Giuliani bashes Clinton at conservative legal confab

by Gabrielle Russon

In front of conservative lawyers, Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani promised to appoint like-minded judges and petitioned for a limited central government on Friday afternoon during a speech held in a Washington hotel.

“You’re making a choice. Who do you trust more: the government or the people?” Giuliani said, alleging that some of the Democratic contenders wrongly believed the central government should play too big a role in people’s lives.

Those Democrats’ names came up early in Giuliani’s 30-minute speech at the 25th annual convention of the Federalist Society, the legal group whose members include some of the most influential figures of the conservative legal establishment and a group Giuliani has avidly courted.

He singled out fellow presidential candidate and New Yorker, Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton, for special ridicule in the same room where, an hour earlier, lawyers debated illegal immigration policies.

“First she was for the idea and supported Gov. (Eliot) Spitzer who wanted to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants,” the former New York City mayor said, referring to the current New York governor.

“Then she was against the idea. Then she was for and against the idea. Then she decided it should be decided on a state-by-state basis,” Giuliani said mockingly.

Giuliani also mused about the significance of next year’s election. “I know we say that all the time, that every presidential election is the most important one we have in our history but actually it’s a truthful statement,” he said.

He offered 200 reasons why 2008’s election is “really important” - the 200 federal judges that each president typically appoints during a four-year term. Giuliani warned that the top three Democratic presidential candidates Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards would appoint judges who would “legislate their social policy through judicial interpretation.”

“Judges exist to interpret the law, not to invent the law,” he said, a sure applause line in this crowd.

His speech at the Mayflower Hotel was standing room only, like a hit Broadway play.