Will Rudy Giuliani Remain "His Own Man?"

Great Debates
1

So far, Rudy Giuliani is the Republican frontrunner. This in spite of the fact that he believes in gay rights, is pro-choice, is pro-stem-cell-research–all the things the ruling right wing of the party are dead set against.

I know it’s probably too early in the campaign to anoint him as the Republican standard-bearer just yet, but he does seem very popular among GOP voters now. My discussion topic is: Can he get the nomination with his current views? Is the far right still strong enough to compel him to change them, or did the mid-term elections damage them enough that Rudy can pretty much tell them to go scratch themselves?

And if they still have enough “juice” within the party, will Rudy want the nomination enough to accede to their demands?

2

Once he’s the president, ain’t no one who can compel him into anything. Up until that point, whether he softens on some points will probably depend on his polling.

I would be relatively certain that gay rights will be kept quiet during the run. I think the masses are more lenient to the other issues, but not that one still.