The Pitch, Part III

Baseball Crank likes Rudy, too. This is useful to note because he describes himself as a pro-life “Reaganite,” and seems to care a great deal about social issues. So, acknowledging that Rudy starts out to the left of himself, he nevertheless thinks that Giuliani is the best choice in the field right now and even an acceptable choice for social conservatives. Now, this guy is looking at the decision from a very different perspective than me. But he argues very well (yes, Baseball Crank is a lawyer) for America’s Mayor. Highlights from his pitch include the following:

...far and away the most important [issue in the election will be] the global battle against international terrorism and radical jihad… If there is one candidate we can depend on not to bend to Beltway pundit fatigue on this issue, it's Mayor Giuliani - he was there on the ground when this war came to our shores, he was almost killed himself that day, he went to the funerals of the firemen and cops he had bonded with over his prior 7 and a half years as mayor. It's personal.

Rudy will show himself to be the best campaigner in the GOP field - he's quick-witted, funny, and long accustomed to the hot lights of the national stage… He's also tough enough to come out swinging at whatever the most likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, can throw at him.

Rudy's liberal record on social issues like abortion and gay rights will cost him some votes nationally, but mainly in states that are not going to break for an arch-liberal Democrat like Hillary or Obama. And Rudy will play well in Florida and put in play key Northeastern states the Democrats can't win without: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, possibly even Rhode Island (which has a huge Italian-American population), and make the GOP ticket at least competitive in the Empire State (though he would probably only win NY if the Dems nominate Edwards). This is, after all, a man who won two terms in a city that's 80% Democrat.

With the significant exception of his years in the POW camp, McCain has never been a leader. … [He] is a triangulator, a "maverick" who glories in contrasting himself to the people he would need to lead. … McCain has, too often, opened fire on his own [political] troops. [But] With the exception of his ill-fated endorsement of Mario Cuomo over George Pataki,* Rudy has not made a practice of attacking his own party, a fact that sets him quite apart from many other moderate/liberal Northeastern Republicans. Virtually all the major battles of his mayoralty were with people to his left. Conservatives may not like where Rudy's starting point is on every issue, but they know when they get behind him they will all be facing in the same direction.

Rudy's record on fiscal, economic, law enforcement and education issues, his battles against racial preferences and the city's relentless race hucksters, and his outspoken stance on the war on terror, are all the stuff that should excite conservatives about his candidacy. … [T]here is, thus far, every indication that Rudy is both willing to appoint conservative judges and able to sell them against a hostile Senate - he's spoken favorably of John Roberts and Samuel Alito … . [Not that he] would be necessarily better at appointing judges than Romney or McCain, but (1) it's a close contest and (2) he'd obviously be better than any Democrat.

It's interesting that this would be the call for a pro-life, social conservative. Based on some of the other candidates that he praises lavishy, it's evident that this is a calculated decision, and one that he can get behind with some enthusiasm.

* The word on the street was that Giuliani’s endorsement was in exchange for Cuomo funnelling state dollars to solve the city’s budget and crime problems. Both he and Cuomo deny that; but Giuliani did pick the wrong horse, though, since Pataki won and hasn’t forgiven Rudy since.