Rudy Always Was "Done"
The right side of the blogosphere is all aghast at ex-New York mayor and GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani's "coming out of the closet" last week as an unabashed abortion supporter and advocate. Some are even saying that this will kill his candidacy stone-cold dead.
All I can say is those five magic words: See, I Told You So.
Look - Giuliani's pro-abortion stance isn't exactly a secret, and it never has been. And the GOP is a pro-life party, which isn't much of a mystery, either. That always made the mayor a long-shot to win the Republican presidential nod, whether in 2008 or any other year divisible by four. This is why I haven't, and still don't, take seriously the polls stubbornly persisting in showing Giuliani and John McCain as the GOP front-runners. There's just no way that either man will ever get over with the Republican nominating electorate.
Having said that, I do - did - give Rudy a better shot than Darth Queeg. The reason is - was - one word: trust. The Arizona "maverick" has simply alienated too much of the GOP base, pandered to the Enemy Media for too long, to ever be entrusted with the status of presidential standard-bearer. It brings to mind the old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. The only thing that would be a bigger disaster for the GOP than a McCain nomination would be a McCain presidency. The party simply will never, ever take that chance.
By contrast, Rudy's leadership in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 made him a both beloved and trusted national figure. It certainly garnered him inherent strength on national security and terrorism. Whether that would have been enough to overcome his hard-left positions on moral/social issues was at least debatable, though I remained convinced that it would not.
That debate is now over. By first fudging, ducking, dodging, bobbing, and weaving on abortion and gay rights, and then chucking the slippery maneuvering and defiantly reiterating his core paganism, Giuliani has forfeited a great deal of that trust. He's made it all but impossible for GOP primary voters, the vast majority of which are pro-life and pro-marriage, to ignore that gaping area of fundamental disagreement. Rather than minimize and compartmentalize the social issues arena beneath his signature anti-terrorist image, he's brought the former front & center in about as arrogant and alienating a fashion as one could imagine.
The Admiral doesn't think this PR bumbling will matter in the long run. I disagree; some debacles permanently and indellibly change a candidate's image. With Rudy inherently vulnerable on this score to begin with, this cynical dissembling followed by a pirhouetting thumb in the eye of the voters he has to win over to get the '08 nod will be a crippling, and ultimately fatal - and self-inflicted - blow.
All I can say is those five magic words: See, I Told You So.
Look - Giuliani's pro-abortion stance isn't exactly a secret, and it never has been. And the GOP is a pro-life party, which isn't much of a mystery, either. That always made the mayor a long-shot to win the Republican presidential nod, whether in 2008 or any other year divisible by four. This is why I haven't, and still don't, take seriously the polls stubbornly persisting in showing Giuliani and John McCain as the GOP front-runners. There's just no way that either man will ever get over with the Republican nominating electorate.
Having said that, I do - did - give Rudy a better shot than Darth Queeg. The reason is - was - one word: trust. The Arizona "maverick" has simply alienated too much of the GOP base, pandered to the Enemy Media for too long, to ever be entrusted with the status of presidential standard-bearer. It brings to mind the old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. The only thing that would be a bigger disaster for the GOP than a McCain nomination would be a McCain presidency. The party simply will never, ever take that chance.
By contrast, Rudy's leadership in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 made him a both beloved and trusted national figure. It certainly garnered him inherent strength on national security and terrorism. Whether that would have been enough to overcome his hard-left positions on moral/social issues was at least debatable, though I remained convinced that it would not.
That debate is now over. By first fudging, ducking, dodging, bobbing, and weaving on abortion and gay rights, and then chucking the slippery maneuvering and defiantly reiterating his core paganism, Giuliani has forfeited a great deal of that trust. He's made it all but impossible for GOP primary voters, the vast majority of which are pro-life and pro-marriage, to ignore that gaping area of fundamental disagreement. Rather than minimize and compartmentalize the social issues arena beneath his signature anti-terrorist image, he's brought the former front & center in about as arrogant and alienating a fashion as one could imagine.
The Admiral doesn't think this PR bumbling will matter in the long run. I disagree; some debacles permanently and indellibly change a candidate's image. With Rudy inherently vulnerable on this score to begin with, this cynical dissembling followed by a pirhouetting thumb in the eye of the voters he has to win over to get the '08 nod will be a crippling, and ultimately fatal - and self-inflicted - blow.
posted by JASmius at 7:27 PM
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