Giuliani voted for McGovern over Nixon...
...and is now backpedaling furiously:
I think what Republican primary voters want to hear is that you're such a partisan hack that you'll say anything, repudiate any position, dissociate yourself from any vote, sell out any principle, in order toe the party line and pay homage to the dear leader. Republicans eat that stuff up. Far from being a disadvantage, these transparently opportunistic position changes send a signal that says: "Don't worry: if elected, I won't let my integrity get in the way of pandering to you."Republicans lap it up. How else does one explain the fact that the front-runners in the Republican nomination process are Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both of whom were elected to office in very liberal areas and many of whose past positions are anathema to the Republican base? (OK, there could be other reasons for this. Maybe the Republican base realizes that the more liberal of their candidates have the best chances in the general election or something.)
"I had traditionally been a Democrat," Giuliani told me in a recent interview in Las Vegas. "It was almost like a reflex mode. I actually remember saying to myself, 'If I was a person really deciding who should be president right now, I'd probably vote for Nixon, because I think the country would be safer with Nixon.'"What does it say about today's Republican party that Giuliani has to defend a vote against the disgraced Richard Nixon? The guy was a crook. Of course, this is the same Republican party that demands fealty to Bush, the most reviled president since...Richard Nixon. OK, maybe it makes sense.
I think what Republican primary voters want to hear is that you're such a partisan hack that you'll say anything, repudiate any position, dissociate yourself from any vote, sell out any principle, in order toe the party line and pay homage to the dear leader. Republicans eat that stuff up. Far from being a disadvantage, these transparently opportunistic position changes send a signal that says: "Don't worry: if elected, I won't let my integrity get in the way of pandering to you."Republicans lap it up. How else does one explain the fact that the front-runners in the Republican nomination process are Giuliani and Mitt Romney, both of whom were elected to office in very liberal areas and many of whose past positions are anathema to the Republican base? (OK, there could be other reasons for this. Maybe the Republican base realizes that the more liberal of their candidates have the best chances in the general election or something.)
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