Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani has staked his claim to the presidency by reminding everyone that he was mayor during 9/11. Here is his profile:

Rudy Giuliani, born May 28, 1944, in New York, former mayor of New York City. Giuliani said on October 2, 2005, that he would look at the possibility of running for President. On November 13, 2006, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee. He has led several state and nationwide polls for the Republican nomination and the general election, and has been mentioned by many media sources as a possible candidate since the 9/11 attacks and a speech to the 2004 Republican Convention.^[28] (See polls below) Giuliani is pro-choice, and supports a type of civil union between same sex couples and agrees for legal and medical reasons that same sex relationships should get the same rights under the law. He also believes in strong restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms and agrees with harsh punishment for illegal weapons or non permitted weapons. While opinions differ, some think that these positions could help him, should he secure the nomination, in the general election; others question whether the Republican base would support a nominee with Giuliani's social positions. On February 5, 2007, Giuliani unofficially entered the race for the 2008 US presidential election by filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission, but legally keeping him at the same level as he was while running an exploratory committee.^[29] On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show.^[30] If elected, Giuliani would be the first Italian-American to hold the office of president, the second Roman Catholic, following John Kennedy.


The Good

Rudy is a fiscal conservative, no doubt. He understands that the line between conservative and democrat is not so clear cut. He has formed his opinions based on what he believes, regardless of party politics or what others think about it. There have been many decisions he has made that have made him unpopular among conservatives many including being pro-choice, supporting equal protection for gays under the laws, and has improved New York City by lowering crime nearly 66% and raising adoption nearly 66%. Clearly, Rudy Giuliani knows how to mix both conservative and liberal policies in a way that few have been able to. He has found ways to do what works while openly defying die hard conservatives and die hard liberals. Few candidates can say that they govern by their own beliefs instead of their parties beliefs.

It needs also to be noted that he has not denied his families issues. He has stood his ground admitting there are issues but refusing to discuss it based on the fact that family issues should be resolved outside public view.

The Bad

Giuliani claims that he is not an advocate of gun control, but thats exactly what he did in New York. While its true that crime was out of control and that gun control worked, using that on a national level will be disastrous to his presidency. No self respecting conservative will vote for that. Gun control may ultimately be the reason that he will not win the presidency. But with a city crime rate lowered to buttress his beliefs, there would be little else to discuss if a democratic congress gave him a bill to take guns out of the hands of citizens. However, he would be likely as well to sign a bill that banned automatic weapons and increase wait times on weapons for back ground checks. These are good things but he is a prime candidate to go to far.

Rudy has also been known to go over board because of his views on terrorism. He is not against CIA secret prisons or the use of torture if the suspect is a terrorist suspect. This is a human rights issue that Giuliani fails on. Either torture is okay or its not. He seems happy with the use of such tactics as long as he doesn't see it.

The Ugly

Giuliani's history with terrorism has made him blind to reality. He backs up all of Bush's "tools" for "keeping america safe". While he has taken the 9/11 commissions suggestions to heart, he still believes that secret prisons, domestic spying, and breaking the laws in the name of "safety" are okay. This is clearly not a democratic value.

Giuliani has also jumped, feet first, into the war on terror circus. He now believes Saddam had something to do with 9/11 and fully believes in the purpose and intent of Bush's war in Iraq. Evidence has been ignored as he simply accepts that we need to be there and uses the same fear mongering techniques as the Bush administration has to continue this war and the domestic programs. Giuliani's disgust towards Muslim countries is noticeable. Should he become president, you can expect more wars, more domestic programs that barter away our liberties to the CIA and FBI, and an increased spending for the "war on terror". While Rudy is a fiscal conservative by nature, his disgust for terrorism has misplaced his better judgment and clouded his sight. He will continue to drive up the spending for more war until the United States is bankrupt. If you don't think the current administration has handle terror or the war in Iraq well, Rudy is more of the same.