Thompson, Giuliani start fray at debate

Eight presidential hopefuls clashed sharply over conservative purity Sunday night in the most contentious Republican debate of the 2008 race for the White House.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee set the tone by saying rival Rudolph W. Giuliani believes in federal funding for abortion and “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants.

“He’s for gun control,” Thompson said of the former New York mayor. “He supported Mario Cuomo, a liberal Democrat, against a Republican who was running for governor, then opposed the [Republican] governor’s tax cuts.”

Giuliani “sides with Hillary Clinton on each of those issues,” Thompson said in one of the many times the Democratic front-runner’s name was invoked in the debate.

Giuliani slammed Thompson for siding with trial lawyers instead of GOP senators who sought to cap lawsuit damages.

“He voted against almost anything that would make our legal system fairer -- ‘loser pays’ rules, things that would prevent lawsuits like that $54-million lawsuit by that guy who lost his pants,” Giuliani said.

As for sanctuary cities, Giuliani defended his policy, saying it enabled “illegal immigrants to report crime and to put their children in school.”

In another swipe at Thompson, Giuliani said, “The senator has never had executive responsibility. He’s never had the weight of people’s safety and security on his shoulders. I have.”

The sparring quickly spread as the candidates answered questions on their conservative credentials from Fox News journalists in Orlando, Fla. Irked by the questions, Rep. Duncan Hunter of Alpine accused the Fox panel of dividing the party. With groans and cheers, more than 3,000 spectators in the convention hall punctuated the scrappy back-and-forth among the candidates.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona mocked Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, for saying in an earlier debate that he would rely on lawyers to tell him whether to seek congressional approval before attacking Iran.

“I don’t think that’s a time to call in the lawyers when we’re in a national security crisis,” McCain said. “Those are the last people on Earth I’d call in.”

McCain went on to criticize Romney’s switch to conservative positions on abortion and other issues.

“Gov. Romney, you’ve been spending the last year trying to fool people about your record,” McCain said. “I don’t want you to start fooling them about mine.”

Romney, who has criticized McCain on immigration, taxes and campaign finance reform, responded that “every person on this stage” would consult the attorney general and White House counsel on the role of Congress in a military strike. “But the decision to take our men and women to war is the most grave decision, and I would do that on a very deliberate and careful basis, not a half-cocked basis,” he said.

The quarreling led former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas to crack jokes about staying above the fray. “I am more than content to let you let them fight all they want tonight, shed each other’s blood, and then I’ll be ready to run for president, because I’m not interested in fighting these guys,” he said.

With the crowd roaring in approval, Huckabee said Americans were “looking for a presidential candidate who’s not so interested in a demolition derby against the other people in his own party.”

“There are some real issues out there in this country we need to be fighting for on behalf of the people,” he said.

The combative tone reflected the unsettled state of the GOP race with less than 11 weeks until the Iowa precinct caucuses. So far, none of the candidates has succeeded in consolidating support from the party’s core of conservative voters.

The debate also offered reminders of the difficulties that several have faced in gaining the support of the religious right.

McCain was asked to explain his attempt at reconciliation with evangelical leaders including the Rev. Jerry Falwell, whom he once denounced as an agent of intolerance.

“I’m proud that in my life I have engaged in reconciliation with former enemies,” said McCain, a naval combat veteran who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. “I did that with the Vietnamese, who killed many of my friends. I did that with other adversaries from time to time, and when Rev. Falwell came to my office and said he wanted to put our differences behind us, I was more than glad to.”

Thompson faced a question on his paid lobbying for a group trying to lift restrictions on abortion counseling. Noting his antiabortion record in the Senate, he said the work was for “my private law practice, as opposed to my public service.”

“I made a few calls, and that was that,” he said.

Giuliani, whose support for abortion and gay rights has troubled many Republicans, said he would only back a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage if judges in “three, four, five, six states” sanction gay nuptials. “I did 210 weddings when I was mayor of New York City, so I have experience doing this,” he joked. “They were all men and women. I hope.”

Laughter erupted as he looked upward. “You’ve got to give me a little slack here,” he said. “It was New York City.”

The boldest in breaking with party orthodoxy was Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, an opponent of the Iraq war. The crowd booed him as he denounced plans for U.S. missile defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado spoke out against illegal immigration, his main campaign theme, saying the cost of providing healthcare for immigrants had forced hospitals to close.

Most of the candidates took turns bashing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Romney called her unfit to serve as commander in chief, saying that “she hasn’t run a corner store.”

McCain faulted Clinton for trying to spend $1 million on a Woodstock museum. “Now, my friends, I wasn’t there,” he said of the 1969 concert. “I’m sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time.”

michael.finnegan@latimes.com