Evangelical leader says Giuliani's divorce a problem

[sabra]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/07/giuliani.baptists.ap/index.html

Evangelical leader says Giuliani's divorce a problem

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A Southern Baptist leader said Tuesday that evangelical voters might tolerate a divorced presidential candidate, but they have deep doubts about GOP hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who has been married three times.

Richard Land, head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention, told The Associated Press that evangelicals believe the former New York City mayor showed a lack of character during his divorce from his second wife, television personality Donna Hanover.

"I mean, this is divorce on steroids," Land said. "To publicly humiliate your wife in that way, and your children. That's rough. I think that's going to be an awfully hard sell, even if he weren't pro-choice and pro-gun control."

Giuliani married his longtime companion, Judith Nathan, in 2003. They had dated publicly while Giuliani was married to Hanover. His first marriage ended in an annulment.

[ellenfl]

1. this from the area of the country with the highest divorce rate. eom

[customerserviceguy]

8. Who'da thunk

that the Mormon was the only leading Repug candidate still on his first wife???

[smoogatz]

20. Yep--and I have a hard time believing the fundies are going to back

the Mormon governor of the only state in the union with legalized gay marriage. No, folks, either the Republic party will submit to the will of its fundie overlords and nominate Brownback or Tancredo, OR the fundies will back a third-party, Dominionist candidate on the order of Roy Moore. I hope most fervently for the latter--a once-and-for-all split between the DC Republic moneyboys and the fundie base--but the former would yield good results for us, too. Perhaps in the intervening time they'll dredge up an innocuous, un-divorced governor like Tommy Thompson who can give Gore/Hillary/Obama a run for their money. But I doubt it--those people will want to keep their presidential powder dry for 2012, when the Republic party may have a slightly less unpleasant odor among the electorate.

[ryanmuegge]

2. head of public policy...HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Right.

[zbdent]

3. Wonder what he has to say about Rush ...

[LiberalEsto]

12. And Newt... nt

[fidgeting wildly]

4. This was expected.

I just didn't think we'd see it so soon. The evangelicals aren't happy with any of the current candidates, but they know Rudy is the front runner and they're trying to head him off at the pass.

[dubyaD40web]

5. What about McCain?

Isn't this is second wife?

[gauguin57]

7. Yes. And McCain was a total skank in going after Cindy while married to Carol

From Salon.com's archives

http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2000/03/06/carol/index.html

"... It seems that McCain, who had once revealed to fellow prisoners of war in Vietnam that he wanted to be president, was restless in 1979. As Navy liaison to the Senate, he didn't have the career momentum he had counted on to propel him into an admiralty and on to the White House. He was 42, mired in stifling ordinariness. (Civilians call it "midlife crisis.")

"But McCain was making bold career moves on the home front, hotly pursuing a 25-year-old blond from a wealthy Arizona family -- while married. Carol, his wife at the time, had once been quite a babe herself apparently, until a near-fatal car accident (while her husband was in Vietnam) left her 4 inches shorter, overweight and on crutches. The couple had three children, whom Carol cared for alone while her husband was in Vietnamese prisons.

"McCain's strategy worked perfectly: After chasing Cindy Hensley around the country for six months, he closed the deal late in the year, had a divorce by February and was married to Hensley shortly thereafter. Bingo! McCain was a candidate for Congress by early 1982, his coffers full, his home in the proper Arizona district purchased. ... "

[hippiechick]

24. ... that says so much about him ...

... a brazen opportunist and me-firster since his wayback days.
No wonder his nose is so far up Dimson's ass.

:puke:

[Psephos]

33. Do you feel the same way about Clinton?

I'm asking that without intention to snark.

Peace.

[Bridget Burke]

35. Bill Clinton married the Right Woman to help with his career--the first time.

Although the marriage has not been an easy one, they've stuck it out. And they apparently raised a fine daughter.

[Psephos]

38. A man who married the Right Woman wouldn't need to cheat on her hundreds of times

It's not a big deal to me personally, but I find it a bit beyond the pale for anyone who looked the other way for Clinton to throw stones at McCain over this.

I don't think there's much political benefit for us to make an issue over this, given the easy and obvious response of wingnuts. So why go there?

Peace.

[Bridget Burke]

39. I haven't thrown any stones at McCain.

And I didn't throw any stones at Clinton. (That's Mrs Clinton's job!)

But those responses sure are predictable, aren't they?

[BigDDem]

6. Time for Newt to jump in the race!

Isnt he on wife #3?

[LibDemAlways]

9. The "family values" party seems to be short on

candidates that have any they can tout in front of America. Romney's religion is a tough pill for the Evangelical types to swallow, so right now they're on a ship without a captain and just floundering.

[myrna minx]

10. Well, the Republican Party is chock full of serial wedders

so this may be a problem for the evangelicals to finds a suitable candidate. :rofl:

[Veronica.Franco]

11. Once again the world laughs ...

"That silly country over THERE that is constantly sticking their nose into everyone's bedroom ... What simpleminded ignorant bores they are" ... ;-)

[pampango]

19. So true. If the marital history of our presidential candidates

becomes a part of the campaign, the world will indeed have good chuckle.

Guess there are no other issues to talk about. :banghead:

[NI4NI]

13. IF Newt runs, same should apply!

Newt's sanctity of marriage should apply to the vows he took, UNLESS it went something like this:

Minister: Newt, do you take this woman in sickness and in health, to death to you part?

Newt: I Do! Just as long as she does not get cancer, or a younger woman comes along!

If there would be a 3 way debate on the sanctity of marriage between Newt, Rudy, and Hillary, she'd win hands down because she already walked the walk thru marital bad times.

[dkofos]

14. Well I guess it's time for rudy to quit!!

[Catfight]

15. Giuliani says evangleical leaders hypocrisy a problem. nt

[mzmolly]

16. I think he's hoping to snag independents? But, it is a great time for a RW Nader?

We need a covert disgruntled fundie candidate. :hi:

[Doctor_J]

17. Shouldn't that divorceS - plural?

'twill be interesting to see how the TV moralists weigh in if it's squeaky-clean devout christian Obama versus thrice-married wife-abusing adulterer Ghouliani.

[Bake]

18. And yet the Clintons have remained married all these years.

Whoda thunk it?

Bake

[auburngrad82]

21. so the divorce is a problem but not the affair that led to it?

or the fact that he's pro choice and pro gay rights? Conservatives have their priorities all fucked up.

[bmbmd]

22. Well, thank God that Reagan was only married once.

or twice.

[Coventina]

36. Yeah, St. Ronnie immediately popped into my mind as well.

These idiots sure have selective memory, don't they?

[sutz12]

23. Shouldn't that say divorces?

:)

I guess they have to decide how much to "forgive." :evilgrin:

[bkcc]

25. I think he needs to ask himself...

What's worse:

Being divorced?
Or staying married to your cousin?

[springhill]

26. I wonder if they are as upset about.......

Newt Gringrich and his divorces? We'll see.

[HockeyMom]

27. Appear on TV with your girlfriend

marching in the St. Pat's Day Parade for your wife and KIDS to see? This was with Christine Something Or Other, not Judith. I think she is the former secretary who Rudy got that $125,000 City job for. Actually, for those willing to research it, you would need a scorecard to keep track of Rudy's paramours.

It's the ARROGANCE of the man.

[David__77]

28. So it's not the divorce per se, but the circumstances.

Reagan was divorced, after all. Guiliani is clearly amoral, I can say that from the left. He's a hedonist.

[bajamary]

29. First wife was second cousin. Interesting.

Now here's an educated fellow, Mr. Giuliani. He really loves "the rules". And I think he knows the rules of the Catholic church about marrying your 2nd cousin. And I'm guessing if they were married ina Catholic ceremony, they must have gotten a dispensation to do so.

But wait....they got a diveroce and then an annulment from the RC.

Now that is interesting stuff.

[yellowcanine]

32. Big deal. 60 % of marriages were between 2nd cousins in colonial America.

I don't know whether it is grounds for annulment or not, but it shouldn't be. Sounds like a "loophole" to me to get around the RC prohibition of divorce. They don't refuse to allow second cousins to get married, just allow it as grounds for annulment. Un huh. What kind of bs is that?

[AX10]

30. But how many of you will vote for him if he gets to the GE?

[nolabels]

37. The herd mentality

It works well if your physically quick, breed fast and don't do much deep thinking. Nothing seemed more revealing than watching a coworker, a bible thumper, as he ogled and awed over Arnold in a recent newspaper article.

[yellowcanine]

31. Richard Land, that sanctimonius old fart, parsing degrees of wife ditching. I love it!

Let's throw in Newt Gingrich and make it a trifecta of wife ditchers. You can't make this shit up.

[JoFerret]

34. Yep

<<To publicly humiliate your wife in that way, and your children. That's rough. I think that's going to be an awfully hard sell,>>
He's right on that one.
It was hard to sell in that hotbed of sin and corruption (NYC). However, might be easier in the bible beltoid areas where they are driven by faith rather than by values of decency and civility..