Giuliani woos conservatives

Giuliani woos conservatives

Giuliani led a parade of six Republican White House contenders who wooed frustrated conservatives at an annual convention. He asked the activists to look past his support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

Giuliani, dubbed "America's Mayor" for his leadership after the September 11 attacks, touted his New York record of reducing crime, cutting city taxes and moving people from welfare to jobs.

"We all don't see eye to eye on everything. You and I have a lot of common beliefs that are the same, and we have some that are different," Giuliani told attendees at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

"The point of a presidential election is to figure out who do you believe the most, and what do you think are the most important things for this country at a particular time," he said.

Giuliani leads the Republican presidential field in national polls, but he and the other top-tier candidates -- Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- have been criticized for straying from conservative principles.

McCain championed campaign finance reform, opposed some of President George W. Bush's tax cuts and attacked conservative religious leaders during his 2000 presidential campaign. His decision not to appear at the three-day conservative gathering further angered some activists.

Romney has shifted his positions on social issues like abortion and gay rights to become more conservative.

Even many lesser-known candidates have sparked grumbling from conservatives, who have made their displeasure with the 2008 Republican field evident.

"Dude, where's my candidate?"

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, criticized for raising taxes as governor, promised to sign a pledge he would not raise taxes as president and joked about the state of distress at the conference.

"It might be renamed the conservative presidential anxiety conference," he said. "The theme might be, 'Dude, where's my candidate?'"

Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo also took veiled swipes at the top contenders, particularly Romney and his changing positions on hot-button social issues.

"We have to have leaders who understand that being a leader is about being a thermostat, not a thermometer," Huckabee said. "We can't afford to elect people who simply reflect a culture and reflect a common view, but don't necessarily believe it."

Tancredo, using a biblical reference, said such conversions "are supposed to be made on the road to Damascus, not the road to Des Moines."

California Rep. Duncan Hunter and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback stressed their opposition to abortion rights and their determination to appoint judges who would overturn the Supreme Court decision making it legal.

"If any judicial candidate comes before me who can look at a sonogram of an unborn child and not see a valuable human life, then I will not appoint that candidate to the federal bench," Hunter said.

Romney said he had seen the ineffectiveness of liberal policies while presiding over Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the country. He also promised to sign the pledge against tax increases and said he would repeal McCain's signature bill overhauling campaign finance laws.

Tancredo, who entered the race to stress his opposition to illegal immigration, said he had no problem with being called a single-issue candidate as long as people know "my single issue is the survival and success of the conservative movement in America."