Oct 22, 2007

The Myth of Rudy Giuliani's "Social Liberalism"

by Liberty and Power

A few libertarians I know, especially of the pro-war variety, have strangely argued that Giuliani is more libertarian friendly on the social issues and/or"wants to get government out of the bedroom."

Perhaps this is true to a limited extent on abortion and gay marriage but this is pretty thin gruel compared to his overall record on victimless crimes and civil liberties. At the Family Research Council presentation yesterday, Rudy's social anti-liberalism came out in the open as he pandered to the Nanny staters of the right:

We drove pornography out of Times Square and other public spaces. In 1987, there were 35 pornographic theaters and shops on just one stretch of 42nd Street. When I left office, there were zero—none. n by accident. It didn’t happen by wishing they went away. It happened based on a very well organized campaign, a study demonstrating the impact of pornography on neighborhoods, an intense battle in court that nobody thought we would win, and we won. And most importantly, the pornographers lost and they were chased out of Times Square.
This fight wasn’t just limited to the battlefields like Times Square was at that time. It extended throughout the city. We significantly reduced pornography throughout the city of New York.

More Comments:

Anthony Gregory - 10/22/2007

Who would federally ban gay marriage if he thought it was necessary, as he said tonight, and who has favored federal subsidies for abortion -- not pro-choice in my book, if I would like to choose not to fund abortion. He's a monster. And a gun grabber.

Keith Halderman - 10/22/2007

Rudy Giuliani did not get rid of any pornography it just went somewhere else. Most of it went to the internet. I visited the old Times Square when I was in the navy and I can tell you it was a much more interesting place than the suburban shopping mall they have there now. The bulk of the businesses that Rudy Giuliani brags about driving out would have closed eventually anyways because they could not compete with the internet, where every kind of erotic display is available, largely for free, in such abundance that it would take more than one hundred lifetimes to look at it all. Yes, Giuliani hastened their departure but at enormous legal expense to the taxpayers, not to mention his attack on the concept of private property. His campaign was in fact a huge subsidy to large corporations like Disney who took over the vacant premises and the character of the neighborhood