For a long time I have been hoping that Giuliani gets the GOP nomination. For a number of reasons. For one I can't stand any of the Democrat nominees. This may be an odd reason to root for Rudy but it should indicate somewhat my opinion of the near Armageddon inducing effects of electing any of the other Republicans. Yes I spoke well of Ron Paul, but such are the fits of illogic caused in a youngster raised on vacuous soundbites when a pol actually speaks his mind. Armageddon may be a bit hysterical but I truly believe that Romney is so shallow that he would launch a nuclear strike with a mind to how it would affect his reelection chances, McCain is too old and so wedded to Bush's Iraq policy that he will simply continue this Mesopotamian clusterfuck, Ron Paul is on a further examination, totally crazy, and the rest are Christianists or so insignificant they aren't worth much thought.
Giuliani, however, is someone I may be able to get my arms around. After years of big-government Christianist interventionism I was hoping for a president who actually believed in controlled spending and low taxes and wasn't deranged by theology. Rudy may be a bit of a fascist and an authoritarian and yes he may show less respect for the Constitution than the Bush administration but I still (possibly naively) have a bit of faith in checks and balances.
Some twit named Andrew Goldstein though has recommended that Rudy choose Rick Snatorum as his running mate. Santorum leaves behind him a Congressional career marked by opposition to almost any advance of modern science and a litany of gaffes portraying his outright stupidity. He blamed Catholic priests molesting children on Mass liberalism, said there was no right to privacy in the Constitution, wanted federal money spent on marriage counseling for couples considering divorce, and is generally anathema to anyone who values reason. If Rudy puts him on the ticket he can pretty much kiss goodbye anyone with a secular-libertarian bent goodbye, say goodbye to any small government conservatives, and any moderate who just flat out doesn't want to vote for a Democrat (me). The biggest merit Goldstein can find in favor of a Giuliani-Santorum ticket is that they are in agreement over "Islamic Fascism," which I like to refer to as Islam. Well Giuliani happens to be in agreement with Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris on this issue so we really need not find a Christianist to present a united front.
I don't think Giuliani should attempt to shore up social conservative votes. It is a dying wing of the party and one which has caused most of the problems which lost Republicans both the Senate and the House, and which has been the guiding force behind the Bush administration's disastrous foreign and domestic policies. It will die soon and if a Giuliani administration is tied to them it will only increase the probability that he will sit in office for one term.
Liz Mair rightly called this the worst idea of the month.
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