Looking for My Candidate: Rudy Giuliani

If you read my last post, you'll see that Rudy Giuliani approves quite wholeheartedly of all the power George W. Bush has illegally usurped into the Presidency.

He also recently said he'd like a man like Dick Cheney to be his vice-presidential running mate.

That alone would be sufficient to ensure I never voted for him, but let's go down the issues and be thorough about it, hm?

Again, going by these standards:

WAR: Supports permanent occupation of Iraq; "Iraq is only one front in the larger war on terror, and failure there would lead to a broader and bloodier regional conflict in the near future." Favors war with Iran. Supports pre-emptive war, invasion of other nations. Would expand military. 20%.

SEPARATION OF POWERS: Approves of expanded Presidential power. Supports USA-PATRIOT, FISA. 0%.

HEALTHCARE: No individual mandates. Tort reform. Economize healthcare by new information technology, targeted tax exemptions and credits, etc. Supports de-regulating insurance corporations, buying insurance across state lines. 50%.

TAXATION AND BUDGET: More tax cuts. Silent on borrowing. Opposes flat tax, simpler income tax; prefers special credits, deductions, etc. that add complexity to taxes. Proposes sunset requirements for all Federal programs. Would cut 20% of Federal civilian workforce in ten years. Supports amending Constitution for line-item veto. Lower corporate taxes. 15%.

CIVIL LIBERTIES: Supports USA-PATRIOT, FISA, Guantanamo, torture, renditions, warrantless searches. As mayor of New York, worked to squash free speech. Supports sexual censorship. 0%.

IMPEACHMENT: No position. 0%.

IMMIGRATION: Supports national ID to track non-citizens. Supports national database to track citizens and non-citizens alike. Supports English as sole official language in USA. Favors amnesty after fines, expanded legal immigration. Supports border fences. Opposes mass round-ups of illegal immigrants. 50%.

TRADE: Supports GATT, WTO, NAFTA, unlimited free trade. 0%.

ENERGY: Supports nuclear. New oil refineries, better energy infrastructure. Supports alt-fuel vehicles. Supports subsidies for corn-based ethanol and biodiesel; indeed, supports all sources of energy, including oil, without apparent preference. 60%.

ENVIRONMENT: Believes in global warming, doubts human causation. Supports carbon sequestration. 25%.

TORT REFORM: Calls for caps on punitive damages. Would reduce power of plaintiffs to "discovery," i. e. search of defendant's records for evidence. Favors partial "loser-pays" system only for frivolous lawsuits. 25%.

AVERAGE SCORE: 22.3%

VOTE KILLERS:

IRAQ: Supports indefinite, permanent occupation of Iraq.



RANKINGS TO DATE

Candidates in italics are not in consideration due to vote-killer positions.

Dennis Kucinich - 40.9%
Ron Paul - 28.2%
Rudy Giuliani - 22.3%
Mike Huckabee - 16.9%
Duncan Hunter - 11.8%
Fred Thompson - 11.1%

Next time: John McCain, who one person commented was a Democrat in all but name, and therefore a good choice for me... ha ha ha...