Friday, May 04, 2007

Giuliani--Not Bending

MSNBC has this piece about Rudy Giuliani's performance last night in the GOP debate,
For those who think supporting the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision is essential to winning the Republican nomination, Giuliani had a matter-of-fact, take-it-or-leave it answer: That’s not me, so deal with it.
To many social conservatives, this could be the moment that killed Giuliani's candidacy among that group, but for others it could be the point where Giulani wins.

Assuming Giulini wins the GOP nod, a difficult task to be sure, Giuliani's stance takes abortion as an issue out of the election. Pro-choicers will of course continue to ask the question about judgeships, particularly since a Giuliani presidency may get at least one crack at appointing a Supreme, but that doesn't carry as much heat as a pro-life, my way or the highway stance on abortion. For some people, who inexplicably vote only this one issue, Giuliani in the GOP slot may mean that those voters can be brought into the GOP camp because they might lean that way on many other issues.

But here is the other appeal of Giuliani's stance. For many, if not most people who are moderate conservatives or social moderates, Rudy's stance mirrors their own. We don't like partial birth abortions (despite the fact that they are rare), we believe that the parents of a minor girl should be notified and should consent, but if the woman is 18, it is a decision that should be left to her, her doctor and the government has no business regulating that until the fetus is viable.

Is it a cop-out position? No, not when you consider that the idea is less government all the way around. It is not government imposing one vision of morality upon everyone. That is the key--it really is not something government should be involved in and certainly not the federal government.

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