Election 2008 | Giuliani Campaign Releases Memo Noting His Support Among Social Conservative Voters
[Oct 03, 2007]

The presidential campaign of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) on Tuesday "hit back" against social conservative groups considering running a third-party presidential candidate if the Republican Party nominates an abortion-rights supporter by releasing a memo that highlights his support among social conservatives, Long Island Newsday reports. According to the memo, which cited a Sept. 28 Gallup poll, "Giuliani leads among all Republican subgroups -- including with conservative Republicans, those who attend church weekly, Protestant/Christians and Catholics" (Gordon, Long Island Newsday, 10/2).

Almost everyone present at a meeting of a group of Christian conservatives on Saturday supported the statement, "if the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate we will consider running a third-party candidate," some participants at the meeting said. The group broke away for separate discussions during a meeting of the conservative Council for National Policy in Salt Lake City, Utah. The group included James Dobson of Focus on the Family; Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council; and a number of other politically minded, conservative Christians.

Participants at the meeting said the group chose the term "consider" because a presidential candidate has not yet been selected. However, members were united in their plans to propose a new candidate if Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, wins the Republican nomination (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/1).

Giuliani Campaign Memo
According to Giuliani's campaign, social conservative voters have not united in support for any of the other candidates. "There is no clear social conservative favorite," the memo said. It also highlighted Giuliani's assertions of being a "50-state, general-election candidate" who can put New York and California "in play as a way to stop" Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, Newsday reports.

Richard Viguerie, a conservative advocate who supports a potential third-party candidate, said Giuliani's comments about Clinton will not be enough to make conservatives abandon principles on issues such as abortion. "For the Republican Party to turn over the party to someone like (Giuliani), they are saying to the American people, 'We have one guiding principle ... and that is power,'" Viguerie said (Long Island Newsday, 10/3).

The memo is available online.

Broadcast Coverage
Several broadcast programs recently reported on the possibility of a third-party candidate. Summaries appear below.

• ABC's "World News": The segment includes comments from Viguerie, Giuliani, Perkins and Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) (Tapper, "World News," ABC, 10/1). Video of the segment is available online.
  
  
• CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°": The segment includes comments from Perkins; Giuliani; and Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center (King, "Anderson Cooper 360°," CNN, 10/2). A transcript of the complete program is available online.
  
  
• CNN's "The Situation Room": The segment includes comments from Viguerie, Perkins and Giuliani (King, "The Situation Room," CNN, 10/1). Video of the segment is available online. A transcript of the segment also is available online.
  
  
• NBC's "Nightly News": The segment includes comments from Perkins; Giuliani; and Ron Brownstein, political director for National Journal (Gregory, "Nightly News," NBC, 10/1). Video of the segment is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "All Things Considered": The segment includes comments from Viguerie; Christian conservative leader Gary Bauer; Dreier; Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention; and David Keene, chair of the American Conservative Union (Liasson, "All Things Considered," NPR, 10/1). Audio and a partial transcript of the segment are available online.
  
  
• NPR's "Day to Day": The segment includes a discussion with NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving (Brand, "Day to Day," NPR, 10/1). Audio of the segment is available online.
  
  
• MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews": The segment includes a discussion with MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan. Monday's program also included a discussion with Perkins and Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) (Matthews, "Hardball with Chris Matthews," MSNBC, 10/1). Video of the discussion with Perkins and King is available online. A transcript of the complete program is available online.
  
  
• WBUR's "Here & Now": The segment includes a discussion with Republican pollster Whit Ayres, president of Ayres, McHenry and Associates (Young, "Here & Now," WBUR, 10/1). Audio of the segment is available online.