The Occasional Observer

First it was: I'm not as socially liberal as they say.

Now it's: the party needs to get off these social issues and stop worrying about it.

He's digging a big hole for himself, and it's going to be increasingly difficult to dig out of it.

Get past social issues, Giuliani tells backers
By THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

April 15, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani warned GOP activists in Des Moines on Saturday that if they insist on a nominee who always agrees with them, it will spell defeat in 2008.

“Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we are a party characterized by what we’re for, not if we’re a party that’s known for what we’re against,” the former New York mayor said at a midday campaign stop.

Republicans can win, he said, if they nominate a candidate committed to the fight against terrorism and high taxes, rather than a pure social conservative.

“Our party has to get beyond issues like that,” Giuliani said, a reference to abortion rights, which he supports.