A conservative case for Rudy
Being the lone blogger in attendance at Monday evening’s Rudy Giuliani house party was a treat, indeed. As citizen journalists representing GraniteGrok, my wife and I were granted complete access right along side Tiffany Eddy and the WMUR NewsNine crew, NECN, Fox News Channel, and other major media. That speaks volumes to the level of respect and importance the major campaigns are starting to assign the New Media. Prior to the start and during the event, I had the added treat of meeting Rich Lowry of National Review (the only magazine I subscribe to) and NROnline. Watching him check out GraniteGrok on his Blackberry was pretty exciting.
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As I noted in a previous post, the house party had the air of a rock show. And why not? It sure seems as though Rudy has become the apparent Republican “rock star” of the moment. The crowd was somewhat more energetic than what I have grown accustomed to in local GOP circles.
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The most immediate first impression of Rudy, the man, is that he exudes a vibrant air of confidence. Not in the cocky sense, but in a way that comes from a history of success and accomplishment combined with a lack of fear of the unknown. He is comfortable with speaking and fielded unscripted questions from those in attendance and from the media with apparent ease.
“Yeah, so what, Doug. This is all good, but not one bit of what you’ve said is about anything of substance.”
True—but if you believe, as I do, that one of the biggest problems for our Nation today is a lack of leadership ability on the part of President Bush, then all of the above is, in fact, very important. As I commented to Rich Lowry during the event, politics in the modern era (and probably every other one too, now that I think about it) is as much perception as it is substance. One must seem to be presidential, in order to be president. The issues? Of course they’re important, but they aren’t the primary consideration of many voters. How else can one explain a Barack Obama?
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The good thing about Rudy Giuliani is that he happens to be good on a great many issues. Let me explain…
Rudy offered 3 main thrusts for the war in Iraq: Clear, hold, and build. This is the new strategy being implemented by the military as supported by President Bush. He believes that we must catch Bin Laden. He too, would veto the military appropriations bill passed by the Democrats. He believes a larger overall force is need, but with no draft. Several reporters pressed him on the draft issue. One thing I really picked up on was his characterization of the enemy, naming them by name:
"There are people in this Islamic extremist terrorist movement... however you want to describe it-- but you've got to describe it honestly."
And he nails the very nature of the threat:
"If you don't face your problems honestly, it's very dangerous in a world in which there are people who want to come here and kill you."
For me, no other issue trumps that of the war, which is, as I've often said, a new world war. Rudy sums up the current situation and the absurdity of the Democrats' current strategem:
"We're not at war because we want to be, America is not a warlike country. We're people that want peace....But when people want to come here and kill us, we have to be on offense."
As for the Democrats and their timetable and final date of withdrawal, the Mayor correctly says
"I've never heard in the history of war, announcing to your enemy and handing them a schedule of your retreat."
Obviously he hit other themes and points as well. He started his speech calling ours the greatest Nation in the world with the greatest people.
"If we can't solve our problems, then there's something wrong with us. There isn't anything wrong with us. We''re a very strong people. Talented people."
It was good to hear a leader speak in such a positive way about Americans. He really struck me as quite Reaganesque in his optimism. Again- this may not quite be a substantive measure, but nevertheless, it is an important quality for an American president to possess. Who needs a Hillary crabbin' at us or AlGore and his constant stream of gloom and doom?
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After praising New Hampshire for its lack of broad-based taxes, which he called the reason for our robust economy, he discussed his record of tax-cutting in NYC and the resultant RISE of tax receipts that followed. Supply-side economics? It sure sounded like it to me. He calls himself the
"strongest fiscal conservative in the race that has practiced it more than the rest."
He then sang my song on taxes, believing the government should cut them to
"put money back in your pockets because you'll spend it in a much smarter way than the Federal government will."
Hear! Hear! With Steve Forbes on the team, this is an area where Hizzoner is going to be tough to beat.
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He spoke at some length about healthhcare, noting
"We have the best health care in the world----- with problems. Let's fix the problems, not ruin the system."
By "ruin" he meant the implementation of a universal, or governement-controlled system. Refering to the socialistic systems of the European and Canadien model, he reminded those in attendence that people clamor to come to US hospitals from all over the world. The opposite is not true- nobody really desires the care offered in such places like Germany or France. His answer: more competion and market-based initiatives. The bottom line, said Mr. Giuliani:
"More CHOICE."
And, he said, that's
"also the answer to education: More choice."
Charter schools, and empowered parents with the right and ability to choose the schools their children will attend. Rudy was able to implement such ideas and notions while Mayor of New York City... all with a hostile legislative body. Perhaps he's the guy that can finally get it done at the Federal level.
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The other main point repeated several times throughout the event was his desire and ability to make government work. He acknowledged the post-Katrina fiasco and pledged to fix what's broken, much like he did when assuming office as Mayor and then in the aftermath of September 11th. Additionally, he promised thourough reviews and accounting within the government to identify and control wasteful spending.
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Optimism. Defense with a strong offense. Low taxes. Personal empowerment and choice. The ability to communicate. Are these not all the very qualities embodied by Ronald Reagan, the greatest conservative president in our lifetime? Could Rudy Giuliani be the one to finally come close to filling the Gipper's huge shoes? Can he garner enough votes to beat whoever the Democrats end up picking as their candidate? I'm starting to believe he can...
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I'm still not ready to settle on a final pick for the Republican nomination at this stage of the race, but if I were voting today, I just might go with Rudy.
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