Rudy Giuliani and Tim Pawlenty – Republican Party 2.0

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani discusses the GOP with David Frum

Rudy wants to nudge the social conservative issues to the background, not alienate voters and recapture the youth and suburban vote. Watch all of the video above to get his point.

The problem with Rudy when he ran for President was his personal baggage with his marriages and Bernie Kerck.He would have won the GOP nomination against McCain even with HIS far more liberal positions on social issues.

He is talking about returning to a “BIG TENT GOP.”

After all, the GOP has lost all of the Northeast, Far West and now parts of the Midwest in the Electoral College. But, is the GOP willing to deemphasize social issues like abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage – even to win elections?

Only, if the GOP is smart.

A little different approach is found in this interview of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty is of a different generation than Rudy but is essentailly formulating the same “NEW IDEA” method to win back elections.

Question: Back at the RGA meeting [last fall]], you talked about the party needed to get beyond Ronald Reagan. What do you mean by that? The RNC chairman candidates — all they really talk about is Reagan.

Answer: Well, I think I said in my state of my state, but I can also say it about my own party: we can’t be so in love with the past that we miss the future. And the world is changing very rapidly, and there’s a lot of technological change, demographic change, cultural change, and it’s all approaching us at a very rapid speed. And I think the Republican Party fondly remembers Ronald Reagan, and we should. He’s going to go down in history as one of the great presidents. Our challenge is to have the solutions of the 1980s not be the solutions that we have in 2008s. .. A lot has happened since the 1980s. There’s been a lot of change. We can be true to those values and principles, but half of the country doesn’t remember Ronald Reagan very well. If you’re under 40, 35 years old, Ronald Reagan is kind of a foggy notion. All I’m saying is, yes, let’s celebrate that, let’s learn from that, let’s build on it, but let’s talk about new ideas, new leaders, for the future.

The Republican Party is in dismal shape after the two terms of President George W. Bush. The Democrat Party enjoys super majorities in the Congress and now occupy the White House.

Times, demographics and the culture is changing. The GOP can either morph into a competitive, outreaching, ideas driven collection of leaders or slink back into the irrelevancy of a generation of Democrat Party rule.

Technorati Tags: GOP, Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty

6 Comments

Owen

January 21, 2009 at 2:34 pm

Here’s something I never understood about you, Flap. You criticized John McCain as being too liberal, but you supported Giuliani for president, and now you’re advocating that we move away from our Conservative ideals. That doesn’t seem to mesh. Why all the McCain hate?

Flap

January 21, 2009 at 2:41 pm

I find John McCain to be hypocritical in his conservative beliefs – not necessarily liberal – but sometimes yes. John McCain is not a conservative, yet calls himself one.

I have supported socially moderate Republicans before and understand their beliefs as a matter of conscience. They are different than my beliefs but I understand their positions.

Rudy is up front with is positions and you always know where he stands. You may not agree but he will try to persuade you to his side and not stick a knife in your back, like McCain.

McCain’s positions like Mitt Romney’s are inconsistent and opportunistic.

Flap

January 21, 2009 at 2:46 pm

I am not advocating, Owen, that the GOP move away from conservative ideals. But, instead, open up the party to a diversity of opinion, reach out to alienated GOP voters and re-invent the Big Tent.

If you continue the small tent, the GOP will be a minority party for the foreseeable future.

Dennis

January 21, 2009 at 3:20 pm

As usual, Rudy hits it out of the park. As Rudy points out, the Republican’s electoral base is shrinking to the extent that it will be very difficult for any republican to win the presidency unless that person can appeal to democrats, independents and moderate republicans.

A word to the social conservatives: your obession with abortion and related issues turn off not only democrats, independents and moderate republicans, but your refusal to welcome social moderates will make the Republican Party a permanent party. In fact, a strong case can be made that it is already a minority party.

Owen

January 21, 2009 at 5:34 pm

What does Big Tent mean, other than ceding ground on our conservative ideals?

John McCain had a much more consistent conservative record than Giuliani, with a heroic life story and significantly less personal baggage than Giuliani. Sure, there are a few times where I’ve disagreed (Campaign Finance, Immigration), but Rudy was right there with him on those.

Flap

January 21, 2009 at 6:20 pm

I really don’t want to rehash the GOP Presidential primary election of Rudy vs. McCain. Except on the issue of abortion, I cannot name one issue that McCain is more conservative than Giuliani. But, Rudy is a moderate and always has been. McCain boasts he is a conservative and then makes deals with Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold.

It is the McCain “Maverick” hypocrisy that makes me hold McCain in such disdain.

As far as personal baggage, McCain has his own with him cheating on and abandoning his first wife after she was crippled in an auto accident. Rudy has his and they ultimately defeated him.

The “Big Tent” means the party welcomes a diversity of opinions surrounding a core set of “platform principles.” The GOP was much more “Big Tent” under Nixon, Ford and Reagan. Otherwise, the party becomes narrow, like today, and loses elections and its relevance in the political arena.

Owen

January 21, 2009 at 2:34 pm

Here’s something I never understood about you, Flap. You criticized John McCain as being too liberal, but you supported Giuliani for president, and now you’re advocating that we move away from our Conservative ideals. That doesn’t seem to mesh. Why all the McCain hate?
Flap

January 21, 2009 at 2:41 pm

I find John McCain to be hypocritical in his conservative beliefs – not necessarily liberal – but sometimes yes. John McCain is not a conservative, yet calls himself one.

I have supported socially moderate Republicans before and understand their beliefs as a matter of conscience. They are different than my beliefs but I understand their positions.

Rudy is up front with is positions and you always know where he stands. You may not agree but he will try to persuade you to his side and not stick a knife in your back, like McCain.

McCain’s positions like Mitt Romney’s are inconsistent and opportunistic.
Flap

January 21, 2009 at 2:46 pm

I am not advocating, Owen, that the GOP move away from conservative ideals. But, instead, open up the party to a diversity of opinion, reach out to alienated GOP voters and re-invent the Big Tent.

If you continue the small tent, the GOP will be a minority party for the foreseeable future.
Dennis

January 21, 2009 at 3:20 pm

As usual, Rudy hits it out of the park. As Rudy points out, the Republican’s electoral base is shrinking to the extent that it will be very difficult for any republican to win the presidency unless that person can appeal to democrats, independents and moderate republicans.

A word to the social conservatives: your obession with abortion and related issues turn off not only democrats, independents and moderate republicans, but your refusal to welcome social moderates will make the Republican Party a permanent party. In fact, a strong case can be made that it is already a minority party.
Owen

January 21, 2009 at 5:34 pm

What does Big Tent mean, other than ceding ground on our conservative ideals?

John McCain had a much more consistent conservative record than Giuliani, with a heroic life story and significantly less personal baggage than Giuliani. Sure, there are a few times where I’ve disagreed (Campaign Finance, Immigration), but Rudy was right there with him on those.
Flap

January 21, 2009 at 6:20 pm

I really don’t want to rehash the GOP Presidential primary election of Rudy vs. McCain. Except on the issue of abortion, I cannot name one issue that McCain is more conservative than Giuliani. But, Rudy is a moderate and always has been. McCain boasts he is a conservative and then makes deals with Ted Kennedy and Russ Feingold.

It is the McCain “Maverick” hypocrisy that makes me hold McCain in such disdain.

As far as personal baggage, McCain has his own with him cheating on and abandoning his first wife after she was crippled in an auto accident. Rudy has his and they ultimately defeated him.

The “Big Tent” means the party welcomes a diversity of opinions surrounding a core set of “platform principles.” The GOP was much more “Big Tent” under Nixon, Ford and Reagan. Otherwise, the party becomes narrow, like today, and loses elections and its relevance in the political arena.