Why Rudy Can Win The Base

Deroy Murdock has an interesting piece on how Rudy Giuliani is winning over the Republican base:

“Republicans are united by our belief in going on offense to win the war on terror,” he recently wrote. “Republicans stand for lower taxes; Democrats stand for higher taxes — it’s as simple as that,” he added. “The successful appointments of Justices Roberts and Alito are signs of promises kept,” Giuliani observed. “They are principled individuals who can be trusted to defend the original intent of the Constitution rather than trying to legislate their own political beliefs from the bench.” And, as Giuliani concluded, “the issues that unite us as Republicans are the same issues that unite the vast majority of Americans: a commitment to winning the war on terror; a core belief in fiscal conservatism; and a faith in individual freedom. Advancing these principles, while staying on offense, can help keep the GOP a strong majority party.”

Murdock notes one Rudy critic who has become a Rudy fan, and I suspect he won’t be alone. The conventional wisdom is that the GOP base doesn’t know about Rudy’s stand on social issues. I don’t think that’s true at all. I think that the GOP base is well aware of those stands, but trust Rudy to nominate judges who will respect the role of judiciary in American politics and society, will keep taxes low, and will provide for a strong national defense.

I think Giuliani’s Reagan-esque manner and accomplished record will more than make up for his less than conservative positions. Especially now, the GOP needs someone who can break the 51-49 divide in American politics today. Giuliani is one of the few candidates who can do that. His appeal is based partly on the way in which he is able to communicate with the American people, but he also has some very impressive policy chops.

The conventional wisdom on Giuliani isn’t without its grounds, but in the end I believe that Giuliani has the qualities that Americans look for in their leaders. For all the talk about the influence of the religious right and how moralizing we are, that isn’t the case. We’re willing to overlook one’s personal foibles if one has the essential elements of leadership. Giulani has the skills to be a great leader, and he knows how to get things done. Ultimately, that’s what matters the most in selecting a President.

6 thoughts on “Why Rudy Can Win The Base

  1. The evangelical wing of the Republican Party is already furious at the GOP for “taking them for granted”. If you wanna throw a gasoline-soaked rag on that bonfire, then by all means nominate Giuliani.

  2. If he can get past the Republican primary, I think he’ll easily win the presidency. He’d be one of few poltical candidates that can actually excite young voters. Most know who he is from his various appearances on SNL and late night talk shows. Plus, his views on social issues match the views of a lot of younger people. He could actually unite this country (y’know, what Bush said he would do before he made this country even more divided).

    If Republicans want to win the next election, Rudy is their best bet.

  3. Giuliani is pretty much an empty suit. Had his term as New York City Mayor ended two months earlier, his career would have ended a disgraced lame duck mayor whose term ended in scandal. Take away his “bullhorn moment” at Ground Zero and there’s nothing there. True, he’s a dynamic orator, but he has a grating New York arrogance about him that will annoy Middle Americans to no end, perhaps even more than Hillary’s undeniable shrillness.

    And aside from every other structural deficiency Giuliani suffers from with the Republican base, the other dirty little secret about him is the company he’s kept in New York City. The Bernard Kerik nomination withdrawal from two years ago was a good indicator to the level of corruption and probable mob ties surrounding Giuliani, all of which you can be sure we’ll hear more of if he indeed seeks the Presidency.

    Giuliani’s popularity is a mile wide and an inch thick, having nowhere to go but down, particularly with his non-starter “stay the course” position on the most important issue of our time. I don’t fear him at all.

  4. Giuliani is pretty much an empty suit. Had his term as New York City Mayor ended two months earlier, his career would have ended a disgraced lame duck mayor whose term ended in scandal. Take away his “bullhorn moment” at Ground Zero and there’s nothing there. True, he’s a dynamic orator, but he has a grating New York arrogance about him that will annoy Middle Americans to no end, perhaps even more than Hillary’s undeniable shrillness.

    Despite widespread misinformation about how “liberal” Giuliani is, this group’s 180-degree reversal shows what can happen when conservatives actually scrutinize Giuliani’s entire performance. Giuliani chopped overall crime 57 percent, slashed homicide 65 percent, graduated 649,895 New Yorkers (58.4 percent of relief recipients) from welfare to work, curbed or abolished 23 taxes, sliced the tax burden by $8 billion or 18.9 percent of personal income, halted racial and gender quotas in contracting, delivered 25,637 children from foster care to adoption, privatized some 23,000 apartments from bureaucratic control to individual and family ownership, and financed charter schools while fighting for vouchers. Some liberal.

    And aside from every other structural deficiency Giuliani suffers from with the Republican base, the other dirty little secret about him is the company he’s kept in New York City. The Bernard Kerik nomination withdrawal from two years ago was a good indicator to the level of corruption and probable mob ties surrounding Giuliani, all of which you can be sure we’ll hear more of if he indeed seeks the Presidency.

    Mob ties? The DNC slur machine must already be up and running. Anyone who think that Giulani has mob ties forgets that he’s spend most of his career fighting organized crime. I rather doubt the Mob would want someone who cut off so much of their business.

    Giuliani’s popularity is a mile wide and an inch thick, having nowhere to go but down, particularly with his non-starter “stay the course” position on the most important issue of our time. I don’t fear him at all.

    If he runs, he’ll win. There isn’t a Democrat alive who has a prayer of beating him, which is why the whispering campaign to try and knock him out of the running has already began.

  5. “Mob ties? The DNC slur machine must already be up and running. Anyone who think that Giulani has mob ties forgets that he’s spend most of his career fighting organized crime. I rather doubt the Mob would want someone who cut off so much of their business.”

    The Bernard Kerik kerfuffle is unlikely to be an isolated incident. Mayors of New York City don’t become President for a very good reason. Land mines of corruption are almost unavoidable, and I’ll bet money on more skeletons emerging from Giuliani’s closet if he chooses to run.

    “If he runs, he’ll win. There isn’t a Democrat alive who has a prayer of beating him, which is why the whispering campaign to try and knock him out of the running has already began.”

    A Giuliani nomination is the equivalent of a “F— off and die!” post-it note to the 45% of Republican voters who are evangelicals. They’re already furious at the party to point of sitting out the 2006 election. For a guy who pretends to be so in tune with people of faith, you clearly are clueless if you think evangelicals will vote for a guy supportive of a practice where babies heads are sliced open and their brains vacuumed out.

    A Giuliani nomination would trigger the revolt among evangelicals that Clinton’s support of NAFTA did among the white working class. Just as the Democrats lost this demographic for a generation when they shafted American workers in 1993, the Republicans will lose the evangelicals for a generation if they nominate Giuliani under a “where else are you bozos gonna go?” moniker.

  6. Jay wrote:
    “There isn’t a Democrat alive who has a prayer of beating him…”

    Either this is extreme hyperbole, or you’re seriously underestimating Hillary.

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