Candidate Giuliani Shifts His Tone on Immigration

This is a perfect example of what Brooks is talking about:

A decade ago, as mayor of New York, Mr. Giuliani used that historic backdrop to champion the cause of immigrants, calling attacks on people who came here legally a blow to “the heart and soul of America.” And from City Hall he often defended illegal immigrants, ordering city workers not to deny them benefits and advocating measures to ease their path to citizenship.

But now he is running for president, and the politics of immigration in the post-9/11 world is vastly different, with the issue splitting the Republican Party and voters peppering Mr. Giuliani on the campaign trail with questions about his current thinking. Perhaps more than any other candidate, Mr. Giuliani has a record on immigration with the potential to complicate his bid for the nomination.

It would be one thing if I though Giuliani had genuinely changed his views based on new information or further reflection, but it's so obvious that -- just as he did with regard to the flying-the-Confederate-flag issue -- he's just pandering to the far right.  Doesn't he realize that the main thing he has going for him is that he's has a fairly well deserved reputation as a straight shooter?!  He's destroying that reputation -- and he's not getting anything in return because the far-right folks surely aren't stupid enough to believe he's really had a change of heart on this and other issues! 

 

This reminds me of something Obama said -- I think it was at the March 9th event: he is going to run his campaign on his terms, present himself honestly to the American people, and that he would rather lose doing that than win by being a phony or taking the low road.  Hallelujah!

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Candidate Giuliani Shifts His Tone on Immigration

By MARC SANTORA and SAM ROBERTS

Published: April 22, 2007

www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/us/politics/22giuliani.html

DES MOINES, April 16 — Rudolph W. Giuliani is a long way from Ellis Island.

A decade ago, as mayor of New York, Mr. Giuliani used that historic backdrop to champion the cause of immigrants, calling attacks on people who came here legally a blow to “the heart and soul of America.” And from City Hall he often defended illegal immigrants, ordering city workers not to deny them benefits and advocating measures to ease their path to citizenship.