On the February 14 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck, discussing former Gov. Mitt Romney's (R-MA) change in position on abortion and gay rights, guest host Michael Smerconish said, “I would have more respect for a candidate ... who had a viewpoint with which I disagree but who stood his or stood her ground.” New York Times reporter Patrick Healy responded that “that's what” former New York City Mayor Rudy's Giuiliani's (R) “people are saying. ... [T]hey're insisting that Rudy will not backtrack on his support for abortion rights. But if he did that, he'd be killed.” However, as Media Matters for America has documented, Giuliani has already “backtrack[ed] on his support for abortion rights” while denying that he has done so, which The New York Times itself has reported.
A February 10 article by Healy's New York Times colleague Ray Rivera noted that Giuliani had changed his position on “partial-birth abortion” and noted that his aides' justification for saying that he had not shifted his position on the issue did not hold up:
On the issue of a disputed abortion procedure called “partial-birth abortion” by opponents, he told Mr. Hannity that a ban signed into law by President Bush in 2003, which the Supreme Court is reviewing, should be upheld.
[...]
[But] [a]sked by Tim Russert on “Meet the Press” in 2000 if he supported President Bill Clinton's veto of a law that would have banned the disputed abortion procedure, Mr. Giuliani said, “I would vote to preserve the option for women.” He added, “I think the better thing for America to do is to leave that choice to the woman, because it affects her probably more than anyone else.”
[...]
Mr. Giuliani's campaign aides say his positions on abortion have not changed, and that his stand on what critics call partial-birth abortions has been mischaracterized, saying he opposed a ban only if it failed to include an exception to protect the life of the mother. But the ban vetoed by President Clinton did include such an exception.
So, in 2000, an exception to protect the life of the woman was not sufficient for him to support the ban. But now that he has filed a statement of candidacy indicating his interest in the GOP nomination, such an exception is apparently enough for the ban to earn his support. Blogger and media critic Greg Sargent has also documented Giuliani's reversal.
From the February 14 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
SMERCONISH: It's funny you say that. I have this vision of the '08 convention for the D's, you know, where -- where -- they're handing out the flip-flops, and they're saying, “Look at this guy on abortion and gay rights.”
I have to tell you something. I would have more respect for a candidate -- this is just me talking -- who had a viewpoint with which I disagreed but who stood his or stood her ground, rather than somebody on the important issue of abortion or gay rights who all of a sudden has a -- you know, an -- an epiphany.
HEALY: Well, that's what Rudy Giuliani's people are saying. You know, we'll see what happens, but they're insisting that Rudy will not backtrack on his support for abortion rights. But if he did that, he'd be killed.
SMERCONISH: But he's -- he's already -- Patrick, he's already talking, you know, strict constructionism. What does that mean --
HEALY: Sure.
SMERCONISH: -- other than a tip of the hat to the pro-life crowd? Let me ask you a question that puzzles me. John McCain -- and I like him very, very much. How do McCain's numbers continue to rise at a time when support for the war dissipates, goes through the floor?