NRO: High Praise for Rudy's Immigration Positioning
by Ryan Sager
Tue, 14 Aug 2007 at 6:40 PM
updated Tue, 14 Aug 2007 at 6:43 PM
People said I was crazy when I argued that Rudy Giuliani would be able to overcome problems with the Republican base, but he just keeps on doing it. Here's National Review's editor, Rich Lowry, going gaga over Mr. Giuliani's new position on immigration:
"We can end illegal immigration. I promise you, we can end illegal immigration." [Rich Lowry]
When Rudy says that, you can believe it. As I've said before, the way Rudy has handled immigration has been nearly flawless. In fact, as J-Pod would have predicted but I wouldn't have, he's running the kind of campaign that McCain projected to run. He's a candidate with problems with the right who's reaching out to conservatives and winning some of them over; benefiting from the perception that he's the best candidate to beat Hillary; raising lots of money; and running with the kind of gusto associated with McCain 2000. The key turning point was the Senate amnesty bill: McCain chose to immolate himself with it, Rudy got out of the way and can now make a plausible play for the tough-on-the-borders right. If you want to lead a party, you have to be where the party is on the biggest, most urgent issues. Rudy realized that when McCain didn't.
Now, as a substantive matter, I find it disappointing to hear Mr. Giuliani signing on to the border wall. It's an ugly gesture (and likely a hollow promise) meant to appeal to the worst parts of the Republican Party. But, as politics, it's flawless.
UPDATE (6:53 p.m.): See below the fold for a perfect example of what I mean... Really, flawless.
Related Topics: GOP Primary, Immigration
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