he paused and added, “And, I think, given the threat we have from Democrats.” The audience laughed. Giuliani went on, “Which is not the same thing.” The audience laughed again. “The Democrats will lead us to more socialism-type solutions to our problems.”
The obvious change of subject -- "My abortion views? Uh, Democrats are socialists" -- is pretty staggering. Yet a lot of people it's addressed to seem not to mind. And Boyer is probably right as to why:
To conservatives, pre-Giuliani New York was a study in failed liberalism, a city that had surrendered to moral and physical decay, crime, racial hucksterism, and ruinous economic pathologies. Perhaps the most common words that Giuliani heard when he travelled around the country this spring were epithets aimed at his city (“a crime-infested cesspool,” one Southern politician declared), offered without fear of giving offense. Giuliani cheerfully agreed.
There are similarities here between Giuliani's New York City and Mitt Romney's Massachusetts (this election's theme of GOP guy runs against his former constituency is pretty odd, when you think about it). While NYC without Rudy is thought of by some as a bastion of racialized crime, Massachusetts without Mitt is thought to be a crazy liberal commune where Michael Dukakis and Ted Kennedy are considered moderates. They did what they had to do to get by there and made liberal places relatively more conservative than they were beforehand, so goes the narrative, although Giuliani's situation is somewhat more sinister, bound up as it is in multiple contexts of racism in particular. Not that that hurts him with certain audiences.
But what about the fact that Giuliani is pretty relatively to the left on a broad range of social issues? "What Giuliani needed, perhaps, was a fight," Boyer writes, and he got one with Ron Paul at the debate. When Paul said, "They attack us because we've been over there," Giuliani went livid and interrupted the questioning, referencing 9/11 and bringing the crowd to applause.
And so Rudy Giuliani becomes the favored candidate for president because while guns and abortion are important, so too is God. And if God hates anything more than gun-less men and baby-less women, it's Islamofascism.
--Steven White
COMMENTS (10)
As much as we like to think Republicans are all monsters, Rudy Guliani just doesn't appeal to that many of them. How many months will we have to watch his poll numbers decay and romney's rise before we realize that Guliani isn't likely to be his nominee.
To put it bluntly, he's an asshole. The nation as a whole is a lot less forgiving for that than NYC is. His rudeness causes people to like him less and less the more they know him.
Posted by: soullite | August 13, 2007 12:31 PM
But what about the fact that Giuliani is pretty relatively to the left on a broad range of social issues?
Just because Giuliani isn't afraid of gays and doesn't care about abortion doesn't put him on the left on social issues. He's proven quite willing to nominate judges who'll abolish Roe v. Wade, he embraces police-state tactics and he's a hard core supporter of Bush's torture policy.
Posted by: Jinchi | August 13, 2007 1:30 PM
"How many months will we have to watch his poll numbers decay and romney's rise before we realize that Guliani isn't likely to be his nominee."
I think there is something to the idea that "Guiliani cleaned up NY" appeals to social conservatives who would like to clean up America. But, I do think it will be Romney in the end because he's such a Ken-bot, as in "Barbie and," after which he will wax lyrical about his business experience and the American economy. He really can win the general election.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 13, 2007 1:37 PM
The key word is "relatively." Giuliani is no leftie, but compared to a large portion of the GOP, even being comfortable around gay people makes you a relatively liberal Republican on that issue. Which is somewhat depressing.
But Giuliani is of course an opportunist and will appoint whatever judge (or whatever else) is needed to gain a national base.
Posted by: Steven | August 13, 2007 1:43 PM
Ron Paul said the US was attacked because the govenment had been over there for a while. Well, that arguement only makes sense if it is wrong for us to be meddling in other countries.
Of course, we should be making other countries do what we want. We aren't putting billions into spys to count trucks! They need to shape the world.
It is our right and destiny to run the world, both through the UN, through dollar inflation, through covert ops. We are the one.
So, unless Ron Paul can convince me that there is something wrong with doing our destiny of controlling the world, then he is going no where.
Posted by: Bruch | August 13, 2007 2:31 PM
Well it's quite easy to prove why we shouldn't be trying to control the world. Just look at our economic situation. We borrow almost as much as we collect in revenue, and when that doesn't pay the bills we print the money. Just look at the past decade. Salaries have not increased at all and the cost of living has gone way up (IE housing, gas, food, etc). The middle class and poor of this country loses spending power every year while our govt gets bigger and bigger. All empires in history have fallen. They try to control the world and over extend their armies and resources. Rome, England, all of them. If the US continues to be the current world empire it's been it will fail as well.
Posted by: mike | August 13, 2007 2:50 PM
While Rudy can use the coincidence of the 90's economic boom (which improved urban living in large numbers of cities without Rudy as mayor) to claim he cleaned up N.Y., Romney is going to have a tough time saying his four years in Mass (2002-06) had any great effect on that state. The legislature was massively Democratic and routinely overrode his vetoes and he had no coattails to improve the R's prospects. Something tells me that as the primaries approach we will start hearing from some of those MA Republicans about what a empty suit he really was.
Posted by: Col Bat Guano | August 13, 2007 4:48 PM
Sure Giuliani is ok with Gays, but he has shown he can hate Blacks as much as anyone. Shoot an unarmed blackman 45 times? OK with Rudy! To pretend that doesn't help him in South Carolina is naive. boyer dances around the issue but never addresses it (at least what I skimmed, 16 pages about Rudy is alot).
Posted by: Rob | August 13, 2007 9:45 PM
"Something tells me that as the primaries approach we will start hearing from some of those MA Republicans about what a empty suit he really was."
Emptier is better. They can project onto him whatever they want.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 13, 2007 9:52 PM
Rudy Rudy help me. I'm scared and I cant think for myself. I can't defend myself either because the state took my guns away. If the muslims find out that I am free, I think they will come here to hurt me. Oh no!! Please Rudy invade our privacy and take our liberty. Do what ever you have to to stop the bad men. What good is liberty if you can't keep us safe from guns, drugs, religion, speech, assembly, foreigners, the press, and even our selves. Oh Rudy, trash the constitution. I want you to search me and I want you to sieze me. I want you to violate me and tell me I might be dangerous. OOOOh that makes feel safe and secure. If you won't fight the freedom haters then maybe Mitt will. But I'm not sure if Mitt could be a good President because he is a Morman. Seriously, if you believe that Morman crap then you will believe anything... and I've got some land to sell you...
The Neocons with their war mongering are the problem. The Democrats are not the answer. Find a candidate who would legalize to right of citizens to fight the enemy using gorilla tactics. After all, this is a gorilla style war isn't it. Legalize the constitution and the right to bear actual formidable arms with teeth. I know a few retired army rangers, navy seals, and special forces folks who could win this war in one week if the price was right and the government allowed civilians to own significant weaponry. I'm not joking. Vote for freedom 2008 or watch the next generation of 18 year olds get drafted.
Posted by: Tragic Youth for Freedom | August 13, 2007 10:00 PM