Robertson backs Giuliani for president

Analysis:

This article is based upon the recent announcement by TV Evangelist and media owner Pat Robertson, that he has endorsed GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani for President. The Grand Rapids Press version of the Associated Press story has as a sub-heading “Right-wing backing for socially liberal candidate comes out of left field.” What does the subheading mean by the term “socially liberal?” Does that mean that Giuliani favors a wage increase, providing a safety net for the poor, health care for low-income families and affirmative action? The use of the term “socially liberal” is only in reference to the issues of gay rights and abortion rights, which the article claims that Giuliani supports, but there is no information that would verify that claim. Guiliani’s campaign website only says that he is committed to reducing the number of abortions and will work to increase the amount of adoption. On the issue of gay rights there is nothing specific to gay rights other that the following paragraph under the heading of marriage, “Rudy Giuliani believes marriage is between a man and a woman. He does not—and has never—supported gay marriage. But he believes in equal rights under law for all Americans. That’s why he supports domestic partnerships that provide stability for committed partners in important legal and personal matters, while preserving the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.” Does that kind of statement support the notion that Giuliani supports gay rights?

The rest of the story has a comment from Robertson and reaction to the endorsement from McCain and Giuliani. None of the sources quoted provide any insight into the positions that Giuliani is taking as a candidate for president. There is also no mention of the kind of policies that Pat Robertson supports, despite the fact that he has been very public on issues of church and state and “the War on Terror.” Why is there no mention in this story that Robertson has taken a very strong stance on these issues, has called Muslims pigs and advocated that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez be assassinated? The story does mention that Robertson and Giuliani met recently on a plane coming back from Israel, but doesn’t say where they were coming from.

Story:

Televangelist Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, endorsed Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday.

“It is my pleasure to announce my support for America’s Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans,” Robertson said during a news conference with Giuliani in Washington.

The former New York mayor backs abortion rights and gay rights, positions that put him in conflict with conservative GOP orthodoxy, and has been trying to persuade evangelical conservatives like Robertson to overlook their differences on those issues.

Evangelicals have split in their support for the leading Republican candidates. Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, a favorite of Christian conservatives who dropped out of the race last month, on Wednesday endorsed fellow Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney recently announced that Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III were on board with his candidacy.

Asked about the Robertson endorsement, McCain, at a news conference with Brownback in Dubuque, Iowa, said: “Every once in a while, I’m left speechless. This is one of those times.”

Giuliani is best known for leading New York in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after 9/11, Robertson released a statement in which he said the attacks occurred because Americans had insulted God and lost the protection of heaven by allowing abortion and “rampant Internet pornography.”

Robertson made no mention of his differences with Giuliani on social issues in Wednesday’s statement.

Giuliani said Wednesday he got to know Robertson well on a flight from Israel.

“I came away from it with a better understanding of Pat, what he’s all about, what he’s trying to accomplish,” he said. “And I think he came away with a different impression of me, as well. We see the world, in many ways, the same way. Doesn’t mean we agree on everything.”

Text from the original article ommitted from the Grand Rapids Press version:

“Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today,” Robertson said.

Robertson, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 1988, founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, the Christian Coalition and Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.

Also Wednesday, Giuliani said he asked two GOP friends in Congress, Reps. Peter King of New York and Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, to introduce bills to keep states from giving driver’s licenses or similar identification to illegal immigrants.

The Democratic front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was criticized after a televised debate last week when she hedged an answer on whether she supported New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s effort to grant licenses to illegal immigrants. Her aides say she generally supports the idea in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.