[tag]Rudy Giuliani[/tag]’s appearance in Atlanta yesterday hasn’t generated nearly as much attention as [tag]John McCain[/tag]’s speech at [tag]Falwell[/tag] U last weekend, but it’s equally as shameless. And harder to understand.
Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani glided over his support for gay civil unions and declared heterosexual marriage to be “inviolate” today as he helped raise money for a former leader of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed, who is in a tough fight to become lieutenant governor of Georgia.
For Mr. Giuliani, who is considering a run for the presidency in 2008, the trip to Georgia allowed him to pick up a political chit from Mr. Reed that could be useful if and when Mr. Giuliani builds a national coalition that includes evangelical Republicans, who are a core part of Mr. Reed’s political base.
While Falwell is an anti-American clown, Reed is an even stranger friend for a top-tier presidential candidate to seek out — not because he’s a radical activist from the party’s Taliban wing (though he is), but because Reed is up to his ears in the Abramoff scandal. In fact, most Republicans nationwide (including Bush) have the good sense to avoid Reed like the plague, lest they be tied to a corrupt player in the corruption scandal of the year. And yet, there’s Rudy — who supports abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control — cozying up to Reed in an attempt to prove how conservative he is.
I can see the upside from Reed’s perspective. His ship is sinking and a Giuliani visit might give his struggling Lt. Gov. campaign a slight boost. But Giuliani seems to believe Reed’s blessing might help his presidential ambitions in 2008. I don’t doubt Giuliani will need to work wonders to somehow appeal to the party’s base if he runs for president, but if he thinks Reed is the answer, he’s picked the wrong horse. As Reed’s Republican primary opponent said, “We are glad to have [Giuliani] here, regardless of who he’s coming to support. We just hope being tied to Ralph Reed works out better for him than it has for Ralph’s other associates.” Ouch.
Oddly enough, there was one amusing thing both Giuliani and Reed seemed to agree on: neither wanted to talk about Bush. (thanks to J.C. for the tip)
Giuliani spoke of Reed’s “helping to elect several presidents.” Left unsaid was the fact that all of them were named Bush. “The president worked very, very hard for the tax cuts,” Giuliani said. His lips formed around the name “[tag]Bush[/tag]” once, in passing.
Reed mentioned his White House connections not at all.
When Rudy [tag]Giuliani[/tag] and Ralph [tag]Reed[/tag] don’t want to mention the president’s name — at a Republican fundraiser, in Georgia — you know Bush has fallen on hard times.