Posted on 02/01/2006 5:23:40 AM PST by areafiftyone
Political pundits have long discounted former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's presidential prospects, claiming that his particular brand of tough-talking, socially moderate conservatism would never play south of the Mason-Dixon Line. But Rudy has never been one to listen to conventional wisdom, and lately at least, he has been turning up the heat in southern conservative political circles.
In just the last week, he endorsed Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry for re-election and met with Evangelicals in Florida. Most impressively, he actually outpaced U.S. Senator John McCain in a just-released Georgia poll, garnering the support of 28 percent of Georgia Republicans to McCain's 22 percent, echoing numbers in December's CNN/USA Today/Gallup nationwide poll. The conservative blog, RightWingNews reported last week that while Condoleezza Rice was the top choice of 230 conservative bloggers for the Republican nomination, Giuliani came in second, beating out U.S. Senator George Allen and Newt Gingrich. Nationwide, Rudy earned a 63 percent favorable rating in a Pew Research Center poll in October.
In addition to supporting Perry, Giuliani has planted a Texas-sized footstep in the Lone Star Statenow with three more Electoral College votes than New York. Last spring, he became a name partner in a Houston law firm, Bracewell and Giuliani, noted for its Bush connections and roster of major energy clients.
The Catholic mayor is also busy burnishing his ties to Christian conservatives. Pat Robertson has said Rudy would make "a good president" and the mayor was a headliner for a fundraising committee supporting former Christian Coalition executive Ralph Reed in his bid to be Georgia's lieutenant governor. Last week, Giuliani dropped by an Orlando meeting of the Global Pastors Network and told the Evangelical leaders that "only God knows" if he will run for president. The group offered their prayers for him and he responded in kind, showing an openly devout side not many people had seen before: "I can't tell you from my heart how much I appreciate what you are doingsaving people, telling them about Jesus Christ and bringing them to God."
Still, Giuliani's southern strategy may be an uphill climb. "It's a real stretch for Giuliani to get out voters in southern Republican primaries," Richard Murray, head of the University of Houston's Center for Public Policy said. "He has too much baggage to get through the southern primaries." Murray said Giuliani's best shot may be as a "ticket balancer," a moderate vice president to a conservative ticket leader, especially if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.If that were the case, and Rudy got to take on the senator from New York, he would feel right at home, no matter where he was stumping for votes.
Jeb Bush will be the next president if he wants it. None of these leftist MSM people want to talk about him... Jeb is who the left fears the most...
I like Jeb, but I don't know if the country wants yet another Bush. It would begin to resemble some kind of weird banana republic where the leaders are chosen from a particular family.
Rudy is an overrated hack who's career was saved by the media glow of "9/11."
Why folks would drink the Kool-Aid on this walking piece of New York excrement is beyond me.
Don't hold back, tell us what you really think...
Vote for me!
The first sentence of this article is a false premise and everything that follows it is a falsehood. Nobody has announced yet. What these liberal media whores really fear is what they do not mention - - Jeb Bush. Jeb will wipe the floor with anybody they are promoting. The left is trying to put themselves into the driver's seat for the GOP primary. If Jeb runs, all bets are off and Hitlery is nuked right out of the box...
I agree, there are better candidates than Rudy.
But I'm of the mindset that any Republican -- and I do mean ANY Republican -- is better than Kerry, Gore, Feingold, Dean, Hillary, etc. I know that tends to get me boos and hisses around this site, but so be it.
I'm a conservative first, Republican second. But after the primaries, I'll support the nominee. Simple as that.
Nevertheless, a Giuliani presidency would be a disaster. Imagine the worst of the Grant administration mixed with social liberalism that would make Pelosi proud.
Fair position. As they used to say in Italy "Hold your nose, and vote for the Christian Democrats" instead of the Communists.
ROFLMAO!!! I was waiting for that! What took you so long?
For those who don't know, that picture was taken at the Inner Circle dinner -- NY's version of the Gridiron.
It was a NYC/Broadway gag thing and shouldn't be taken so seriously.
Oh I know that and have posted that explanation many times but the Giuliani hater Freepers use that as him being a cross dresser! LOL Silly Stunt!
You know better than to think he'd even attempt to get the nomination. He's building up a "favor bank" to get the Attorney General's job, which is the spot he probably really wants. The guy is a prosecutor through and through.
Yes, but he shacked up with two Gay men after leaving his wife. THAT can be taken seriously.
Rudy would make a fine Attorney General.
Like Nixon going to China...or Pataki putting through gun control in NY that Cuomo couldn't get past the republican state Senate.
Rudy, the anti gunner, will get his anti-gun agenda through in a Republican or Democrat congress. I would rather have the gridlock of the Republicans in Congress fighting tooth and nail to stop a Democratic presidents anti-gun bills than to have them shoo in Rudy's to keep party unity.
We need a fiscal and a social conservative representing the republican party as president...not Rudy.
Jeb Bush is who the liberals at Time and the leftist Pew Research are most afraid of. They are trying to put themselves in the driver's seat for the GOP primary. Notice how they purposely avoid any mention of him. The liberals are already campaigning in Florida as we speak.
Jeb nukes Hitlery right out of the box.
Yeah, it was like a 7,000 sq ft apt. One of the newscasts found him leaving the building with one of the guys and played the Odd Couple theme over the image. Cracked me up. One of the finest moments in local TV news.
ROFLOL! Wish I had 7,000 sq. ft.
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