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The Spectacle Blog
Stacy, I found Tim Mak’s argument a little odd: by endorsing Marco Rubio over Charlie Crist, Rudy Giuliani is somehow signaling the end of his active political career. Mak simplistically contrasts Giuliani’s “socially-tolerant, fiscally-conservative, and governance-minded vision for the Republican Party” with Rubio’s position as “a socially conservative, Club for Growth ideologue who backed Huckabee in 2008.”
For starters, Giuliani is closer to the Club for Growth on fiscal/economic policy than Huckabee. He is also closer to Rubio on those issues than he is to Crist. Crist is to Giuliani’s left on economics and, while a fairly weak social conservative, still to his right on social issues. So Mak seems to be dealing in cariactures here. Secondly, Giuliani has generally used his endorsements to help Republican candidates who would benefit from his celebrity and post-9/11 popularity with swing voters. While that often makes him a crowd-pleaser in blue states, that’s not quite the same thing as systematically endorsing to the benefit of moderate Republicans.
Finally, I think there is a much stronger argument for the end of candidate Giuliani than his Rubio endorsement: The spectacular collapse of Giuliani’s presidential campaign and his refusal, dating back to 2000, to run for any statewide office in New York that he might conceivably win. (Yes, I realize health concerns played a large role in his withdrawal from the 2000 Senate race.)
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More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/04/06/giuliani-and-rubio
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Oldefarte| 4.6.10 @ 11:57AM
I'm in favor of both Giuliani and Rubio. The former is an in-your-face fighter [ie calling out Ron Paul in the Republican debates] and a tremendous leader; who, if President now instead of THE SOCIALIST ONE, would not have devastated this country with insane policies. The latter is an neophite conservative who will be a force for true change [unlike Crist who will be another ass-kissing politician to the DC establishment]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Robert Stacy McCain | 4.6.10 @ 12:00PM
Obviously, Jim, any argument at Frum Forum is likely to contain odd ideas. I never believed Giuliani had any chance at the 2008 presidential nomination, and he has even less of a chance in 2012.
Rudy was (and is) the favorite of certain intellectuals, and no one else. He began with the certainty that he couldn't compete in Iowa (where GOP caucuses are dominated by pro-lifers) or in South Carolina (where John McCain had already locked up all the "hawk" vote), and compounded that problem with his ill-advised decision to pull out of New Hampshire and put all his eggs in the Florida basket.
What Giuliani did in 2007-08 was to soak up a lot of money and a lot of publicity that otherwise might have gone to the other Northeasterner in the GOP field, Mitt Romney, who actually had a shot at the nomination. If Giuliani had actually won Florida, or at least sapped away enough votes from McCain to allow Romney to win, he might have derailed the Crazy Talk Express. ("President John McCain"? That's Crazy Talk!) But that didn't happen, and further recriminations are now moot, I suppose.
Without regard to Giuliani's future, I'm just happy to see him delivering this Machiavellian payback to Crist. The governor of Florida has revealed himself to be a devious, selfish and unprincipled man whose ambitions are greater than his abilities. Such people are not to be trusted. That he made the mistake of thinking he could double-cross Giuliani with impunity demonstrates conclusively that Crist is not as smart as he thinks he is.
Dan| 4.6.10 @ 12:05PM
Giuliani is an Originalist, which means on issues like abortion, and the legal recognition of sodomistic courtiship, although he might not see things exactly the same way as Conservatives might desire, ----------- the legal impact of his views would be PRECISELY what Conservatives would desire.
There aren't any Originalists that applaud Roe.
There aren't any Originalists that applaud Lawrence.
There aren't any Originalists that desire to see social legislation advanced by the Courts.
So regardless of whether Giuliani actually favoured abortion rights, so long as he champions Originalism, he's going to support men like Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and now Alito, ----------- and what's more, be in opposition to the changing views of creatures like Kennedy and O'Connor.
But the GOP rank and file wanted to see him bow before them by openly rejecting his previous stated views on abortion, and start denouncing it, ala the Mormon.
But Giuliani had too much manhood to invent some inane trip-to-Damascus experience as did the Mormon, ---------------- and thus a guy who won all the debates except the first, a guy who had actually successfully transformed a city dominated by Democrats, a guy who was a hero to the nation, {and the world...} after 9/11, was rejected.
And rejected by a guy who could barely hold back his sneer when he spoke of the Conservative base.
Unbelievable.
And politically, suicidal.