Giuliani Is No Nixon

The Weekly Standard: Evidence Of Similarity Between Late President And 2008 Hopeful Is Thin At Best

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Matthew Continetti.

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Is Rudy Giuliani the political reincarnation of Richard Nixon? That was the argument former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson made in a Washington Post column last week.

Leave aside the obvious facts that Nixon's presidency ended in disgrace more than 30 years ago, that times, societies, and politics change, and that different politicians capture the imagination of different constituencies in different ways. And leave aside the fact that Gerson incorrectly says Giuliani supports the "waterboarding" interrogation technique, even though Giuliani has said repeatedly since June that he does not think waterboarding is necessary in "aggressive" interrogations. In his column, Gerson offers three arguments for why Giuliani more closely resembles Nixon than the former New York City mayor's self-described hero and former boss, Ronald Reagan. The arguments don't add up.

The first is that Nixon was "a talented man without an ideological compass," and Gerson thinks Giuliani shows signs of being the same. The only evidence for this that Gerson offers is Giuliani's endorsement of Democrat Mario Cuomo over George Pataki in the 1994 New York gubernatorial race. But Giuliani's (wrongheaded) decision had more to do with his longstanding rivalry with Pataki and Pataki's patron, former New York senator Alfonse D'Amato, than ideology.

Though he doesn't mention it, that rivalry actually lends a little credence to Gerson's second argument, which is that "Giuliani's combativeness, on occasion, blurs into pettiness." But Gerson backs this assertion with no evidence, so one has to assume he doesn't take it too seriously.

That leaves Gerson's third argument. He says a Giuliani primary victory would "place the Republican nominee in direct conflict with the Roman Catholic Church." This is because Giuliani's positions on abortion, stem cell research, and the death penalty are the "exact opposite of Catholic teaching." That may be true, but it is not an argument for why Giuliani resembles Nixon, a Quaker. It's an argument for social and religious conservatives, Catholics in particular, to oppose Giuliani. It's also worth remembering that the Catholic Church ignores the departures from its teaching of Ted Kennedy and any number of Democrats far to the left of Giuliani on these issues.

In fact, on almost any issue, the differences between Giuliani and Nixon are profound. Start with domestic policy. Nixon presided over a large government expansion, creating new federal departments like the Environmental Protection Agency. Giuliani says that he would cut government, shrinking the federal workforce by 20 percent by not replacing retiring employees, requiring mandatory 5 to 20 percent budget cuts in all departments annually, and ending the practice of anonymous congressional earmarks. Nixon also instituted the first racial preferences program for government contracting. Giuliani was the first GOP candidate to release a statement praising the Supreme Court's recent anti-preferences ruling.

Nixon authored massive federal interventions with an eye toward short-term political gain. Regulations spewed forth from the Nixon administration, most famously his arbitrary reduction of highway speed limits to 55 miles per hour. He took the U.S. dollar off the gold standard, devaluing the currency and laying the foundation for subsequent inflation. He raised taxes. He imposed wage and price controls. He was willing to impose tariffs and duties to guarantee his reelection.

If you read Giuliani's many position papers or listen to him on the stump, you see that his economic program is pretty much in a separate galaxy from Nixon's. Giuliani would maintain the Bush tax cuts and seek to reduce the tax burden even further. He says he would work to reinstate presidential "fast track" trade authority, which allows the president to negotiate trade agreements directly with foreign governments and submit them to Congress for an up-or-down vote. He would sever the link between employment and health insurance by creating a $15,000 tax deduction for insurance and increasing the utility and availability of health savings accounts. Whatever this is, it is not the Supplemental Security Income program.

On foreign policy, Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger devised the policy of détente, by which the United States accepted the Soviet Union as a status quo power and abandoned attempts at Communist rollback. The most vociferous critics of détente were those conservatives, neoconservatives like Norman Podhoretz especially, who argued that Nixon and Kissinger ignored the Soviet empire's true aims as a revolutionary expansionist power and that a more aggressive U.S. stance was necessary to oppose it. Recently the Giuliani campaign announced its foreign policy team. Norman Podhoretz is a senior adviser.

In his column, Gerson mentions that Nixon appointed Justice Harry Blackmun, the author of Roe v. Wade, to the Supreme Court. Blackmun found a right to abortion in the Fourteenth Amendment — a "loose" interpretation of the constitutional text, to put it charitably. Last week Giuliani went to Iowa to discuss his "Ninth Commitment to the American People," part of which is appointing "strict constructionist judges" to the bench. Giuliani told reporters that his model Supreme Court nominees are John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas. Over the years all four have voiced concern over, or outright opposition to, the Court's abortion jurisprudence. Last week Giuliani also announced his "Justice Advisory Committee." During the Bush presidency, four members of Giuliani's committee — Ted Olson, Larry Thompson, Miguel Estrada, and Maureen Mahoney — have been mentioned as possible future Court nominees.

In his pursuit of power, Richard Nixon would often pander. "Pander" is not a word people typically associate with Rudolph Giuliani. Indeed, at a restaurant in Le Mars, Iowa, last week, I heard Giuliani tell an audience member that while he believes in God and prays, "I don't know if I conform completely to the teachings of any particular faith," and that "I'm probably more a student of religion than a practitioner of religion." The audience listened quietly, then laughed when Giuliani added, "I pray like a lawyer — I try to make a deal." Has there ever been a Republican presidential candidate more frank about his, shall we say, complicated religiosity?

It is clear that Giuliani's pro-choice views on abortion trouble Gerson more than anything else. And he is right that those Americans who have "been persuaded over the years to support Republicans mainly on the pro-life issue" may turn out to be "less impressed by a conservatism purged of pro-life moralism." (How they would react to a conservatism infused with Giuliani's moralism is unclear.)

No one knows what single-issue pro-life voters might do should Giuliani become the Republican nominee. Nor does anyone know who might replace them in the Republican coalition if they left. It's clear, though, that if Giuliani turns out to be the nominee, it will be despite, not because of, his consistent — since 1989 — stance on Roe. But this would not mean that Giuliani is the next Nixon. It would mean only that he is one of a kind.

[marcodele]

I'm sure he's at least as corrupt as Nixon was.
That should make him the perfect candidate for this bunch of cut throat neocons in power now.

[tejasdemo]

Lol

[actornaught]

ummmm.... riiight...

actually, Nixon was alot smarter than Rudy, 'tho they're probably equally dishonest.

The better comparison is with Rudy's "hero", that epitome of empty suits, Ronald Raygun. So has Rudy started drooling on himself, too?

Depends...

[blancadebree]

As a conservative, a life-long member of the NRA, a non-fertile woman against abortion, and a loving Christian who hates homos, I think Giuliani is worse than Nixon. He is the worst thing to happen to my party since Arnold. It is my sincere hope that a Deep Throat steps forward and derails this guy before we lose another election to the Defeatocrats.

[elgraz]

GIULIANI FOR PRESIDENT. VIVA GIULIANI.

[adian1-2009]

No comments. Giuliani is a malabarist. We do not need that for President. We need a honest man or woman. We need a man or a woman President that will use honest words to dress her or his honest thoughts. We need a woman or man President that would be willing to take well intended actions to dress his or her intentions. But, for the US sake, we do not need any woman or man President that would be willing to use lies to dress his or her hidden agendas. We have had more than enough of that during the last 6 years. Mr. Giuliani should take some time out of his more than full daily agenda and take a look at the writings of Mr. Arthur Eric Blair (AKA George Owell). Maybe that would bring him to honesty and reality. Kafka would characterize Giuliani like this: the insurance doctor who regards all mankind as perfectly healthy malingerers.

[adian1-2009]

I apologize. I missed the "r" in Mr. Orwell's last name. He is the one who wrote Animal Farm, 1984, etc. (Arthur Eric Blair 1903-1950).

[cxbcxb-2009]

Wow. This writer is quoting a POLITICIAN's promises on the campaign trail, meaning he has no interest in reality. (Maybe he didn't get the memo that candidates SAY baloney to get elected. EX: ask Rudy if he'll guarantee those promises IN WRITING and resign if he breaks them. He will refuse. WOuld you hire a carpenter who won't guarantee his promises if you hire him????)

Rudy is the biggest charlatan in US history and has gotten caught lying about almost everything, from his personal life to his political opinions.

EX: Rudy didn't expand govt??? He expanded NYC's govt more than any mayor expanded govt in history. EX: Rudy ballooned the army of lawyers in the Corporation Counsel (so they could fight all the lawsuits from Rudy's violations of federal, state, and city laws). And this army lost, as Rudy paid out over $500 MILLION every year to settle the lawsuits when he repeatedly was convicted in court of violating civil rights and many other crimes.

more in a moment...

[cxbcxb-2009]

EX: Rudy ballooned govt via the bogus shell game of privatization. EX: he would "privatize" a govt service (say, welfare "job training") and the contracts would go to his aides and cronies. They then hire people with our TAX MONEY, but they aren't technically govt employees, so Rudy would then say "I shrunk the number of govt employees"! When, in fact, he greatly expanded the number of people paid by the govt. And in most cases, the private workers were paid a LOT more than govt workers. (Here in NYC, new cops are paid $25,000 a year!!!) The head of Con Ed now makes $1.4 million while the President only gets $400k. See any difference?

I could go on forever. Ask Team Rudy to debate me and watch them chicken out: christopher at
mayorcxb at yahoo dot com.

Rudy has more scandals than every other candidate combined.

Hell, his OWN POLICE COMMISSIONER and best pal is a convicted criminal. Doesn't that tip people off?

I'll simply quote Rudy, who said his dad was a saint and his role model. Rudys' right: it was proven his dad was a mobster who did time in Sing Sing for robbing a milkman!

He's so crooked there is NO way he can lose this election.

Watch.

[uradufuss]

Richard Nixon was widely known to be a crook before he ever took the Presidential Office. If Ike knew what was going on in Washington, behind his back, he would have fired Nixon; just like Kennedy fired Allen Dulles. Well, now there's a pair -Nixon and Dulles? Hmmm?

[alanrobisch]

what the heck are you guys talking about. while i totally disagree with his stance on social issues giuliani showed great ability in making NYC a livable city again and he showed true leadership in the period directly after 9/11. He may not be of extraordinary character, it seems other americans elected bill clinton one of the great liars of all time and will probably elect Hilary his peer in lying.

[imnho]

If the war continues to go the way its going then the question of Rudy being president will bew academic. If we are still up to our eyeballs Iraq at this time next year the Democratics can nominate almost anybody running and win the election. It will just be a question of the size of the blow out.

Iraq is quickly becoming an albatross around the neck of the GOP

[j-whitman]

alanrobisch2,,,,, Rudy didn't reduce crime in NY, he tried to steal the credit from his predecessors..... He's just another profiteer & he made multi-millions from 9/11

[j-whitman]

elgraz,,,, Rudy showed America he doesn't care about Iraq or our troops --- He skipped all the meeting of the Iraq Study Group he was a member of.. For what ?? Stuff his pockets with millions from speeches & apperiances.

[uradufuss]

When it becomes vogue to compare a candidate to a criminal, like Richard Nixon; then you know your party is in serious trouble. Next, I suppose we will be comaparing candidates, favorably, to Adolph Hitler

[uradufuss]

To alanrubish2: Clinton lied about sexual encounters...big things --you know, like you lie when you talk about how long your *** is. On the other hand, Nixon thought it was fine to be a burgler on the side --and then lie about that. (Of course, that was nothing compared to some of the things he did, before that, and got away with.) And now, true to Nixon's legacy, Bush lies about little things, weapons of mass destruction, who leaked an CIA agent's name to the press, fully funding his programs, did he really serve in the National Guards(no)...yadda, yadda, yadda. Clinton finally came clean, whereas this president has too much blood on his hands to ever come clean.

[katg21]

Pointless article.

[observantx]

Oh boy!!

More "Kristol meth" for the neocon faithful.

It's even better than the Kool-Aid

[taddles-2009]

LOL...so you are saying the Giuliani isn't even as good as Nixon who was reviled as one of the worst presidents in history.....good analogy.

Oh and all the cr4p about being a "great" leader after 911...Giuliani's screw ups in office before 911 caused the deaths of hundreds of firefighters on the day.

Wow...an incompetent, philandering, moron with no hair or an incompetent, philandering, moron with good hair, or just an incompetent, philandering, moron...the choices in the Republican list are pretty pathetic.

[taddles-2009]

"Pointless article.
Posted by katg21 at 11:10 AM : Jul 25, 2007"


And God knows if anyone would know about "pointless" it would be you.

[briannorwood]

Please GOP, nominate Rudy! He will be an easy target. Come on! He's a flip-flopping drag queen with nothing to say other than "We were attacked on 9/11".

[tbweb]

The NYPD/FD are swift boating Rudy and will sabotage his campaign, shame! Poor Rudy!