Posted by
Always To The Right on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 12:30:27 AM
The below is from Captain's Quarters blog [excellent by the way] normally I would just link over to the post, but I wanted to give this a wide viewing as possible. This might partly fit into a posting on another blog on Townhall, and the back and forth comments that have been left there. The blog is One Eighty and the post is "suicide voters." I hope the Captain will forgive me for doing this, and I also hope the FM is doing well. The post on the Captain's blog is "Did Rudy Tell Pro Lifers To Get Over Themselves?" Notice how press reports don't quite add up to what was actually said.
The Des Moines Register
reported that Rudy Giuliani told a crowd that social conservatives had
to "get beyond issues" like abortion in order to elect Republicans.
Thomas Beaumont's report sent a few shock waves through the blogosphere:
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani warned GOP
activists in Des Moines on Saturday that if they insist on a nominee
who always agrees with them, it will spell defeat in 2008.
“Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we
are a party characterized by what we’re for, not if we’re a party
that’s known for what we’re against,” the former New York mayor said at
a midday campaign stop.
Republicans can win, he said, if they nominate a candidate committed
to the fight against terrorism and high taxes, rather than a pure
social conservative.
“Our party has to get beyond issues like that,” Giuliani said, a reference to abortion rights, which he supports.
Bryan at Hot Air had a typically shocked reaction to the report, which given the way Beaumont framed it, seems like reasonable concern:
I’m a social con. I was giving Giuliani a close look in
spite of quite a few things, because he projects strength on the war.
But telling social conservatives to “get over it” is arrogant. It also
betrays what he really thinks about the pro-life movement. We don’t
define ourselves by “what we’re against,” but by what we’re for: the
right to life. It’s the most basic right.
Well, I'd agree with Bryan -- as I normally do -- if that's what
Giuliani meant. I contacted his office, who sent me a transcript of the
entire question and answer:
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I have a question about the former
platform in the Republican Party allowed abortion in the case of rape,
incest, and life of the mother. I believe in that and I believe that
because of the abortion issue in the Republican Party it is dividing
this party so badly that we may not be able to elect a Republican
president and I hope-I’d like to hear what your thoughts are on that.”
MAYOR GIULIANI: “What my thoughts are on the big question? I can tell you my thoughts on both.”
AUDIENCE MEMBER: “The big question.”
GIULIANI: “On the big question my thoughts are we shouldn’t allow it
to do that. Electing a Republican in 2008 is so important to the war on
terror, the ability to keep up an economy that’s an economy or growth,
or from the point of view of what we believe as Republicans to really
set us in the wrong direction. Democrats are entitled to think
something different but I think that there will be a major difference
in the direction of this country whether we have a Republican or
Democrat in 2008 and 2009. On abortion I think we should respect each
other. I think that’s what we should do and we should respect the fact
that this is a very difficult moral question and a very difficult
question and that very good people of equally good conscience could
come to different opinions on it. My view of it is I hate abortion. I
think abortion is wrong. To someone who I cared about or cared to talk
to me about it and wanted my advice, the advice I would give them is
not to do it and to have adoption as an option to it. When I was the
Mayor adoptions went way up, abortions went down but ultimately I
respect that that’s somebody else’s decision and that people of
conscience can make that decision either way and you can’t put them in
jail for it. (applause) And then I think our party, our party has to
get beyond issues like that where we can have people who are very good
people who have different views about this, they can all be Republican
because our party is going to grow and we’re going to win in 2008 if
we’re a party that is characterized for what we are for and not if
we’re a party that’s known for what we are against. …”
That isn't quite the same as what the Register described in its
headline as "Get past social issues". Giuliani is pro-choice, and he's
been very open about that. Of course he will want to play down the
differences Republicans have on social issues in favor of national
defense and the war on terror. That isn't the same as telling
Republican voters to "get over" their values and policy preferences.
Giuliani explained himself clearly enough for the audience member, but apparently not enough for the press. Surprise, surprise.
UPDATE: Bryan has updated his post with the context -- and just to
underscore this, I had the same reaction at first when I read the Des
Moines Register article.