A Race Rudy Can't Refuse
FrumForum contributor Richard Brownell makes excuses for Rudolph Giuliani’s refusal to run for the Senate from New York in 2010. “Let’s face it,” he writes,
the U.S. Senate was once considered the pinnacle of civil politics and an august body; but lately it has little more class and decorum than a rugby scrum. It’s not hard to imagine Giuliani not wanting to be a part of it.
Then there’s Rudy himself. He exhibited great leadership after the 9/11 attacks; but there are other points against him that opponents in any future campaigns would exploit — his combative governing style, his personal relations, Bernard Kerik. Giuliani supporters dismiss these items as baseless or just old news, but they would have to be dealt with regardless.
Too Bad. Winning elections is never easy; it’s hard. Winning elections requires long and arduous campaigns and vigorous campaigning.
Does Brownell think it was easy for Hillary Clinton to win election to the Senate? Hillary was beset with all sorts of problems and scandals -- from Web Hubbell to Cattlegate to the McDougals. Yet, none of this deterred her from running for the Senate and winning a coveted Senate seat.
And doing so was important because it kept Hillary in the political and policy spotlight, and served as the launching pad for her presidential run, which, in turn, led to her appointment as Secretary of State. Hillary, consequently, has been a major political and public-policy force; she has helped shape the national political dialogue and public-policy debate.
As a Senator, of course, Hillary also was a reliably liberal Democratic vote. Thus she opposed Bush Supreme Court nominees John Roberts and Samuel Alito and voted against cutting taxes and spending. This while compiling an “average lifetime 90% ‘Liberal Quotient’ from Americans for Democratic Action and a lifetime eight percent rating from the American Conservative Union.”
Giuliani’s voting record, of course, would be strikingly different and better: It would be far more conservative. That’s why he’s needed in the United States Senate.
Still, Brownell insists that Giuliani isn’t “walking away from politics or the GOP.
He believes that he will be more effective to the broader Republican cause by helping out various races around the country through his campaigning and fundraising efforts, and he may be right. He was a public servant for much of his life. Maybe it is as simple as the fact that he just wants to enjoy life now.
Sorry, but Giuliani’s had plenty of time to “enjoy life.” In truth, there is no better way for Giuliani to serve his country, his state, and his party than by running for the Senate from New York in 2010.
No Republican stands as good a chance of capturing a highly coveted Senate seat from New York as Giuliani. Even if he does not win, Giuliani still will help the Republican Party nationally by moving the political and policy debate to where it rightly belongs: focused on the safety and security of our country.
Committed Democrats almost always do this. They work tirelessly on behalf of their team. They run when they must to help their party and their cause, even when doing so is personally inconvenient and challenging.
New Jersey Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, for instance, came out of retirement to replace the corrupt Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli when Torricelli was forced to resign in 2002. Lautenberg was 78 years old at the time and had been in retirement for more than a year. Yet, he understood that if he did not run for Torricelli’s Senate seat, then in all likelihood the Republican candidate would win that election.
So Lautenberg took one for the team, threw his hat into the ring, ran and campaigned hard, and won. And, to this day, Lautenberg remains safely ensconced in the Senate. His is a reliably liberal vote, which can always be counted on to support President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and the Democratic Party’s far left special interest groups.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale did much the same thing in 2002 when, 11 days before the November 5 election, Senator Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash.
Mondale was then 74 years old and surely enjoying retirement. But when his party and his cause called, Mondale refused to go MIA; quite the contrary: Mondale replaced Wellstone on the ballot. And although he lost that race (to Republican Norm Coleman), Mondale ran a vigorous and honorable campaign in which he held high the liberal Democratic banner.
That’s selflessness and teamwork. That’s commitment to a cause larger than yourself.
It's not too late for Rudy to change his mind. America, the Republican Party, and the conservative cause all need him -- out on the campaign trail and in the United States Senate.