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Candidate Profile, Part 2: Rudy Giuliani
By Todd | May 14, 2007
For part 2 of our series, I decided to go with the guy leading the pack. Rudy Giuliani is a lawyer and a former two term mayor of New York City.
The following is from Mr. Giuliani’s website:
Fiscal Discipline
Before Rudy was elected Mayor, tax-and-spend policies created billion-dollar deficits and led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in New York City. Rudy restored fiscal discipline by controlling spending and cutting wasteful programs. He cut the size of city-funded government bureaucracy by nearly 20% - excluding the number of cops on the street and teachers in the classroom. Rudy’s record proves he can deliver results and return fiscal discipline to the federal government.Cutting Taxes
Rudy is the real fiscal conservative in the race. He cut taxes 23 times in New York and turned a $2.3 billion budget deficit into a multi-billion dollar surplus, while balancing the city’s budget. Because he turned his conservative principles into action, New York City taxpayers saved more than $9 billion in taxes and enjoyed their lowest tax burden in decades, while the economy grew and city government saw its revenues increase from the lower tax rates. Rudy Giuliani believes in supply-side economics, because he did it and he saw it work.Abortion
Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion – except when the life of the mother is at stake. He’s proud that adoptions increased 66% while abortions decreased over 16% in New York City when he was Mayor. But Rudy understands that this is a deeply personal moral dilemma, and people of good conscience can disagree respectfully.Marriage
Rudy Giuliani believes marriage is between a man and a woman. He does not - and has never - supported gay marriage. But he believes in equal rights under law for all Americans. That’s why he supports domestic partnerships that provide stability for committed partners in important legal and personal matters, while preserving the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.
There is much more on Rudy’s website and I recommend you give it a look.
I have a few personal thoughts on Mr. Giuliani as well. He is another highly intelligent individual and a strong fiscal conservative. I have no doubt Mr. Giuliani would fight to reduce the size of government if elected. I do, however have some serious doubts that a two term mayor has the experience necessary to be the leader of the free world. He has no foreign policy experience nor does he have any experience in congress.
I also have some doubts about his sincerity. Though I disagree with Rudy on abortion, I appreciate his willingness to stick to his guns. He has some backbone there. But then we come to the second amendment. He claims to support it and his website says he does, but his actions are much different. There is a great op-ed at humanevents.com, where Mr. Giuliani argued the Brady bill did not go far enough. He also argued in favor of a national gun registration and tougher national gun laws.
Rudy Giuliani is a sharp fiscal conservative, so if that’s your issue, he may be your guy. But if the second and tenth amendments are big issues to you (they are to me), You should probably keep looking.
On deck: John McCain.
Topics: National |
