Giuliani makes his pitch to the religious right

October 20, 2007

Knowing full well that much of the religious right will leave the Republican Party if he gets the presidential nomination, Rudy Giuliani entered the lion’s den this morning, addressing the Values Voter Summit, the year’s largest gathering of religious right activists, groups, and leaders.

He went with the only pitch he could make: I’m not that bad.

Rudy Giuliani told religious conservatives Saturday they should neither fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion nor expect he would change purely for political advantage.

The Republican presidential candidate cast himself as an imperfect man who has sought guidance through prayer.

In a 40-minute speech received with polite applause, the former New York mayor tried to reach out to social conservatives. He said they share common ground and he invoked, as he often does, Ronald Reagan’s admonition that “my 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy.”

“My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am, I can assure you of that,” Giuliani said. “But isn’t it better for me to tell you what I believe rather than change my positions to fit the prevailing wind?”

He didn’t add, “unlike a certain former Massachusetts governor we know,” but I think the audience got the point anyway.

Will Giuliani’s pitch change any minds? It’s unlikely — as far as the audience is concerned, the former NYC mayor might as well be a Democrat. He’ll get points for showing up, but that’s not the kind of credit that will translate into meaningful support.

In terms of message, I think Giuliani pushed his luck a little with lines like this one.

“We’ve got to find a way to be more inclusive. Christianity is all about inclusiveness. It’s built around the most profound act of love in human history, isn’t it?”

I half expected the audience to say in unison: “No. This has been another edition of simple answers to simple questions.”

I also question this line:

“We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself.”

It’s odd; Giuliani says this on the stump all the time. Is it me, or is this an awful soundbite for a candidate? “I don’t always agree with myself”? Isn’t that fairly close to the for-it-before-against-it line?

Regardless, today’s gathering, hosted by the far-right Family Research Council, features a straw poll, the results of which will be available soon. I’ll let you know what happens, but I have a hunch Giuliani isn’t going to do well.

I think it’s a huge mistake to say “I don’t always agree with myself” to an audience made up of right-wing authoritarian followers.

RWAFs have a deep desire to back a man who knows exactly what he thinks and has no doubts about the rightness of what he thinks. They don’t want leaders who seem ambivalent, confused, cautious, or unsure of themselves. They don’t even like leaders who maintain consistent positions but express views that are significantly nuanced. They want their leaders to present a simple and unchanging political worldview, and do it in a strong and confident way. They want their leaders to tell them who the bad guys are, and what they need to do to defeat the bad guys.

  • “We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself.”

    I don’t think, coming from him at least, it sounds like what it’s supposed to mean. It makes him sound like he’s indecisive or not clear on what he should be clear on. He thinks he’s describing frankly that he has conflicted feelings about things, and that it sounds honest and makes him sound like he’s not a dumbass, and that everybody is going to hear him and think, “Yeah, I know, I’m just like that too.” But it doesn’t end up sounding like that. Which doesn’t bode well for him or the people he’s chosen to help him.

  • Something about these right wingers I’ve never understood. They’re all rugged individualists, dependent upon no one but themselves, contemptuous of those who think government should help society. But at the same time, they seem totally subservient and dependent upon this God they profess to believe in, unable to tie their own shoes without this deity’s wisdom and guidance. They all claim to pray constantly, and to me, that means begging for favors. I don’t know how else to interpret prayer except that you are asking God to do things for you. Even Rudy, who is not a fundamentalist, says:

    “My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am.”

    Aside from the fact that I don’t know how Rudy knows God is guiding him, I find something disconcerting about all this God talk. Why is it wrong for government to do things, but perfectly fine for God to them? Either way, it’s an admission that we really don’t stand our own, as these people claim they do.

  • Let’s NOT forget that NUMBER ONE Guiliani is a Gun Grabber.

    He supports Sarah Brady, he’s hates the NRA.

    If Guiliani gets elected he’ll deny the right to own guns.

    Hillary Clinton is a bigger gun supporter than Guiliani.

  • Giuliani is claiming to be consistent? He’s flip-flopped over civil unions, gun control, and a women’s right to choose. He’s had more political affiliations than most people have had spouses. The only thing he’s been consistent at is cheating: I’ve got shoes that have lasted longer than his marriages.

  • “We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself.”

    To which, Mitt Romney replied, “I know just what he means.”

    But seriously, I’m surprised Mayor McCheese didn’t just come right out an remind them all who it was that God himself personally chose to lead the country out of darkness and despair on 9/11.

  • “We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself.”

    He’s a schizo??? Well, that’s a novel approach to campaigning but it just might work… We’ve had a coke-head moron for preznit for the past 6+ yrs, why not a split personality one? Though I can’t help but wonder how many of them there are…There’s Julia, there’s Annie… Anyone knows of others?

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  • “an imperfect man who’s sought guidance through prayer…”

    i’m so sicka things like this that it makes me weak in the knees. imperfect? no kiddin, rudy. imperfect isn’t even the word. sought guidance through prayer? when did it become acceptable for “imperfect” men like bush and rudy to use prayer as this sort of ethereal eraser that magically wipes away all previous voter doubt? because they have a chummy relationship with “god,” are we supposed to blindly trust any and every poor decision they make? do they expect us, at the very least, to leave it up to god to miraculously guide our fearless republicans down the path to righteousness?

    these guys have closets so full of sinful secrets that i bet you could unlock the dusty doors and watch everything BUT god fall wriggling out around your feet. i realize politicians say what they have to say to win, but how long do we have to listen to em shamelessly play the god card? it’s not like they’re really fooling anybody…or are they?

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