President 2008,  Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Watch: “You Have Nothing to Fear from Me”

Republican Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani speaks at Family Research Council’s Washington Values Voter Summit Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007, in Washington.

Giuliani tries to assure conservatives

Rudy Giuliani tried to find peace with a restless bloc of the Republican Party Saturday, telling religious conservatives not to fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion or expect he would change purely for political advantage.

The GOP presidential candidate sought common ground with his audience by casting himself as an imperfect man who has asked for guidance through prayer.

He offered assurances that despite his support for abortion rights, he would seek to lower the number of abortions. He pledged that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges, support school choice and insist on victory in Iraq — all issues important to the audience at the Value Voters Summit.

The MONEY QUOTES:

  • “My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am, I can assure you of that,” Giuliani said. “But isn’t it better for me to tell you what I believe rather than change my positions to fit the prevailing wind?”
  • “People of good conscience reach different conclusions about whether abortions should be legal in certain circumstances,” he said while vowing to increase adoptions.
  • “We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself. But I will give you reason to trust me.”
  • Religion is about love, inclusion and forgiveness. It is about salvation. … If we expect perfection from our political leaders, we will be disappointed.
  • “You have nothing to fear from me.” Some make me out to be an activist for liberal causes. If you believe that, just check any New York Times editorial while I was mayor.
  • “We’ve got to find a way to be more inclusive,” Giuliani said. “Christianity is all about inclusiveness. It’s built around the most profound act of love in human history, isn’t it? … I’m running for president of the United States because I believe I can bring us together. Strong leadership can help us find common solutions to our problems.”
  • “I’ll continue to extend my hand to you,” he concluded, “and I hope you’ll take it.”

Rudy on abortion:

  • Veto any reductions of the Hyde amendment.
  • Support any reasonable suggestion that reduces the number of abortions. Mentions parental notification and PBA ban.
  • Make the 10k adoption tax credit permanent.
  • Mentions faith-based initiatives.
  • Judges.

The Reaction:

  • “He comforted a lot of conservatives,” said Bob Kilbanks, an anti-abortion Republican and former congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. “It would be against my conscience to vote for him, but I think he would get a lot of conservative votes and he would come as near to protect life without changing his views and values.”
  • Soren Dayton: “His closing applause was much, much stronger than the opening. A lot of the people sitting when he came in were standing. That’s a difference. He may not win the crowd, but he doesn’t need to. He needs to neutralize it.I think he did that. Rudy couldn’t hit a home run, but he could hit a double. And he did.”
  • David Brody of CBN: “Here’s the way I see it. The speech was very good and had a lot of issue oriented meat in it. Giuliani was greeted with polite applause but left the room to an even friendlier crowd. To use a football analogy, he may not have gotten in the end zone with this crowd, but he “moved the chains” with this speech. The ball is marching down the field. No fumble.”
  • There were signs that Mr. Giuliani might have succeeded in drawing some Christian conservatives to him.David and Merrily Crowe of Tennessee, who run an evangelical group called Restore America, arrived at the convention hall this morning skeptical but curious about Mr. Giuliani. They came away moved by what they described as his “honesty” and “transparency.”“My wife leaned over to me afterward and said, ‘I’m going to vote for him,’” Mr. Crowe said. “And I probably will, too.”

Rudy went into the Lions Den today and stood up for his own beliefs and conscience – respectful but firm.

Isn’t that what America needs as a President? A LEADER

Update:

A transcript of the Mayor’s speech is here.

Video will be posted when available.

Update #2:

Video is up now here. 

Previous:

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Giuliani CNN Poll Watch: Rudy Up By 8 Points Over Thompson

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Rudy to Obama – You are NO Ronald Reagan

Giuliani California Poll Watch: Rudy Leads Thompson by 21 Points

The Rudy Giuliani and James Dobson Flap Part Two

Giuliani Poll Watch: Nevada – Rudy Leads Latest Poll

Giuliani Poll Watch: Contending New Hampshire

Giuliani Poll Watch: California Lead Grows for Rudy


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3 Comments

  • Gregor Morrill

    Ooh, the God card! *yawn*

    Why should abortion even be a federal issue, is my question.

    If a candidate has to literally say “You have nothing to fear from me”… yikes. That’s scary. There’s always something to fear from them. They are politicians, after all.

  • Flap

    It is a federal issue because of the Supreme Court. You know the “rule of law.”

    Examine the context of the headline more closely.

  • Gregor Morrill

    Just because the Supreme Court rules on something doesn’t automatically make it the legitimate, constitutional territory of the federal government. You know the “rule of law.” I think it should be a states rights issue.

    I’m not seeing that quote in the Yahoo article you linked to; what context are you referring to?