Thompson Comes to New York, Rebukes Giuliani

In a stern rebuke of Mayor Giuliani's presidential candidacy on the former mayor's home turf, Fred Thompson told New York's Conservative Party yesterday that the way to beat "liberals" is to "challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them."

"Some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them. I could not disagree more," the former Tennessee senator said in a speech at a party reception in Midtown. "I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them."

The statement was a clear but unnamed reference to Mr. Giuliani, whose moderate stance on social issues, such as abortion, has helped him argue that he is the most electable Republican candidate. His positions have angered New York's Conservative Party in the past, which withheld its endorsement in all three of his mayoral campaigns.

Mr. Thompson, who officially declared his candidacy last month, has tried with mixed success to win over social conservatives who were disenchanted with the Republican field. He must overtake both Mr. Giuliani and Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has adopted solidly conservative policy positions in running for president but is often ridiculed because that shift has occurred only in recent years.

Sharing the stage with the Conservative Party chairman, Michael Long, and a former senator of New York, Alfonse D'Amato, Mr. Thompson sought to claim a more consistent conservative background. "This is not a time for philosophical flexibility. It is a time to stand up for what we believe in," he said. "With me, what you see is what you get. I was a proud conservative yesterday, I remain one today, and I will be one tomorrow."

Mr. Thompson also attacked Democrats, saying that higher taxes on the wealthy and an Iraq withdrawal were a "siren song that will lead us down the path of comfortable mediocrity."

Mr. Giuliani's campaign responded in advance by mobilizing several former deputy mayors to talk up his record in New York at a press conference in Times Square. "Some people talk the talk about Republican governance when they're running for president. Others have a proven track record," one of the former deputies, Randy Mastro, said afterward in a telephone interview. He touted Mr. Giuliani's success in reducing crime and cutting taxes, both of which have become staples of his campaign.

Asked about Mr. Thompson's suggestion that Mr. Giuliani was too liberal a Republican, Mr. Mastro declined to comment.