Word is spreading on the Right like wildfire that Rudy Giuliani freely and of his own volition made several contributions to Planned Parenthood in the 1990s. Apparently a “rival campaign” got this information from Rudy’s old tax returns and leaked it. To the Right, supporting Planned Parenthood is worse than admitting to being a Communist devil worshiper.
Two points: First, the returns in question were filed jointly with Mrs. Giuliani #2, Donna Hanover. Rudy’s probably going to say the contributions were hers, not his. Second, Planned Parenthood is a great organization on the front lines of the fight for reproductive rights. By providing birth control they probably prevent more abortions than they perform, but of course righties are too thick to understand that.
Word is also spreading, although more slowly, that Fred Thompson is on record of supporting legal abortion in all circustances in the first trimester. (I suspect Fred’s supporters want to elect the character he plays on Law and Order, not Fred himself.)
Of course, St. Ronald of Blessed Memory managed to straddle the pro v. anti choice fence nicely by speaking out loudly against legal abortion but not actually doing anything to stop it when he was Governor or President. Before the Alzheimer’s got him I ‘spect he was smarter than he let on.
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See also:
The Yankees’ Clean-Up Man – Rudy went to bat for the Yanks, and look what he scored. – The Village Voice
http://hammer2006.blogspot.com/2007/05/yankees-clean-up-man-rudy-went-to-bat.html
I wonder if the inconsistencies matter once a politician is granted icon status. As Bob Altemeyer notes, once a figure is viewed as authoritative, they can do no wrong unless they personally wrong the follower. If conservatives decide (or have decided for them) that Giuliani’s the candidate, I don’t think the inconsistencies will matter.
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Regarding Rudy’s contributions to Planned Parenthood; for some on the right there are 3 sins here.
1. Planned Parenthood is involved in abortions.
2. Planned Parenthood provides birth control information which prevents the pregnancies which “should” have occurred to the couples for daring to engage in “fornication.”
3. If Donna donated the money to Planned Parenthood then Rudy obviously had no control over his wife; thus violating their “Woman is subserviant to Man” mantra.
It seems there is no easy exit for Rudy here.
I think when the dust settles, the Repubs are going to go back to asking themselves (a) who hates liberals the most, (b) whose authoritarianism makes them squirm pleasurably the most, and (c) who can win. And that’ll be Rudy or Fred. (Or maybe there’ll be a split wingnut vote and McCain will snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, based on mostly nonwingnut votes.)