by Rod D. Martin
April 4, 2007

In his CNN interview today, Giuliani dropped the bomb: not only does he see abortions as a constitutional right, he believes that if “anyone” is “deprived” of one for lack of money, the taxpayers must pick up the tab.

This makes Giuliani the most pro-abortion candidate in the race by far. Not just on the Republican side: in the whole race. His adamant support of partial-birth abortion (which even the pro-abortion AMA has called “barbaric” and “never medically necessary”) rounds out his truly as-far-out-there-as-it-gets record.

It is hard to see how “America’s Mayor” can square this with pro-life conservatives, who up to now haven’t had to pay much attention to Giuliani’s position on, well, anything. Most evangelicals came into the movement because of abortion more than any other issue; this announcement is about as in-your-face as it gets, and opens all manner of opportunities for his Republican foes.

But it opens up a really interesting can of worms for the Democrats. Does Hillary “Trust me, I’m a moderate” Clinton really want to be boxed into active support of taxpayer-funded abortions? Does Obama? Everyone knows they believe in this, but do they want to make it an actual plank in their platforms? Rudy’s statement begs the question: some reporter is going to have to ask them, and their radical nutroots base is going to demand what passes for “purity” in those climes.

If Hillary says she’s for this, the “moderate” spin is gone. If she says she’s against it, between this and the war she puts herself in Joe Lieberman’s shoes, without any possibility of his comeback as an Independent. An opportunistic Obama could easily walk off with her base. He’d be crazy not to, regardless of the size of the gamble.

But it would be a heck of a gamble indeed, because to pay off, it would virtually require that Giuliani wins the GOP nod. If virtually anyone but Rudy is the Republican nominee, the Christian Right will turn out next November like never before. They cannot accept taxpayer-funded abortions: not a chance. And given a clear choice of this magnitude, 2008 would quickly turn into 1984: a tsunami.