The Republican Front Runners
ariana on Sep 14th 2007
As something of a political junkie, I’ve been intrigued by how soon and how quickly the 2008 presidential race has progressed. That we are over a year out and already have supposed a “front runner” in at least one of the parties is striking.
I haven’t made up my mind quite yet – I refuse to succumb to the pre-primary hoopla – but I do have some favorites so far. There are a couple who I think would make a good president; another who I agree with but doesn’t stand a chance.
And then there are the ones whose candidacies I find troubling because their platforms are so diametrically different from my own. Once again, the anti-gay agenda has become a rallying point for some of the leading contenders on the right.
Touting himself as the only true conservative, Fred Thompson has emphasized his consistency on various social and fiscal issues. Unlike some of his counterparts, he hasn’t shifted his stance on gay marriage; he was always against it. Thompson has publicly endorsed a federal Constitutional amendment that would ban marriage, but his language is more nuanced than previous attempts, and in his opinion, is more likely to pass.
As mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani is best known for his leadership on 9/11. He is also credited with “cleaning up the city” by cracking down on crime, albeit with a highly controversial police policy that targeted particular segments of the population. Always viewed as a social moderate, Giuliani has since shifted his stance on gay rights, but has tried to maintain a centrist stance.
A statement from his website reads, “Rudy Giuliani will nominate strict constructionist judges with respect for the rule of law and a proven fidelity to the Constitution. Those judges will follow the text of laws and of the Constitution and will not make policy from the bench.”
Read: “Dear Conservative Base, regardless of what I’ve supposedly stood for in the past, I won’t nominate anyone to the bench who supports all families (or a woman’s right to control her own body.)”
Mitt Romney, arguably my least favorite of the candidates on the right, spent the greater part of his tenure as governor of Massachusetts bad mouthing his constituency and whining about being a red dot in a bleeding-heart blue state. Though he declared himself as a more ardent supporter of gay rights than Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney, showing himself to be little more than a disingenuous political opportunist, is now quite anti-gay rights.
Filed in general, marriage, politics |
While I do believe that people have the right to change their views on issues (even pivotal ones) over the course of their lifetimes, Romney’s change of course on LGBT rights and abortion just smacks too much of opportunism to be credible. Either he was lying in ‘94 when he ran for the Senate (and again 5 years ago when he ran for Governor) about his stance on these issues or he is lying now. In either case, his current views are troubling to say the least. Luckily, for the most part, the media is calling him out for the political opportunist that he is.