Politics

Republicans on the attack

At a debate in Orlando, the presidential hopefuls argue their conservative credentials.

By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published October 22, 2007

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, center, who is leading polls in Florida, bore the brunt of many of these attacks due to his more moderate stance on gun control, immigration, abortion and gay marriage.
	[AP photo]

ORLANDO - In a quest to prove who is the better conservative, eight Republican presidential candidates duked it out in Orlando on Sunday night, united only in their attacks on Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The candidates mentioned Clinton even more than they invoked former President Ronald Reagan, which starkly contrasted with the few times they mentioned President Bush.

In this debate more so than in the past, the candidates lobbed verbal bombs at one another's conservative credentials.

"For the first time in about nine debates, I'm kind of glad I wasn't in on the first few minutes because it was all about these guys fighting each other," said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. As a candidate running behind in the polls, he often isn't asked questions in the debates until a little later.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is leading polls in Florida, bore the brunt of many of these attacks due to his more moderate stance on gun control, immigration, abortion and gay marriage.

"I think, in every case, you can always find one exception or two to someone being absolutely conservative or absolutely this or absolutely that, but I think I had a heck of a lot of conservative results," Giuliani said.

Arizona Sen. John McCain accused former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney of "spending the last year trying to fool people about your record," regarding his recent conversions on social issues. Romney now supports adopting a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and undoing the landmark case that legalized abortion, Roe vs. Wade.

Romney defended himself, saying that his staunch conservative views make him the best candidate to "strengthen the house" built by former Reagan.

"I'm proud of my record. Not just of the words, but of the record of the governor of Massachusetts. Like Mayor Giuliani, I had a tough state to be running in. I was a conservative Republican in a very Democratic state," Romney said.

The 90-minute debate televised live on Fox News concluded the Republican Party of Florida's annual state convention, which drew more than 3,000 people, including many undecided party activists, to the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando. Presidential candidates spent the weekend stressing core party issues such as tax-cutting and family values.

With less than 11 weeks to go before the first primary in Iowa, the candidates have ramped up their campaigns, lest they go the route of Sen. Sam Brownback, who dropped out of the race on Friday.

Many eyes were on Fred Thompson, the latecomer who many believe has yet to prove himself and disappointed a lot of conventiongoers on Saturday night with a truncated speech that didn't go much beyond pleasantries.

But on Sunday night he started strong, attacking his top competitors, Giuliani and Romney. When asked if he was lazy, the former Tennessee senator rattled off personal and professional accomplishments, including becoming a father and an assistant U.S. attorney, saying: "If a man could do all that and be lazy, I recommend it to everybody."

Piling on Clinton

Nearly all of the Republicans invoked the first name of the Democratic front-runner as the epitome of what to avoid. Romney and McCain both criticized Clinton's health care plan, dubbing it "Hillary-care," and calling it government run amok.

McCain, however, got a standing ovation in a tirade against Clinton when he berated her quest for federal dollars to build a concert museum for Woodstock in New York.

He told the audience that he was "tied up at the time" in 1969 during the three-day music festival, referring to his time as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, a rarity among Republicans for his open criticism of U.S. involvement in Iraq, drew boos from the audience when he criticized the war.

"What would it be like if somebody came in here into Mexico and did some of these things - say, like, putting missiles in Europe? We're just looking for trouble. It's so unnecessary. And we jeopardize ourselves. And, quite frankly, we're not able to afford this."

Randy Johnson, a former state House representative who is supporting California Rep. Duncan Hunter for president, said he thought Giuliani "hit it out of the park" in the debate.

"As a politician, I appreciate people who speak from the heart, and Giuliani really did," said Johnson, who runs a communications company in Orlando.

Former state Sen. Tom Lee of Brandon, who is undecided, said he wished fewer candidates had been on stage.

The top contenders "each had their moments, but I didn't see anything happen tonight that took Mayor Giuliani off his position as the front-runner in Florida," Lee said. "Someone's going to have a lay a pretty good blow on him soon or he's going to be very tough to beat."

Times political editor Adam C. Smith contributed to this article. Jennifer Liberto can be reached at liberto@sptimes.com or 850224-7263.

[Last modified October 22, 2007, 00:35:53]