The American Spectator

Jim Antle, Joseph Lawler and, in the comments section of my post, Steven Ertelt, the founder and editor of Life News, all make very fair and convincing points about Rudolph Giuliani’s position re: abortion. And, in light of their responses, I think it’s fair to say that I have, indeed, engaged in some wishful thinking and self-projection, as Joe says. Giuliani simply does not seem to be as operationally pro-life as I had hoped.

And that’s a shame, because as a GOP presidential candidate, Giuliani has real potential to shatter the Democratic coalition, He certainly has the potential to appeal to blue collar Reagan Democrats, whose allegiance likely will make or break the Republican Party in November 2012.

As the American Enterprise Institute’s Henry Olsen points out in National Review, “Non-whites’ increased share of the electorate has left the GOP heavily dependent on substantial majorities among blue-collar whites for even a shot at victory. To win, Republicans have to learn what makes Joe Six-Pack tick.”

Rudy knows what makes blue collar ethnics tick. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to know what makes conservative primary voters tick. He seems to have needlessly staked out an extreme-left position on abortion, which is guaranteed to incite the active opposition of pro-life activists.

I still hold out the hope (alright, maybe it’s a political fantasy) that Giuliani’s position on abortion is sufficiently ambiguous and ill-defined that, with considerable effort, he could yet woo pro-life voters — or at least stop them from actively opposing him.

But to do that, Rudy would have to oppose, for example, taxpayer funding of abortion. Unfortunately, there’s no indication that Giuliani understands this or is prepared to adjust his political sails accordingly. And, until he does, he never will be president.