I was able to speak to Senator David Vitter of Louisiana yesterday about his endorsement of Rudy Giuliani which was announced last week. Vitter is the first Senator to endorse Giuliani and will be serving as the campaign’s Southern Regional Chair. He will “help lead the campaign’s efforts to build support in the south and in the United States Senate.”
National Journal’s Hotline called Vitter’s endorsement, “a major and important endorsement” and said it would “help whip support among Southern conservatives.”
Real Clear Politics’ John McIntyre said of the endorsement:
Endorsements by your average governor or senator are usually not that big a deal, especially from a state that does not have a significant role in the nominating process, but Louisiana Sen. David Vitter’s endorsement of Giuliani is a big positive for the Giuliani campaign, because it sends a message that Rudy is acceptable to social conservatives. If a social conservative from a southern state like David Vitter can get behind the former mayor of New York, it takes some of the punch out of the anti-Giuliani analysis that he will be found unacceptable to Republican primary voters.
Senator Vitter said he had several reasons for choosing to endorse a Giuliani candidacy. He cited first and foremost the need for leadership in time of war and terror and referred to the leadership Giuliani showed in New York City as mayor. In addition to his performance following 9/11, he specifically cited the conservative fiscal policy Giuliani championed in New York City.
Vitter said one of the reasons he is convinced that Giuliani would make a good president is because he believes he would appoint good conservative judges. I asked what convinced him that Giuliani would appoint conservative judges. He listed three reasons: 1) meetings with the mayor and comments made to him personally, 2) public statements Giuliani has made about judicial philosophy and his opinions of justices like Alito and Scalia, and 3) (most important) Giuliani’s legal experience in the Reagan Justice Department, as well as endorsements from people like Ted Olson. His assurance that Giuliani would appoint conservative judges as president is the reason Vitter feels comfortable endorsing Giuliani in spite of their differences on some major social issues.
I asked Vitter what kind of response he had received from his constituents, particularly social conservatives, to his endorsement of Giuliani. He said he had received emails from constituents commenting on the endorsement and didn’t have a count, but that he had heard from both sides with both positive and negative feedback.
I asked if his state’s experiences during Katrina played a role in his decision to endorse Giuliani. He said it played a huge role. He was disappointed with the leadership he saw in Louisiana during Katrina and that experience showed him just how important good leadership is, especially when dealing with a crisis. He said that seeing how Giuliani had performed following 9/11 convinced him that he has the leadership the country needs.
I asked what specific statements from Giuliani had convinced him that he was the best choice? He said it was not what he said, but rather his performance. “We are at war against radical extremist Islam” and “actions speak louder than words” reiterating the importance of Giuliani’s response to the 9/11 attacks and his overall record of accomplishments as mayor of New York City.
Since Vitter is serving as the Southern Regional chair for the campaign, I asked if there was anything in particular that Giuliani needed to do to bridge the North/South cultural gap. He pointed out that Giuliani is surprising just about everyone by leading the other major candidates in the polls, even in the south. He saw this as evidence that Giuliani would not have the trouble in the South that many had predicted.
Vitter made clear that he is still “conservative across the board and that won’t change.” He said that even though he has differences with Giuliani on some issues, mainly social issues, he will continue to speak out and work on those issues that are important to him.
