Candidate Profile: Rudy Giuliani
November 9, 2007
Rudy Giuliani was the mayor of New York City when the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center occurred. Since then he has been one of the Republican Party’s most recognizable figures and an ardent apologist for the war on terror. Some of the controversy surrounding “America’s mayor” include his marital history (he is twice divorced, currently married to his third wife) and his not-so-conservative stances on abortion and gay marriage. Here are the facts:
Born: New York, 1944
Party: Republican
Pre-politics Career: U.S. Attorney
Political Experience: Mayor of New York City, 1994-2001
The Issues:
Iraq
Invading Iraq was “absolutely the right thing to do. It’s unthinkable that you would leave Saddam Hussein in charge of Iraq and be able to fight the war on terror” (Republican debate in New Hampshire, June 2007). “Like all Americans, Rudy Giuliani prays for the success of our troops in Iraq and their safe return home. But he believes setting an artificial timetable for withdrawal from Iraq now would be a terrible mistake, because it would only embolden our enemies. Iraq is only one front in the larger war on terror, and failure there would lead to a broader and bloodier regional conflict in the near future. Building an accountable Iraq will assist in reducing the threat of terrorism” (Official campaign website).
Illegal Immigration
Issue a single, tamper-proof biometric ID card: the Secure Authorized Foreign Entry Card (SAFE Card) to be uniform for all non-citizen workers and students, utilizing tamper-proof and biometric features for secure identification. Create a single national database of foreigners. Identify those who have left the country with biometric check-out system: Forty-five percent of illegal immigrants in America came into our country legally but overstayed their visas. Rudy believes we need a biometric check-out system so we know who has left America and can focus enforcement on those who remain.
Deport all illegal aliens who commit a felony.
Require all immigrants to truly read, write and speak English, and learn American civics.
(Official campaign site)
Health Care
“We should be giving you a major tax deduction, $15,000 for a family, so you can buy your own health insurance… Then we should have a health savings account in which you can put some money aside to pay for your ordinary medical expenses”
“…The reality is that we need a free market. We need 100 million Americans making different decisions that will bring down the cost of health insurance; it will bring down the cost of prescription medicines. Free-market principles are the only things that reduce cost and improve quality. Socialized medicine will ruin medicine in the United States”
(Republican debate in New Hampshire, June 2007).
Tax Reform
“I’ve seen how pro-growth policies lead to broader prosperity. We’ll not only keep the current tax cuts in place or their equivalent, we’ll enact additional tax relief and give the Death Tax the death penalty. High tax rates hurt business and destroy jobs. I know that tax cuts are good for the economy. It’s not just theory for me because I cut taxes and got results as Mayor of New York City. As President, I will cut taxes further” (Official campaign website).
Energy/The Environment
“I think we have to accept the view that scientists have that there is global warming and that human operation, human condition, contributes to that. And the fact is that there is a way to deal with it and to address it in a way that we can also accomplish energy independence, which we need as a matter of national security… We should be supporting all the alternatives. We need a project similar to putting a man on the moon” (Republican debate in New Hampshire, June 2007).
Abortion
“Promote a culture of life: Adoption is a compassionate alternative for women facing the decision of having an abortion, and as a society, we can help foster a culture of life by providing additional options. The measures that have reduced abortions since their peak in the late 1980s must be maintained.
“Encourage informed decisions: Rudy is committed to ensuring that women have access to complete and up-to-date information on the adoption process.
“Improve federal abortion data: Current federal data collection is incomplete and slowly released. States and localities should be encouraged to submit timely, thorough and reliable data to allow us to track progress toward decreasing abortion.
“Maintain the Hyde Amendment: Rudy will oppose any attempt to change restrictions on federal funding for abortion. He believes the Hyde Amendment must not be removed by Congress” (Official campaign site).
Same-sex Marriage
“I clearly believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, although I did support domestic partnerships and still do – a contractual relationship” (Republican debate in Iowa, August 2007).
