The Republican establishment has failed to rally around a candidate in this election. Sam Brownback has endorsed John McCain. Bob Jones III is behind Mitt Romney. The biggest surprise of all came when Pat Robertson announced his support for Rudy Giuliani. Some conservatives were surprised by this, in no small part because they think Giuliani’s nomination would mean a different Republican party.
However, I am convinced that most Republicans will have no problem with him if they really examine his stands on the issues. Anyone happy with George Bush and Ronald Reagan will be happy with Rudy Giuliani.
The issue most preoccupying Republican voters right now is the War on Terrorism. Giuliani’s rhetoric gives us every reason to believe he’ll be just as tough as any of them want. He is on record saying that terrorists “follow a violent ideology: radical Islamic fascism, which uses the mask of religion to further totalitarian goals and aims to destroy the existing international system … The purpose of this fight must be to defeat the terrorists and the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Like diehard neocons, Giuliani is convinced that Iraq is the critical front in the war on terrorism. Although he initially equivocated on the surge — like most other Republican contenders — he has long since backed it. On the stump he goes out of his way to remind us that he will do anything to win it.
To win the war on terrorism, Giuliani will use everything in the Bush toolbox, if not more. He has pointedly refused to rule out using water boarding, and other interrogation techniques widely regarded as torture. When asked about sleep deprivation he demurred, saying that, “They talk about sleep deprivation. I mean, on that theory, I’m getting tortured running for president of the United States. That’s plain silly.”
Similarly any Republican who liked Reagan’s economic policy will be pleased with Giuliani’s. As Mayor of New York, Giuliani cut a plethora of taxes; by the time he left he could take credit for cutting income taxes, sales taxes, and commercial rent taxes among others. All told, the city cut taxes by at least $5.8 billion — or $9 billion if you buy Giuliani’s numbers. Either way, his tax cuts were significant.
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
Good defense of Giuliani. I have to admit that I find him appealing in some ways. I like that he has a sense of humor, and even though I don't agree with him on everything and have my concerns, i think he'd be worth electing just to send a message to the religious right.
Dave
2 - Baronius
Good article, Marcus. I don't think that strict constructionism is a "wink" to the religious right. It's consistent with Giuliani's legal background. In any other race, he'd be called the "law and order" candidate. The idea of Giuliani appointing pro-life judges is ridiculous, but only because the appointments would be more consistent with his platform than his pro-choice position is.
I think the right (of all types) will fall in line behind any Republican candidate. Each candidate has weaknesses, sure, but any of the top four or five is good enough to unite the party.
3 - Dave Nalle
I think the 'top five' currently includes Ron Paul. Is he capable of uniting the party behind him?
Dave
4 - Baronius
Dave - I was thinking that the top five were McCain, Giuliani, Huckabee, Romney, and Thompson. I'm not sure I'm wrong. If Paul is in the top tier (can we finally stop using that term?) he could have difficulty uniting the party.
Romney and Thompson are within the standard Reagan Republican parameters, or at least campaigning that way. McCain and Giuliani have problems with the religious right, but if either of them were winning primaries, I could see the whole party accepting them. I don't know enough about Huckabee. Some fiscal foriegn policy conservatives seem to hate the guy.
5 - handyguy
Anyone happy with George Bush and Ronald Reagan will be happy with Rudy Giuliani.
Indeed. And those of us who cringe at the very thought of those two awful presidents are already running the other way, fast.
Rudy is a considerably less likable fellow than Reagan or our current Prez. I'm not sure how long it will take the electorate to realize this. If not until after Inauguration Day, we're all in trouble. Because this vindictive, inflexible, nasty human being would have one of the most divisive presidencies of all time.
Luckily, Edwards/Obama, Clinton/Obama, or Obama/Mark Warner all have very good chances of deservedly kicking his ass in the general election.
Anyone who saw his creepy, nervous performance on Meet the Press Sunday before last knows what the Dems have to do: introduce this vampirish, scary Rudy to the public who remain trained to think of him as Saint 9/11. [If you haven't watched it, you should...it's readily available online, as is Romney's equally awful performance from a week later.]