Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Gov. Perry Buys Rudy's Truck   [Byron York]

Before his appearance at the Club for Growth in Washington this morning, Rudy Giuliani announced that he has the endorsement of Texas Governor Rick Perry.  Perry appeared with Giuliani and strongly endorsed the mayor's record and candidacy.  "I've taken the measure of the man," Perry said of Giuliani, "and I believe without a doubt or reservation that Rudy Giuliani is the most capable, the most prepared individual of either party to be the next president of the United States."  Perry said "I've looked [Giuliani] in the eye and asked him the tough questions." When asked to name one of those tough questions, the strongly pro-life Perry said:

The one that I had concern with, the one that I wanted to hear him give me the answer and to look me right in my eyes, was that issue of who can I expect, what type of individual can I expect on the Supreme Court.  And he clearly said, look, I did this for Ronald Reagan, I vetted the judges for President Reagan, I know what those conservative principles are that a Reaganesque individual would be looking for. He said you can look for people like Scalia, Roberts, and Alito.  Well, let me tell you, I can live with that.

For his part, when Giuliani was asked what he will tell pro-life activists at the Family Research Council when he speaks to them on Friday, he gave his now-standard, let's-emphasize-all-the-things-we-agree-on answer.  Then Perry, who is the first governor currently in office to endorse Giuliani, was asked about supporting a candidate who had views on social issues with which he disagreed:

When I go to buy a pickup truck, if it's got one option on it that I’m either not particularly fond of or not looking for, it doesn't mean I discard that pickup truck.  I'm looking at the results.  And I think that's what Americans will coalesce to.  They'll look to the results.  What is the result of his candidacy going to be?

When I talk about Rudy Giuliani will put strict constructionists on the Supreme Court, that covers a watershed of issues.  It makes me comfortable that we are going to have Supreme Court justices that will look at a host of issues that are important to me as an American, to me as a governor of a large and powerful economic engine in this country, and knowing that, versus the kind of judges that Hillary Clinton will put on that Court, gives me not only great comfort that Rudy Giuliani is the right candidate, but it also kind of fires me up about the kind of work that I'm going to do for him to make sure that he, and that result, is what is at the White House, and not the alternative.

Perry has unquestionable pro-life credentials.  In 2005, for example, he went to the Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth to sign a bill tightening the already-existing restrictions on abortions for underage girls, and another bill restricting abortions after 26 weeks.  "We may be on the grounds of a Christian school today but our message speaks to all who believe in standing up for the unborn, all who cherish strong, traditional families, regardless of party, ethnicity, or creed…" he said, according to an account of the event in the Dallas Morning News.  Look for Giuliani to cite Perry's support when he's asked social-issue questions in the future.

10/17 11:09 AMShare