Rudy G: Flip-Flopping Fool

I have to admit I’ve often been intrigued by former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani as a candidate for president, simply because his more liberal social views aren’t something you see everyday in a Republican presidential candidate. As someone who works in the criminal justice system, I’m also intrigued by the fact that New York’s crime rates went down during his tenure as mayor, all while he supported stronger gun control measures. However, I – along with plenty of other folks – have started to notice that Rudy G. the social liberal is quickly vanishing, replaced by the Rudy G. that panders shamelessly to the Republican base.

The Boston Globe has a great article on Rudy Giuliani’s shift to the right – a shift that in my mind’s even more despicable than Mitt Romney’s own turn back to the right. To underscore exactly what I’m talking about, let’s take a look at Rudy Giuliani’s position – both past and present – on a few issues.

• Civil Unions: Supported them as mayor of New York in 1998, but as recently as April 2007 said New Hampshire’s civil unions law “went too far.”
• Gun Control: As mayor, he talked about the need for strong federal laws because cities were at the mercy of the states with weak laws, but as a Republican presidential candidate he describes himself as “a strict constructionist” on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, advocating that reasonable restrictions be legislated by the individual states.
• Campaign Finance Reform: Has publicly supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law in the past, but on August 6th he called that past support of McCain-Feingold a mistake.
• Abortion: During his time as mayor of New York, Giuliani held events to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which he termed “historic,” but in the Republican debates in May 2007, he said he’d be fine either way if Roe v. Wade was overturned or kept.

So for all the mainstream media’s talk about how Mitt Romney’s changed his positions in an ovious attempt to pander to the Republican base, Rudy Giuliani’s really no better. He’s just as willing to change his position as suits his political needs, and I’d love to see him defend his record of flip-flopping if he ends up as the Republican nominee.