Giuliani Tries to Have It Both Ways Again
I laughed out loud this morning when I read the news blurb that uber-wingnut Pat Robertson is endorsing the cross-dressing Rudy Giuliani for President. My breath was taken away even further when I saw the TV news clip of Robertson and Giuliani sharing the stage for an official endorsement ceremony. This endorsement cuts both ways for Giuliani. It may give him some sorely needed credibility among evangelical voters that will help him get through the primaries and become the nominee, but it seems almost certain to take credibility away from him in the minds of the moderate northeastern independents that Giuliani is counting on helping him win the general election. Even if we're to assume the delusional talking point that Connecticut and New Jersey may go red if Giuliani's the nominee, wouldn't a single TV ad featuring today's clip of Rudy hand-in-hand with Robertson onstage immediately turn both states blue?
Indulge me as I highlight three very real and obvious contradictions that Giuliani will have to finesse in front of cynical voters, two of which are relevant this very day....
1) Giuliani insists he's unequivocally pro-choice on the very polarizing and prominent abortion issue and plans to use that credential to court favor with pro-choice moderates.....yet he also declares that he will appoint the deciding vote to the Supreme Court who will criminalize abortion.
2) He constantly runs on his law-and-order credentials and how he cleaned up New York City while Mayor.....at the same time as his right-hand man and appointed police chief Bernard Kerik is hours away from being indicted for countless criminal charges incurred during Giuliani and Kerik's mutual tenure in NYC government.
and 3) He never misses an opportunity to invoke the 9/11 attacks and his allegedly masterful and unifying leadership following the attacks.....who is now being endorsed by a national evangelical leader who cheered on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers as God's punishment for gays, lesbians, and the ACLU.
For all the headlines directed towards Hillary's incoherent position on drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants, it's rather amazing that Giuliani gets away with the hair-splitting that he does. Given that his nomination is starting to look like a real possibility, I hope the Democrats are prepared to deflate the man's very fragile bubble of popularity by pointing out that Rudy's contradictions make Mitt Romney's flip-flops look pale by comparison.
Indulge me as I highlight three very real and obvious contradictions that Giuliani will have to finesse in front of cynical voters, two of which are relevant this very day....
1) Giuliani insists he's unequivocally pro-choice on the very polarizing and prominent abortion issue and plans to use that credential to court favor with pro-choice moderates.....yet he also declares that he will appoint the deciding vote to the Supreme Court who will criminalize abortion.
2) He constantly runs on his law-and-order credentials and how he cleaned up New York City while Mayor.....at the same time as his right-hand man and appointed police chief Bernard Kerik is hours away from being indicted for countless criminal charges incurred during Giuliani and Kerik's mutual tenure in NYC government.
and 3) He never misses an opportunity to invoke the 9/11 attacks and his allegedly masterful and unifying leadership following the attacks.....who is now being endorsed by a national evangelical leader who cheered on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers as God's punishment for gays, lesbians, and the ACLU.
For all the headlines directed towards Hillary's incoherent position on drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants, it's rather amazing that Giuliani gets away with the hair-splitting that he does. Given that his nomination is starting to look like a real possibility, I hope the Democrats are prepared to deflate the man's very fragile bubble of popularity by pointing out that Rudy's contradictions make Mitt Romney's flip-flops look pale by comparison.
posted by Mark at 3:19 PM
10 Comments:
I'm not at all surprised that the "so-called liberal media" is giving a disproportionate amount of attention to Hillary's inconsistencies while all but ignoring Rudy's.
I hate to say it but I am inclined to just let Giuliani win in 2008 for several reasons. The real reason is that if he does, Democrats will likely be able to entrench their hold on Congress in 2010 and solidfy themselves in many state legislatures in order to draw themselves into a huge House majority for the next decade.
For that reason, especially if Hillary is the Dem nominee, I am probably going to have to write in Ron Paul for my Presidential vote.
I would say the same thing, except that the environment can't wait, and Rudy all but supports Shrub's "keep on burning" policy.
Unfortunately, I don't think Hillary would do anything to help the environment.
The media is not liberal or conservative by any means. It is very easy to think of the media as right wing if your a liberal, and the vice versa is true.
The whole reason why the media is giving disproportionate attention to Hillary's inconsistencies is because she has been much much better known for much much longer...
mr. phips, you can never gain without losing.. lol
) Giuliani insists he's unequivocally pro-choice on the very polarizing and prominent abortion issue and plans to use that credential to court favor with pro-choice moderates.....yet he also declares that he will appoint the deciding vote to the Supreme Court who will criminalize abortion.
Overturning Roe just wont happen.. and even if it is overturned, Roe does not criminalize abortion; but puts them to the states to decide.
He constantly runs on his law-and-order credentials and how he cleaned up New York City while Mayor.....at the same time as his right-hand man and appointed police chief Bernard Kerik is hours away from being indicted for countless criminal charges incurred during Giuliani and Kerik's mutual tenure in NYC government.
Well Rudy has no control over that guys actions lol... so not his fault.
He never misses an opportunity to invoke the 9/11 attacks and his allegedly masterful and unifying leadership following the attacks.....who is now being endorsed by a national evangelical leader who cheered on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers as God's punishment for gays, lesbians, and the ACLU.
Again.. rudy can't control his endorses him.
Remember, I am not a rudy supporter by any means (grrrr, I can not stand him!! he is a moron)...
Mr. Phips, the Democrats could have two-thirds majorities in Congress and still be obsolete if the Republicans continue controlling the Presidency. Giuliani will fill courts across America with right-wing judges that will use the judiciary to render every progressive law passed by Congress null and void. As long as the White House is in the hands of Republicans, the nation moves further and further right. I really think you're being naive when you continue to insist the progressive movement can tolerate continued Republican control of the executive branch.
James:
"Overturning Roe just wont happen.. and even if it is overturned, Roe does not criminalize abortion; but puts them to the states to decide."
I used to think the same, but the SCOTUS is one vote away and I'm convinced they will let it happen. And within a couple of years, at least 12 states will criminalize all or most abortions. If Rudy is truly a defender of "a woman's right to choose", it's hard to reconcile that with his plans to make women criminals in 20% of the country for having one. This is not a major issue for me personally, but it is to most Americans, particularly the moderate northeastern soccer moms Rudy fancies that he'll be able to pick off.
"Well Rudy has no control over that guys actions lol... so not his fault."
Which would probably ring true if Giuliani hadn't recommended him for a DHS position in the Bush administration AFTER Kerik's corruption issues known by everybody.
"Again.. rudy can't control his endorses him."
You've gotta be kidding me. Are you Giuliani's publicist? Rudy might not be able to control who endorses him, but he can control who gets onstage with to accept an endorsement from. Do you also believe that Giuliani can get onstage and graciously welcome an endorsement from David Duke without consequence? How about OJ Simpson? Or John Walker Lindh?
Mark, did the progressive movement get anywhere under Bill Clinton's Presidency? Under him we saw the kind of job killing programs like NAFTA and a punitive welfare reform bill that didn't even pass under Reagan. I think progressives were better off under Reagan than Clinton.
Mr. Phips, if not for the Clinton era and the appointment of progressive judges, you wouldn't recognize the America we'd live in today. It was that eight-year hiatus in the right-wing saturation of the judiciary that saved the country from reverting back to the McKinley era on every front.
Mark,
things always work out in the end. Do not worry like you do.
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