Giuliani Blames Spending For GOP '06 Losses

By Karyn Chenoweth Oct 6, 2007, 18:08 GMT

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani EPA/MATTHEW CAVANAUGH

Excessive spending, not the war issue, caused the 2006 GOP congressional losses accoridng to Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani on Friday scolded Congress for extravagant spending of tax dollars, and Rudy blamed the issue for GOP losses in last year's elections.

"We lost control of Congress because we were just like the Democrats as far as spending is concerned - shame on us," Giuliani told the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity.

Mitt Romney said: "It's time for Republicans to act like Republicans" and he promised to veto any spending increase that is more than the inflation rate minus one percentage point.

Fred Thompson made a joke of lawmakers' free-spending ways, saying that as a senator from Tennessee, he once "accidentally spent some of my own money."

The AP noted that Arizona Sen. John McCain also decried too much spending, saying in a speech Thursday night that Democrats "will tax, spend, regulate and dictate for the benefit of special interests and partisan objectives."

Giuliani and Romney spent much of their speeches ridiculing Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democratic candidates.

Giuliani quipped that "Republicans are amateur spenders, and Democrats are professional spenders."

Romney mentioned Clinton's argument that she is a candidate of change and said: "I think she would change America, and we'd go from prosperity to poverty."

Giuliani drew applause dozens of times as he described how he cut income and business taxes, slashed welfare rolls and trimmed employees from his city's payroll as mayor of New York. His record on taxes is an advantage for Giuliani, who is at odds with social conservatives who typically hold sway over Republican primary elections.

Romney claims Giuliani is "vulnerable" on the issue because the former mayor fought to eliminate a line-item veto, which a president can use to reject spending, and because Giuliani maintained a commuter tax in New York.

Romney advertises that he has signed a pledge to raise taxes, which Giuliani has refused to do.

"Actually, as governor, I used the line item veto more than 844 times," Romney said. "I can't wait to do it in Washington."

Giuliani's campaign responded that Romney offered no tax cuts during his four years as Massachusetts governor and allowed taxation on out-of-state residents working in Massachusetts, of vacation pay, deferred compensation and other income.

A Giuliani campaign release referred to "Romney's Taxachusetts."

Giuliani's campaign also pointed out Romney refused to sign a no-new-taxes pledge in 2002.

By the time he left office as mayor, Giuliani said, "we were collecting 41 percent more revenue from the low taxes than we were collecting from high taxes."

Thompson said that approach works: "When you have tax cuts, revenue isn't lost. The taxpayer knows where it is; it's in his pocket."

He and Romney both pledged to cut corporate taxes.

Romney says he would make President Bush's tax cuts permanent, have more marginal tax rates, hold the line on Social Security taxes and would not tax interest, capital gains and dividends.