Posted on 05/23/2006 9:51:04 AM PDT by Blackirish
Rudy is a liberal republican.
He will not get my primary vote by any means. Nor will McCain.
Tancredo might.
My order:
1. Cheney
2. Bush, J.
3. Allen, Tancredo, Frist
4. Gingrich
5. Rice
Good. I will. I saw him in action when he was mayor of NY; and I'm not a single issue voter.
The first prerequisite of a candidate is that they have to be able to competently face off with Hillary.
Y'all might find the choice is Giuliani or McCain by the time the primary makes it to your state - if no conservative leader throws his hat into the ring. What then?
We have Gingrich, but that would inevitably result in arguments about his personal life. As a conservative, however, he is probably the practical choice, he is intimately familiar with the establishment and is clear about what he would do if given the power, plus he has a generally good record of taking action, a sharp contrast to the blather of, say, an average Senator. Along the same lines but without the personal life drawbacks are Pence and Hastert who do not appear interested in running. There is VA Senator Allen, solidly conservative, with experience as governor. But Senators in general have a poor record in Presidential elections. Tom Tancredo, also solidly conservative, has a reputation as a one-issue politician (thread requirement fulfilled), which may help, and may hurt.
Of all the available candidates, who is going to be willing AND able to run a campaign? Maybe only Giuliani, McCain, and Allen. I think the law and order conservatism, class, and competence of Giuliani may end up winning a lot of voters. Plus, he is a proven winner of non-Republican voters as well, winning as a Republican - twice - in a major Democrat stronghold, and would find the national electorate easier to win.
Ironically, if it hadn't been for term limits, I'm not sure that he would've been re-elected to the second term. (He was popular enough that no one wanted to spend the money to run against him in 1997 when the race would be wide open in 2001. But against a heavyweight, it could've been a rough ride in '97.)
I won't vote for a gun grabber. Period. End of story.
His political problems are far from a "single-issue" problem.
Heheh.......thanks....I needed that laugh.
GIULIANI '08: A REAL CHANCE
Actually I think Guillani will get little support from most mainstream conservatives.
Most people forget that New York City had grown tired of him by that time.
There are a number of other elected positions Rudy Giuliani could have pursued in the years since he left office -- including the U.S. Senate, the governor's office in New York, etc. The fact that he hasn't done so tells me that he's either not too interested in serving as an elected official or that he's very much aware of his serious shortcomings.
A Guiliani-Allen ticket will kick @$$
My Big 3 right now are the Second Amendment, smaller government, and controlling our borders.
McInsane and Rudy don't meet a passing grade for any of them.
Pence, Allen, and Tancredo do.
Rudi doesn't have a cold chance in hell. He can't attract the base. He's admired, but not wanted for the job. TOO SOCIALLY LIBERAL. A pro-abortion, pro-gay Republican is never going to get the nomination. Same reason Condi will never be President.
I think Rudy will be on the ticket.
Rudy is not pro-gay marriage. He recently said so.
From what I have seen of the most recent FR poll, too many Republicans will sit this one out if Rudy or McLame win the primary.
Hildabeast will win by default.
When people like the limp-wristed jack@sses at the NY Post write these columns about the strong chances of some "moderate" Republican on a national level, they base their analysis on the implicit assumption that these candidates will appeal to moderate voters from both parties. There is no historical basis for this, as the appeal of these candidates diminishes substantially once they are no longer hypothetical candidates and they are subject to the close scrutiny of a national campaign.
Then they will have only themselves to blame.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.