"Yes, Rudy Giuliani is a Conservative"

Steven Malanga of City Journal makes the case for Giuliani. It's a thought-provoking "must read" article.

An excerpt:

"In a GOP presidential field in which cultural and religious conservatives may find something to object to in every candidate who could really get nominated (and, more important, elected), Giuliani may be the most conservative candidate on a wide range of issues. Far from being a liberal, he ran New York with a conservative’s priorities: government exists above all to keep people safe in their homes and in the streets, he said, not to redistribute income, run a welfare state, or perform social engineering. The private economy, not government, creates opportunity, he argued; government should just deliver basic services well and then get out of the private sector’s way. He denied that cities and their citizens were victims of vast forces outside their control, and he urged New Yorkers to take personal responsibility for their lives."

More: "To those of us who observed Giuliani from the beginning, it was astonishing how fully he followed through on his conservative principles once elected, no matter how much he upset elite opinion, no matter how often radical advocates took to the streets in protest, no matter how many veiled (and not so veiled) threats that incendiary figures like Al Sharpton made against him, and no matter how often the New York Times fulminated against his policies. In particular, offended by the notion that people should be treated differently and demand privileges based on the color of their skin, Giuliani was fearless in confronting racial extortionists..."

"For Giuliani, the revival of New York started with securing public safety, because all other agendas were useless if citizens didn’t feel protected..."

Giuliani is also a proponent of school vouchers, saying: "“[T]he whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child."

Malanga's account of Giuliani's battle against the entrenched liberal political culture in New York City is long and detailed, and worth reading every word.

I'm not sold, but at this point I'm open-minded given the current lack of a candidate to carry forward the tradition of Reagan conservatism... I'm particularly concerned about what Rudy's judicial picks would be like, but I'm not sure they'd be any worse, at least, than those that would be made by McCain or Romney.

(Hat tip: Real Clear Politics.)

Update: Captain Ed responds to the article and, noting that Giuliani has consistently spoken out against judicial activism, concludes: "Conservatives should reconsider Giuliani. Of all the candidates in the race thus far, he has the best track record of implementing conservative governance consistently and successfully."