Still, Mayor Giuliani, before he left the race, had picked up significant support from conservatives who knew full well that Rudy was pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, etc. Even so, I don't think it is correct to view these endorsements as an explicit rejection of the primacy of the dignity of every human person. The reason for this is the nature of the abortion issue and what many conservatives want to see happen, namely the return of the issue to the political sphere. While it is enshrined as a Constitutional right by Supreme Court precedent, it is impossible for to advance the cause of defending the life of the unborn through the political institutions of American society. Thus, in order for any substantial progress to be made in enshrining protection of the unborn in law, Roe has to be overturned, at which point a correct ruling would hand responsibility for abortion regulation to the states. Mayor Giuliani's pledge to appoint "strict constructionist" or "originalist" justices to the Supreme Court, had it been honored in a Giuliani administration, would have advanced the pro-life cause as surely as had, say, Governor Huckabee nominated the justice. Similarly, these conservatives reasoned that an originalist justice would hold the lines on the expansion of rights discovered by the Supreme Court, among them a right to gay marriage. In both of these cases, these conservatives feel that the proper venue for dealing with issues like abortion and gay marriage are properly dealt with at the state level,* rendering Giuliani's political positions on these issues irrelevant. Indeed, some even believe, plausibly, that a pro-choice Giuliani supporting a return of the issue to the states grants the position a certain degree of political credibility it cannot attain if only those who are pro-life argue for it. I don't buy the argument, but it's not an unreasonable one to make (and might have become more persuasive had Giuliani won the nomination, making the election a choice between him and Clinton or Obama).
I also suspect that the apologetics voiced on Mayor Giuliani's behalf reflect are the result of of the perceived trend on the right and in American politics in general. Deacon Fournier makes this point himself when he says
Most people agree on the importance of economic freedom. Certainly, most Republicans, and Democrats for that matter, want to see the dynamism of the market economy flourish and open up participation to more and more of our people.Simply put, the trend among voters, swing voters in particular, was thought to be economically conservative, socially liberal (ECSL). The 2004 and 2006 elections have basically amounted to a reverse of this apparent trend, so that the trend now seems to be socially conservative, economically liberal (SCEL). The upshot of this is that on the one hand many on the right had been preparing for a situation where electoral circumstances would have to come to terms with a presidential candidate who held positions that were ECSL and what concessions such a candidate would have to make in order to make him palatable to social conservatives. Now, someone like Governor Huckabee comes along with positions on economic issues that seem closer to those of the Democrats, from "Fair Trade," to support for increased federal funding for arts education, to his embrace of Keynesian "pump-priming," and while his views may be more in line with public sentiment, those on the right have not had time to determine what concessions are necessary to prevent the undermining of conservative economic principles. This becomes an especially thorny issue when you consider the influence the federal government holds over the economy. It was relatively easy for social liberals on the right to say to social conservatives "I don't agree with you, but I won't get in your way," as appeared to happen with Mayor Giuliani because many social issues either can or should be dealt with on the local level. Unfortunately, a live-and-let-live approach becomes much harder when the two sides are advocating contradictory positions as is happening on trade with Gov. Huckabee and Free-Traders.
Then there is the issue of Gov. Huckabee's populism (For a very good take-down of populism, go here.). Deacon Fournier avers that populism is a good thing. If by populism, you mean simply grass-roots democracy or working-class activism, then populism can very well be a good thing, depending on what is being advocated. But there are other senses in which this word is used that are unquestionably bad and which Governor Huckabee has evinced in his rhetoric. The first definition of populism that is undeniably bad is
any of various, often antiestablishment or anti-intellectual political movements or philosophies that offer unorthodox solutions or policies and appeal to the common person rather than according with traditional party or partisan ideologies.The second is
A political philosophy supporting the rights and power of the people in their struggle against the privileged elite.These definitions point to a political style and philosophy that relies on emotional appeals offering simplistic solutions to problems (real or perceived) that are long on sentiment, ill-defined principles, grandiose promises and short on effective analysis of the problems. Governor Huckabee's rhetoric about social conservatives being neglected by the Republican Party also smacks of this darker side of populism. From the ban on partial-birth abortion, the Born Alive Infants Protection Act, to attempts to enact a Federal Marriage Amendment, to appointing Justices Roberts and Alito to the Supreme Court, to President Bush holding the line on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and human cloning, social conservatives have fared as well as, if not better than any other faction of the conservative coalition. The Republican record on social issues may not be perfect over the past seven years, but it has been a far sight better than its record on, say, fiscal issues. There is also the issue of demagoguery, as Jay Nordlinger explains here and here (see second item).
From all I can tell, Governor Huckabee is a good man, and if he were to get the Republican nomination (unlikely at this point), I would vote for him. But his views on economics and national security, as well as his populism have persuaded me that, among the major contenders for the Republican nomination, the only one less likely to get my support would have been Rudy Giuliani.
*They're right on abortion and wrong on gay marriage.
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