Has Rudy Giuliani Finally Made Up His Mind?
May 10, 2007
After months of taking inconsistent positions on abortion, Rudy Giuliani has apparently come up with a new story. Really. This is it. According to The New York Times today, Giuliani plans in the coming days to "offer a forthright affirmation of his support for abortion rights in public forums, television appearances and interviews." [The New York Times, 5/10/07]
Giuliani's calculated effort to try to appear credible comes after news reports this week showed that his record on abortion rights is at odds with his rhetoric. According to The Politico, Giuliani personally contributed six times to Planned Parenthood, a leading abortion rights advocacy group, even though he repeatedly says he personally "hates" abortion. Rudy Giuliani also contradicted himself on the most basic question of choice during the course of the Republican debate last week on MSNBC. [Politico.com, 5/8/07, MSNBC, 5/3/07]
Last month, Giuliani changed his position on the federal abortion ban. Although he previously said he would "preserve the option for women," Giuliani praised the Supreme Court decision upholding the ban saying that the court "reached the correct conclusion." When he previously was asked whether he supports a ban, Giuliani said "no, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing." [Los Angeles Times, 4/19/07, CNN Inside Politics, 12/2/99]
"So Rudy has come up with a new story on a critical issue, let's see how long he sticks with this one. Rudy Giuliani's desperate attempt to appear consistent on critical issues for voters is laughable. He can run, but he can't hide his long history of inconsistencies," said DNC Spokeswoman Amaya Smith. "How can Giuliani portray himself as a strong leader if his credibility on a key issue is always under question? Rudy's rhetoric sounds like more of the same misleading leadership Americans have to suffered for the past six years."
GIULIANI: CONTRADICTS HIMSELF ON CHOICE DURING THE DEBATE
"OK" To Repeal Roe. Towards the beginning of the debate, on Roe V Wade he said "It would be OK to repeal." [MSNBC, 5/3/07]
But Would "Respect A Woman's Right" To Choose: Later on Giuliani said "I hate abortion" but then continued to say that "I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice." [MSNBC, 5/3/07]
GIULIANI'S ABORTION POSITION CHANGES DAILY
Giuliani Flip Flipped On Public Funding of Abortions Six Times, Including Four Times In 24 Hours.
Latest Position: For Hyde Amendment? In May 2007, at the first GOP Debate, Giuliani said, "I support the Hyde amendment. I believe that the Hyde amendment should remain the law. States should make their decision. Some states decide to do it. Most states decide not to do it. And I think that's the appropriate way to have this decided." Also, in March 2007, Giuliani's campaign told the Christian Broadcasting Network and the National Review Online that he supported the Hyde Amendment, which since 1976 has banned federal funding for abortion except in cases of life of the mother, rape and incest. [Debate, 5/3/07; National Review Online, 4/9/07]
April 4, Part I: However, on April 4th, Giuliani was asked directly by CNN's Dana Bash if he supported the use of public funding for abortions and Giuliani said "Yes" and said he would "probably" keep that position as president. [CNN Political Ticker, 4/4/07]
April 4, Part II: "The [Giuliani] campaign noted later in the day [on April 4th] that the former mayor would not seek to make any changes to current law, which restricts federal funding to cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother." [CNN Political Ticker, 4/4/07]
April 5, Part I: But then on April 5th, Giuliani said again he favors the public funding of abortion. At 11:30 am, AP reported, "Giuliani today defended his record of personally opposing abortions but still favoring the use of public money for the procedures." [AP/Fox21, 4/5/07]
April 5, Part II: However, at 12:45 pm, The National Journal's "Hotline On Call" shared a brand new e-mail from the Giuliani campaign claiming that "Rudy would not seek to change current federal law which provides federal funding for abortion only in cases of life of the mother, rape and incest." ; Hotline on Call, 4/5/07]
Giuliani Campaign Shamelessly Claimed Consistency. Four days later, on April 9th, Giuliani campaign policy director Bill Simon claimed Giuliani has been consistent in his position on public funding, writing "Rudy Giuliani has repeatedly said that he will not seek to change current law as described in the Hyde Amendment." [Brody File, CBN News, 3/28/07]
FLASHBACK: Giuliani Also Flip-Flopped In 1989 For Political Reasons. Giuliani's 2007 flip on public funding of abortion is nothing new; he flipped flopped on the issue in 1989, bringing his total number of flops to seven. A November 1989 video clip shows Mayoral candidate Giuliani saying, "There must be public funding for abortion for poor women. We can not deny any women the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources..I have also stated that I disagree with President Bush's veto last week of public funding for abortion." Earlier that year, Giuliani told New York's Conservative Party - a pro-life group whose endorsement he wanted - that he "did not favor government funding." [Newsday, 11/3/89]
Giuliani Said He Wouldn't Change His Position on Federal Abortion Ban, Then Did. In a 2007 statement, Giuliani said he supported the federal abortion ban saying, "The Supreme Court reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion. I agree with it." However, in 2000, Senate candidate Giuliani ironically supported Bill Clinton's veto of a bill similar to the one he recently upheld by the Supreme Court. "I'm not going to twist myself all around for anybody's endorsement. I wouldn't do it for the Republican endorsement, much less the Liberal or the Conservative or any other. They know who I am." And, in 1999, asked "whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortions," Giuliani said "no, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing." [CNN Inside Politics, 12/2/99; Giuliani statement, 4/18/07; Special Report With Brit Hume, Fox News Channel, 2/8/00]
