The Three Pillars of Rudyism

Obviously, Rudy Giuliani's campaign is still developing. However, it looks to me that Giuliani is making an argument that goes far beyond the fluff of being "America's Mayor" and having the "right stuff" to deal with 9-11. Liberal bloggers like Matt Yglesias are focusing too much on Giuliani fluff and are missing out on the practical strategies through which he's appealing to consevative opinion.

So far, Giuliani's campaign rests on three pillars.

1. Applying the American racial model to global terrorism. Much of Giuliani's foreign policy argument is that he would be just as tough with countries like Iran as he was with blacks in New York City. While mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani launched a ferocious and largely successful campaign against black crime. He enforced the smallest possible regulations against minorities, authorized police to stop and frisk young black men without probable cause, and refused to meet with black community leaders. Much of Giuliani's foreign policy appeal is the idea that he would be just as aggressive with the contentious non-whites of Syria and Iran. Likewise, Giuliani is indicating that he would treat liberal leaders with the same contempt that he treated black leaders while mayor. No compromising with Nancy Pelosi or Cindy Sheehan for Rudy.

2. Pledging Ignorance. In an interview with the New York Times printed today, Giuliani was emphatic about the lack of distinction between al-Qaida Sunnis and Iranian Shiites. For Giuliani, "they [both] hate America." Here Giuliani is trumpeting ignorance as a virtue. He refuses to think about any cultural differences between Shiite and Sunni, border disputes between Iran and Iraq, the traditional interests of Iran in relation to its neighbors or any other issues like that. George Bush cared little; Rudy Giuliani promises to care even less. It's not necessary to learn, analyze, negotiate, or compromise. All you need to think is that everyone who doesn't explicitly support us is an enemy who "hates us."

The key thing that links pledging ignorance with applying American racial models is Giuliani's commitment to basing decisions on right-wing stereotypes rather than knowledge. It's only by pledging ignorance that someone can continue to apply the racial stereotypes of the segregation eral to issues in the Middle East. But this is what the American right demands and its what Giuliani is going to deliver.

3. Being a Regular Guy. According to John Dickerson of Slate, Rudy Giuliani has a gift for entertaining everyone sitting around bar and hotel lounges with his stories of the campaign trail and being Mayor of New York. Raising an old Bush theme, Dickerson suggested that Rudy was the kind of candidate people (read "men") would want to have a beer with and think of as a regular guy. Of course, the exact opposite of true. Giuliani is high strung, volatile, and intolerant of any dissent but his ability to appear easy-going on camera cements the cultural identification Giuliani as "one of us" rather than someone from the "left." What Giuliani wants is for conservatives in the Red States to identify him as "one of us" despite his positions on abortion, gay rights, and gun control.

I don't think it will work beyond the first round of negative advertising from Mitt Romney. But the Rudy scam on Republicans is even more sophisticated than the Bush scam in 2000. More twists in the Rudy machinations as they develop.