Here is a great analysis by Fr. Martin Fox of a recent Weekly Standard (a “conservative” publication) article promoting Giuliani entitled Lets Make a Deal…
It is all part of the fever that infects more and more folks as elections near: the sense that winning the next election is so supremely important that more and more must be thrown overboard in order to do it. Thus the condescending lectures that are being given these days to various conservative folks that they should just get over their concerns, and get on board the Giuliani (or Romney or McCain or fill in your own name) bandwagon.
It perpetuates the lie — I’m sorry, that’s what it is — that somehow, the “litmus test” of the 100% prolife position is an albatross for the GOP–that the GOP would be better off if it weren’t forced to nominate prolife candidates for president…
The article either betrays a laughable credulity on the part of the author, or the author expects his readers to be gullible dolts, when it says, oh, sure, Giuliani is pro-abortion, but he’ll choose the kind of judges prolifers want! Hold on, hold on…
First: Giuliani said he’d name justices like Alito and Roberts. Hasn’t anyone noticed that these judges have yet to demonstrate they are the kind of judges we hope for, and were promised?
Second: and we’re supposed to be impressed that Giuliani says this? What do you expect him to say? “I tend to favor nominees like Ginsberg and Thurgood Marshall.” I think if you go back, you will find GOP nominees always say the right things about who they’ll nominate as judges–the elder Bush did, so did Reagan. And Reagan has street cred as a conservative–yet of three he named to the high court, two were bad; Bush the elder was 50/50.
So please, how stupid do they think we are? “I’ll pick great judges” Oh, well, glad that’s settled…
Third: the article sidesteps the question of why Giuliani is pro-abortion. I don’t happen to know why he came to that view, but I do know how he justified his support for gun-control: he said, well, it was New York! I.e., he tailored his views so he’d get elected.
Oh, but of course, he’d never do that once he’s president…he wouldn’t want to get pro-aborts on board with anything he wanted, by trading away a supreme court justice? No, not Giuliani…
Another glaring flaw of the article–it’s really insulting, because it is as if the author thinks we’re too stupid to notice–is that it suggests that all conservatives have to object to is just this little ole difference, it’s not so great, really… I mean, it’s not like Giuliani is only a teensy-bit pro-abortion.
Only a few years ago, Giuliani was appearing before the National Abortion Rights Action League, proud to identify with them. “But he hasn’t done that lately!” Yeah, I wonder why?
Now, if you read those remarks–yes, they are brief–but they show him rather an advocate of the GOP being “pro choice” on abortion. If he was sincere, that suggests to me he will not be content to be a lonely pro-abort in a sea of prolifers. And of all the things you can assert about Giuliani, the idea that he’s going to leave the levers of power unhandled is pretty hard to swallow. If he becomes President, you can bet he’ll shape the party as he believes. Of course, he might not have been sincere in those remarks; fine–then don’t argue he’s sincere in what he promises you, now…
The Weekly Standard article is one of many showing up here and there, trying to sell conservatives on Giuliani. It reminds me of the scene in A Man for All Seasons, where one of the nobles got irritated with Thomas More (this is a paraphrase): we’ve all sold out, it wasn’t so hard–why do you have to be so prissy?
Who knows what will happen–but my gut is that if Giuliani somehow were to get the nomination, I think the GOP could be in for a big, nasty surprise in November 2008, especially if the Democrats were to decide 2008 were the year to stop being so aggressively pro-abortion (say, they nominated Obama, who seems to be playing a rhetorical game akin to Giuliani’s).