Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani took to the stump for Gov. Rick Scott and lashed out at Scott's opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, saying, Ive never met someone in politics that I disrespect more than Charlie Crist."
That says something.
There is some bad blood from the 2008 presidential campaign when Giuliani relied heavily on Florida and Crist backed U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Whatever chance Giuliani had at the White House went up in smoke when Crist, dreaming of ending up in the vice presidential spot, threw his weight behind McCain.
But there is more to it than that. Conservatives might have celebrated Giulianis leadership on 9/11 but he has never been a stalwart Republican or anything close to it. As the constant support Ray Harding and the Liberal Party of New York gave him during his years in office showed, Giuliani is no conservative by any means. During his time on the political stage, he was pro-choice and he has always generally been more to the left on LGBT issues than other Republicans.
Nor did Giuliani always help the GOP. In 1994, the New York mayor famously endorsed then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, D-N.Y., over Republican challenger George Pataki. When Pataki beat Cuomo that year, the Republican governor and the Republican mayor had, at best, a testy relationship.
Nor was Pataki the only right-of-center foe Giuliani made during his eight years as mayor. The Conservative Party of New York State (CPNYS), the party of William F. Buckley and his brother, former U.S. Sen. James Buckley, CPNYS-NY, fought Giuliani tooth and nail as he tried to rise in the Empire State. Back in 2000, when Giuliani was considering taking on Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate race, the CPNYS paraded its own alternatives, including former U.S. Rep. Joe DioGuardi, R-N.Y., and U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., before eventually deciding on then-U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio, R-N.Y.
Giuliani has never been a knee-jerk GOP cheerleader. Even as late as last November, he endorsed Democrat Paul Vallone, the son of his sometimes ally, sometimes enemy Peter Vallone in a City Council race in Queens over the Republican candidate. Peter Vallone led the New York City Council throughout much of the 1990s.
Despite all of this, the gloves came off when Giuliani went after Crist on Wednesday. Considering Crist -- a former Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate with no party affiliation -- tries to bill himself as a moderate, Giulianis harsh opposition matters. Giuliani is no party hack and no conservative. In many ways, he claims much of the same political ground Crist did not that long ago: tough on crime, socially liberal, fiscally responsible.
Now 70, its tough to imagine Giuliani trying to collect a few chips for another presidential bid after his 2008 flop. Giuliani is a defender of the political center -- and trying to protect it from an opportunist like Charlie Crist. That counts for something in what is clearly a close race between Scott and Crist.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
