Rudy Giuliani

John Hawkins over at Right Wing News has put together a piece titled “The Conservative Case Against Rudy Giuliani“. It’s an interesting read.

I don’t agree that staving off the downfall of Western civilization depends on overturning Roe v. Wade, so I’ll skip over the stuff about abortion. If that is your single issue, more power to you, but I care a lot more about the other stuff. So let’s digest it.

Second Amendment/Gun Control – Rudy supported the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons ban. Let’s ignore for a moment the fact that these two bills haven’t done much to keep criminals from using guns, and look at the larger issue of the federal government encroaching on our personal freedoms. Do I think the constitution guarantees the right to own a bazooka or an armory full of automatic weapons? No. Do I think that these laws are a step toward taking away any kind of guns? Yes. Little in the government’s history leads me to believe they are capable of restraint. Once they start, they generally keep going until they fuck it up.

I have concerns with Rudy’s position on this.

Gay Marriage – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If you can look at another guy’s hairy ass and find love, good for you. Homosexuality doesn’t appeal to me at all, but then neither does ice dancing. Some people really enjoy it, and we should not use that as a reason to discriminate. Not too long ago, people thought that being black was an aberration and that whites and blacks shouldn’t marry. It was a stupid bullshit argument then and hasn’t gotten any better after changing the characters around.

Rudy is Pro-Illegal Immigration – Honestly, I don’t buy for a minute that he is in favor of illegal immigration. I don’t think anyone is saying, “Throw open the doors, bitches! It’s a party up in here!”

I think this is more a question of recognizing the practical reality of trying to round up 12 million people to send them away – especially knowing many of them will be back inside of a month. We have a porous border, and nothing short of giant walls (remember Berlin?) will keep people out.

We need a better approach to immigration, and nobody is advocating it. You have one side that wants a crackdown and one side that advocates keeping those who have been breaking the laws the longest, but tossing out the new guys. It’s really kind of stupid. Rudy’s position is really no worse than anyone else’s. I’d like to see a better plan out of him, but I’d like to see a more realistic plan from the “throw them out” crowd.

Rudy is a more charismatic version of Arlen Specter – Come on, my sofa is more charismatic than Arlen Specter. If he’s a liberal, say he’s a liberal. Don’t pick the least charismatic guy in the party and tell me Rudy is more charismatic. That just makes me like Rudy more.

Addressing the liberal point, Hawkins writes, “Rudy could have fairly been said to have governed as a moderate at best and to the left-of-center at worst.” So the worst thing you can say about Rudy is he governed a far, far left city from the middle to slightly left? Let’s see, in New York that would make you…. a Republican. Congrats, Rudy.

Rudy has Bill Clinton Disease – Apparently, divorcees need not apply for America’s highest job and guys who want to chase women are untrustworthy. Honestly, I couldn’t care less if he was doing the Secretary of State doggy-style on the front lawn at the White House in full view of visiting dignitaries as long as he wasn’t screwing the rest of us at the same time.

You show me a guy that looks like Rudy, but can still get laid, and I’ll show you a guy that’s going to fuck around. Chris Rock once said a man is only as faithful as his options. Normally, guys that look like Giuliani have few options. This guy, despite his appearance, can get some tail, so I’m in no position to fault him for that. In fact, I say, “Brother, go close some ass.”

Hawkins closes with the argument that Rudy is just plain unelectable. On that point, I agree completely. The guy has a massive electability problem starting with the fact that the other candidates in the primaries will throw enough of the charges above at him for at least a good portion of it to stick.

There are a lot of people who care more about the tertiary issues than the important stuff. For instance, was Rudy really responsible for turning New York around? It went from a cess pool to a tourist destination in a few short years, and was riding a wave when 9-11 happened. The crime rate was way, way down, the hospitality was way, way up. Did that have anything to do with Rudy? I care a lot more about that than whether he has gay friends who helped him out when he was going through an ugly divorce.

But I seem to be a rarity in our party.

It’s unlikely that he can get through the primary. The “extreme makeover” that Rudy would require is more extensive than the one McCain will need and far less than a lot of other conservatives running.

Assuming he can get the GOP nod (which I don’t), he still needs to convince the American people that he’ll be better than the hack the Democrats throw up. Fortunately, we’re very good at polishing turds and can make just about anyone shine long enough to beat the Democrats.

John is right about Giuliani not being a conservative if you are defining that solely as “social conservative”. Does he appeal to the fiscally conservative, socially moderate South Park Republican crowd? Unclear.

I’d like to see someone put the effort into looking at his policy positions on business, economics, and such. I’d like a dissection of his beliefs on the environment, and health care. Then I could tell you if I think the conservative case against Giuliani has been made.

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