Deal Hudson: "Giuliani Might as Well Work On His Tan"
Deal Hudson writes at InsideCatholic.com:
... Forbes' prediction that Giuliani will emerge as the main challenger to Romney. Rich Karlgaard from Forbes sees the Huckabee campaign running out of gas after South Carolina and Giuliani, in all his secular glory, waiting for McCain in Florida.(emphasis added)
I think some of the pundits living in the Big Apple need to sample life outside the confines of their city. Like Karlsgaard, they don't seem to realize that the Huckabee candidacy is real. It's not a bubble of enthusiasm about to burst.
They also don't seem to accept the grassroots antipathy toward Giuliani -- the early level of support for him was based upon a glossy image, but once the basic facts were known, that glossy image got a big black "X" drawn over it.
McCain possesses all the Giuliani "virtues" plus a pro-life voting record, so why continue supporting a guy who failed to show up for the first two (now four) primaries?
Once Huckabee figures out how to connect with Catholics -- which he failed to do in Iowa and New Hampsire -- he will become truly formidable. Between McCain and Huckabee, there won't be room for anybody else. Or the need.
My Comments:
I think this analysis is spot on. Why Northeastern pundits continue to place any hopes at all on Giuliani or Romney is completely beyond me. Neither of them has been able to connect with the base of GOP voters to date, and I see no indication that this will change in the future.
As for that last bit of Hudson's commentary - "Between McCain and Huckabee, there won't be room for anybody else. Or the need.", I am surprised to find myself thinking along those same lines. Despite some personal antipathy toward, and doubts about the trustworthiness of, both of those two candidates, I nevertheless am beginning to think they are the only ones in the field who really have anything to offer the Catholic voter in particular and the nation as a whole.
UPDATE
Let me make clear that McCain will have to change his position regarding federally funding of embryonic stem-cell research before I could ever consider supporting him.
Labels: Elections, Republicans, Rudy
posted by Pro Ecclesia 10:53 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
McCain and ESCR--one thing to consider. He hasn't spoken on ESCR since before the announcement of the Yamanaka breakthrough in November 2007 (where scientists were able to reverse engineer embryonic stem cells from adult skin cells). If he's still thumping for embryo research after that, I agree that he's radioactive.
Why Northeastern pundits continue to place any hopes at all on Giuliani or Romney is completely beyond me.
Neumayr points out that the NE pundits are slaves of Capital. (Not in so many words, of course...)
"He hasn't spoken on ESCR since before the announcement of the Yamanaka breakthrough in November 2007 (where scientists were able to reverse engineer embryonic stem cells from adult skin cells) ..."
Looks like we'll receive no solace on that account either, Dale.
See Stem cell breakthrough uses aborted fetal cells
Jay:
The way I read the stem-cell article (and I should caution that I'm not a scientist, and I will defer to anyone who is and who understands the moral issues) ... this is still *a* breakthrough if not the "end of the subject."
What the scientists did was "turn" an adult stem cell into an embryonic stem cell. What Children of God for Life are pointing out is that the device used to do that "turning" was derived from aborted babies.
Until now embryonic stem cells could only be obtained through ... well, creating embryos and killing them. This study proves it is possible to create embryonic stem-cells through other means. The pro-life group's criticisms, though true, don't deny that fact.
If you read the Spero article Jay linked to, the wording is careful:
A pro-life group is reporting that a recent stem cell breakthrough that turns adult skin cells to "embryonic" is not a pro-life solution as currently done. (emphasis by vjm)
And at the end, an Ave Maria Biotech Co. researcher says the ties to abortion of the "turning device" is an overcomeable problem (in contrast, ESCR had been linked to abortion, intrinsically):
However, it is not necessary to use aborted fetal cells to produce the lentivirus at all, noted Dr Theresa Deisher, R&D Director of Ave Maria Biotechnology Company, a research firm dedicated to pro-life alternatives for unethical human therapeutics.
"There are other ethical ways to produce the DNA needed for transformation, efficiently and morally," said Dr Deisher. "If these means were employed to produce the needed DNA, there would be no moral issues with the use of reprogrammed adult cells for research."
So ... a major breakthrough and one with the potential to end the ESCR debate, certainly, albeit one that has not done so yet.
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