Giuliani Supports Abortion Rights May 10, 2007 Jill Not that I’m voting for him anyway, but it’s nice to see someone in the Republican party stand up to bullying from the religious right and come out as pro-choice.
I’m skeptical of displays of political courage that only come after displays of political cowardice have failed. I suspect he’ll come up with a host of exceptions and qualifications as the campaign continues. Perhaps he’ll take a page out of Mitt Romney’s book and campaign for a stalemate. Meaning, he won’t work to outlaw abortion, but he also won’t do anything to roll back restrictions on the right to choose that have been implimented by Republicans.
Unfortunately, if people like Jill won’t vote for Rudy, no one will. The Republican rank and file call pro-choice, anti-gun Republican candidates like Giuliani, RINOS — Republicans In Name Only. So, despite his able handling of the 9/11 attacks, Rudy is unlikely to get the nomination. Similarly, Schwarzenegger would never have survived a Republican gubernatorial primary in California — the party faithful has been hellbent to nominate true rightwing believers, who haven’t a prayer of appealing to Democrats or independents.
How, exactly, did Rudy ably handle the 9/11 attacks? Yeah, he handled them fine, but I think it would have been kind of hard to screw that up. Short of running away or setting himself on fire, there’s kind of nothing he could have done wrong. Show up at the site. Talk about heroes. I don’t mean to sound crass, but what exactly did he do that was so incredibly special or unique? As for why I wouldn’t vote for him, it’s not because he’s a Republican. I don’t really enjoy partisan politics, and I’m not going to vote for someone just because they have a D next to their name on the ballot. But Rudy is horrible on a lot of issues that I care quite a bit about. He’s one of the worst politicians imaginable for civil liberties and especially First Amendment issues (remember the elephant dung Virgin Mary fiasco at the Brooklyn Museum). He was a major force in defending the immigration policy of the Reagan administration, which was colossally racist and cruel — see Rudy’s defense of interning several thousand Haitians. And his policies as NYC mayor did a lot of damage to the poor, and to the homeless in particular. That’s why I’m not voting for Rudy. I would imagine, though, that others feel quite differently.
As a lifelong New Yorker, I can safely say that Giuliani was a horrible mayor. While he rode in on a wave of popularity, before he left he had completely dvided the city in two on race and class issues, from police shootings to union-busting. As for 9/11, he had previously refused to equip the police and FDNY with the proper radios, which might have saved a lot of lives that day.
How, exactly, did Rudy ably handle the 9/11 attacks? Yeah, he handled them fine, but I think it would have been kind of hard to screw that up. Short of running away or setting himself on fire, there’s kind of nothing he could have done wrong. Show up at the site. Talk about heroes. I don’t mean to sound crass, but what exactly did he do that was so incredibly special or unique? Oh, he screwed up a lot, that’s for sure. For instance, he chose to move the City’s emergency response center to the ONE place in NYC that everyone knew for sure was targeted by terrorists. And he knew that the police and fire departments couldn’t communicate with each other on their radios, but didn’t do anything about it. Not to mention: Bernie Kerik.
I don’t mean to sound crass, but what exactly did he do that was so incredibly special or unique? Well, I think our current president has dropped the bar so low for able handling of crisis situations that in hindsight Rudy’s actions seem more above-average than they actually were.
Hey Jill and other posters, I don’t know where to send you all links to Feministe-y things… in any case, here’s something: http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=518304 In late April a student (sophomore, woman) at Harvard wrote this op-ed about how women shouldn’t “rush” to cry rape when often the supposed rape is “their fault.” It’s an infuriating article, but in the comments section the author is getting a lot of support for being brave and telling women that if they talk the talk, they have it coming. I have heard this kind of extreme anti-feminism so much lately from supposedly super-educated women… I wish I knew how to handle it. Two weeks ago a Rhodes Scholar told me that women who get raped are inevitably asking for it, “even if it’s just a little bit.” Help.
Fuck Rudy and his pro-choice past. This is what he had to say after the “partial-birth” abortion ruling… Mr. Giuliani: The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. I agree with it If your curious, here’s what everybody else had to say… Mr. McCain: Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life and integrity of the judiciary. The ruling ensures that an unacceptable and unjustifiable practice will not be carried out on our innocent children. It also clearly speaks to the importance of nominating and confirming strict constructionist judges who interpret the law as it is written, and do not usurp the authority of Congress and state legislatures. As we move forward, it is critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of life. Mr. Romney: Today, our nation’s highest court reaffirmed the value of life in America by upholding a ban on a practice that offends basic human decency. This decision represents a step forward in protecting the weakest and most innocent among us. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democrat: This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman’s right to choose and recognized the importance of women’s health. Today’s decision blatantly defies the Court’s recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. John Edwards, a Democrat: I could not disagree more strongly with today’s Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake – starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman’s right to choose. or Barack Obama, a Democrat: I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman’s medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women. It is nice to see some democrats stepping up to the plate with choice.
Not to rock the boat- but as a lifelong New Yorker myself, I can say that while I do not agree with many of his policies, he cleaned up the city a lot. It is a huge change that I can ride the trains at 3AM and not feel freaked out. And I think that many many many NYC Republicans would vote for him in a heartbeat. I’m not one- but I can think of a lot of them.
How, exactly, did Rudy ably handle the 9/11 attacks? Well, I think our current president has dropped the bar so low for able handling of crisis situations that in hindsight Rudy’s actions seem more above-average than they actually were. Yep. What she said. Rudy did not continue to read stories to primary schoolers, and Rudy did not disappear for three days. Plus nobody had been briefing Rudy about possible Al-Qaeda attacks. But mostly, 9/11 is the only thing that gained Rudy national attention. As far as radios go, from friends’ experience at Motorola, each public agency is a separate fiefdom with its own unique demands. Only a major catastrophe would motivate them to co-operate.
I’m skeptical of displays of political courage that only come after displays of political cowardice have failed. I don’t count this as a calculated display of “political courage” so much as Rudy doing his usual “I’m not taking shit from anyone” routine.
Today, CNN political contributor J.C. Watts criticized Giuliani’s position, stating, “That’s the same as saying, I’m personally opposed to slavery, but if somebody else wants to own slaves, it’s okay.” http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/10/jc-watts-compares-abortion-to-slavery/#comments what a bizarre analogy.