Saturday, October 20, 2007

RUDY GIULIANI

Rudy Addresses His Disagreements with the FRC Crowd

"I'm not going to pretend I can be all things to all people."

"You know we have some areas of disagreement. We have many many areas of agreement... I'll always be honest to you. I come to you with an open heart and open mind, and I hope you will do the same... You have nothing to fear from me."

Saying some have tried to paint him as an activist for liberal causes, Giuliani urges the crowd to read "any New York Times editorial when I was mayor of New York City." Some laughter and applause in response.

"I don't hold myself up as a perfect example of religious faith... My faith in God and His guidance is at the core of who I am."

"Isn't it better that I tell you what I really beleive than to change all my positions to the prevailing political winds?" That gets some applause, and it's hard to interpret that line as anything other than a shot at Romney.

"Trust is better than 100 percent agreement."

"I don't believe in inevitable decline. I share with Ronald Reagan a spirit of optimism." This gets some applause.

"We drove pornography out of Times Square and other public spaces." Gets some applause and "woo"s. Follow-up lines with the details on the court cases are also well-received.

He moves on to the Brooklyn Museum. His line, "we also have the right of free speech" gets decent applause. "The government should never give out taxpayer money to desecrate religion" is an easy applause line that works.

Welfare to work, school choice, home schooling, "it takes a family, not a village, to raise a child"... when Rudy hits an area he agrees with this crowd, he makes a good case for those policies.

"I almost entered the Seminary. I am a product of parochial school... My first day of class that didn't begin with a prayer was my first day of NYU Law School. That first class, I was so confused, I began by making the sign of the cross."

He talks about his efforts to promote adoptions. By the time he left office, Giuliani said, his administration had raised adoptions 133 percent from when he took office, and "We found that abortions went down 18 percent during thatt time..."

When he says he shares the goal of a country without abortions, applause starts slow, and seems moderate.

He lays out some - oppose partial-birth abortions, promoting tax credits for adoptions, removing red tape for adoptions, etc.

Then he moves on to judges. "It is critical that judges understand that their duty is to interpret the law, not to make the law."

10/20 09:23 AMShare