Norquist on the Conversions of Rudy and Mitt
"People are up for conversions, for changes, for growing," he told me in an interview this week. "People love former alcoholics and drug addicts. You never have anybody on the 700 Club who always went to church and was nice. 'Now, homosexual prostitutes who took drugs and don't do that anymore -- yeah, we like you!'"
Norquist said that Giuliani's subtle new strategy for dealing with his past apostacies could work, but he thinks that Romney's more overt change of heart is going to end up being the more successful one.
"The argument made out by Romney is actually the better one, as articulated on abortion," said Norquist. "'I used to be pro-choice and so stated it, but now I have had a change of heart and now I'm not.'"
The trick, he said, is to make it believable.
"That's called winning when people want to be on your team. Conservative movements should be willing to accept conversions one way in one direction, one time," said Norquist. "As long as someone has a credible explanation as to why."
--Jason Horowitz
For non wing-nuts this should be called for what it is: FLIP, FLOP.
If they think that they can get away with savaging John Kerry for minor shifts in position than they have got to be crazy if they don't think we will be bringing pairs of flip flops to Denver in 08 should any one of these two finger in the winders gets nominated.
Norquist comes from the economic side of the uneasy alliance in the republican party. The social conservatives primarily go to Weyrich's meeting. It's not surprising Norquist's forgiving of non-fundamentalist stances on social issues.
What's more interesting is his observation that Romney is stronger than Rudy. I'd bet that has everything to do with an electability and relationship judgement for Norquist - and less with any real ideology. Norquist will always prefer a more malleadble, more predictable type to a less malleable, less predicatable type. And that coming from somebody who can't stand Giuliani's bit.