How Giuliani's Rise Vexes Republicans

The Wall Street Journal

How Giuliani's Rise Vexes Republicans
Plaudits on Mayoral Record Suggests a Potential Schism Over Social, Economic Issues
By JACKIE CALMES
May 16, 2007; Page A6

After weeks on the defensive for his liberal, if wobbly, stand on abortion, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani awoke Monday to good news: The conservative Club for Growth was promoting a mostly fawning report on his economic record as New York's mayor... But the good news for Mr. Giuliani may suggest a worrisome prospect for Republicans more broadly. Their current front-runner has the potential to split the social and economic conservatives who have constituted the Republican Party's base since Ronald Reagan united them a quarter-century ago.

"If the party nominates a social liberal like Giuliani, there's not only the potential, but there's an inevitability of a split," says John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, a politically active social-conservative group. "Republicans will learn if that happens, they're going to a pay a price for nominating a social liberal" -- by losing the White House in 2008 if social conservatives sit out the election.

On that, some conservatives who focus on economic issues would agree. "There is a danger," says former Republican Rep. Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, a hard-line antitax group. "There has been a very constructive alliance" of social and economic conservatives, "and it's hard to imagine cobbling together a majority of Americans without reaching both. But a guy like Mayor Giuliani might be able to secure the nomination without the support of social conservatives."


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At the Family Research Council, one of the most prominent Christian conservative groups, president Tony Perkins isn't buying it, saying, "It sounds as if the economic side of the family is serving us divorce papers." He says of the economic, social and national-security conservatives who are the three legs of the Republican base: "If one is missing, you have a two-legged stool. And try sitting on that." Such conservatives bristle that party officials and pundits are patronizing them, with admonitions to stifle their moral objections in the interest of an inclusive party -- and victory in November 2008. Mr. Perkins says Christian conservatives share with "the conservative family" a belief in economic principles such as low taxes, spending and free trade -- "but we don't share them at the expense of our core social values."

(snip)


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just to make sure the religious nuts were left out in the cold. But I think the dumshit religious wackos are too stupid to vote in their own economic self interest and they will once again be seduced by all the tough talk about killin muslims.

for many he still is the symbol of 9/11, they really do not care about his prior record and could be a nice change after the extreme freepers of the past 28 years.

resulting in the deaths of hundreds of first responders. He was supposed to do that after the first WTC attack. :puke:

I guess Ghouly was too busy with all the divorces and girlfriends on the side

"The heart of the republican party" Pat Toomey is insane btw but did come kind of close to beat Specter in the primary. I would have some respect for the gop if they told the right wing religious clerics to go fuck themselves but that will never happen.

"We fuck with their wallets and you fuck with their brains. Deal?"