Tim Mak of the Frum Forum expresses slight dismay that Rudy Giuliani would back conservative Marco Rubio for Senate over Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who supposedly shares Giuliani’s “socially-tolerant, fiscally-conservative, and governance-minded vision for the Republican Party.”
Rudy’s endorsement, Mak writes, means that Giuliani will not be running for office again, because:
I’m not exactly sure what that means.
Giuliani’s rhetorical shift to the right during his 2008 campaign was pretty obvious. He knows well that his only chance of winning the presidency in the future — should he decide to run again — rests in convincing conservatives that he is not the devil. He doesn’t gain anything by palling around with people who are “socially-tolerant, fiscally-conservative, and governance-minded.” (I believe that phrase is Canadian for “squishy,” the kindest thing you’ll hear most Florida Republicans say about Crist nowadays.)
As for a future Giuliani bid for the presidency, I don’t think this endorsement should be taken as a sign either way. If you know anything about the former mayor’s political career in New York City, he’s not keen on being double-crossed. Despite his statements to the contrary, he is taking revenge on Crist (who back-stabbed him with his 2008 election endorsement of John McCain) and he’s having fun doing it. Why not? It’s especially easy to pour orange juice into the wounds now that the governor looks like a sure loser.
Giuliani is a politician, and one of the most ruthless in America. Just ask his kids. If it helps his friends and hurts his enemies, or increases his chances of becoming president by a fraction of a percentage point, he’ll drive steel pins covered in Tabasco sauce through the eyeballs of every “socially-tolerant, fiscally-conservative, and governance-minded” Republican in America.
