The Conservative case against Rudy Giuliani
- Posted by Martin on August 29th, 2006 filed in General, Islamofascism, Martin
Is made by John Hawkins at Right Wing News.
First. I’m not attacking Hawkins personally, indeed I enjoy his site.
But he is simply wrong if he thinks the 2008 election should or will be fought and won on partial birth abortion, the second amendment, or even illegal immigration.
There is one issue that the 2008 election should and will turn on - the global struggle to defeat proliferating Islamic Fascists. Rudy has shown himself to be a serious advocate of confronting and defeating this menace. Without this commitment, all of the other stuff is meaningless detail. If there were ever a need for a litmus test, this is it.
Again this is my personal view, and not necessarily shared by Beth.
richj says:
Agreed. Right now, I am a single issue voter. If a candidate is right on the war, all else goes to the backburner. Not saying that Rudy’s my guy, just looking at my options. Is Rudy electable? I have my doubts based on his skeletons in the closet, and the press and opposition treatment they will receive.
Martin says:
He’s one I will certainly consider strongly, as things stand today. I don’t see any other criterion in play than the one I mentioned in the post.
Rudy’s eloquence, his conviction, and his status as America’s Mayor give him a strong chance. And we could do worse…better not to destroy him with the base over piffling issues (relatively speaking), as some are clearly going to attempt.
I’m looking forward to the Democratic primary though; it’s going to be a farking bloodbath!!
Beth says:
Eh, I think you underestimate the short-sightedness of the single-issue voters (abortion, immigration, gun control, etc.). I agree, the war is BY FAR the most important issue, and it’s why I don’t cringe at Rudy. But other than the war (which does trump everything else), there’s no way I’d vote for him.
Of course, you know me: I’ll vote for anyone the party nominates, period. It’s getting TO the nomination that’s the real battle for him.
I’m still not comfortable with supporting him in the primaries, though, for (most of) the reasons Hawkins outlined. But since I’m a devout follower of the 11th Commandment, you won’t see me tearing him down, either. I’d hate to have to change my tune, as Hawkins will have to do if Giuliani does get the nomination. I’d much rather see a “conservative case” FOR a preferred candidate than against the competition within the party.
And I think, ironically, Republicans are more willing to overlook his very real personal issues than Dhimmicrats will be come the general election. I KNOW they will bludgeon him with those problems, regardless of the obvious hypocrisy. And let’s not forget that plenty of people (including me) said “if Clinton’s own wife can’t trust him, how can we?” Don’t underestimate how badly the moonbats want to win. I expect ‘08 will be even uglier than we’ve ever seen, no matter who is the nominee.
Chris says:
I will give the red state North Carolina view. Most of the republicans I know, and myself included, will be in full support of Rudy. McCain has proven himself untrustworthy. The others cannot beat the hildabeast. My opinion is that Rudy would shred any democrat in the national election. It won’t be close. He’ll carry New York and probably Pennsylvania and several close blue states. That would render moot the very few midwest red states he may lose. Everyone I know, well, everyone I know that I discuss politics with is highly excited by a Rudy campaign. I can’t wait to see it. Rudy vs Hilary. Wow, beat that WWE.
MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy » Blog Archive » The Conservative case against Rudy Giuliani - Beth’s take says:
[...] First, read Martin’s take on it. I think many underestimate the passion of the single-issue voters (abortion, immigration, gun control, etc.) and, although John Hawkins (inexplicably) claims he isn’t one, social conservatives. Hawkins is right about this: Put yet another way, one of the biggest mistakes any Republican politician can make is to fall into the — “What are they going to do if I make them unhappy? Vote for the other guy?” — mentality. Because once you take that attitude and abandon your base on important issues in order to reach out to the middle, conservatives will abandon you right back. They won’t contribute to your campaign or show up at the voting booth and they’ll complain incessantly. Next thing you know, you’re George Bush with poll numbers mired in the high thirties and low forties because the loss of Republican support has shaved 6-8 points off of your approval rating (and yes, depending on the polling data you look at, he has lost that much REPUBLICAN support since 2004). [...]