Posted on 12/18/2006 8:50:57 PM PST by Senator Goldwater
NEW YORK, Dec. 18 -- His national poll numbers are a dream, he's a major box office draw on the Republican Party circuit, and he goes by the shorthand title "America's Mayor." All of which has former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani convinced he just might become America's president in 2008.
He is showing the early signs of a serious candidacy: Giuliani's presidential exploratory committee throws its first major fundraiser in a hotel near Times Square on Tuesday evening, and he recently hired the political director of the Republican National Committee during 2006. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released last week found that Republicans give Giuliani an early lead over Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Despite that lead, conservative Republican strategists and activists in key primary states are skeptical and warn that the socially liberal Republican faces a difficult campaign. They question whether a Republican who has seen one marriage end in annulment and another in divorce, and favors abortion rights, gun control and immigrant rights, has much retail appeal in the evangelical and deeply conservative reaches of the GOP.
"If the Republican Party wants to send the social conservatives home for good, all they have to do is nominate Rudy Giuliani," said Rick Scarborough, a Southern Baptist minister and president of Vision America. "It's an insult to the pro-Christian agenda . . . He's going to spend a lot of money finding he can't get out of the Republican primaries."
His strategy will be to capitalize on his status as a tough and plain-talking hero of Sept. 11, 2001. He believes, say advisers, that his tough views on national security -- he supports the USA Patriot Act -- and on Iraq, where he opposes withdrawal of troops, will overshadow his liberal social views.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
And he will do better in the South than anyone is predicting. He's been a rock star on the Dixie stump for three election cycles, and those IOU's are coming home in 2008.
But how about the Pro-Abortion Anti-gun stance?
It'll be interesting who he chooses as his running mate--should he win the primary. I expect to be a conservative one. Perhaps Sen. Brownback?
But how about the Pro-Abortion Anti-gun stance?
I think he would pick John Cornyn, a conservative Republican senator from a large state of Texas.
I don't think that attitude carries much traction with GOP voters, overall. We will see how many votes that team Rick Scarborough can really deliver in the GOP presidential primary. I hope Rudy runs. It will be an interesting test case.
The issue of gun control will hurt Rudy unless he addresses this issue strongly and clarifies his position.
Also does he have the experience of running in a state wide race, running in a whole state is different from running for mayor.
The issue of gun control will hurt Rudy unless he addresses this issue strongly and clarifies his position.
Rudy is our Bill Clinton. He raises lots of money buy no smart-thinking conservative wants him in the White House. In many respects he's a lot like Ed Koch: He's right about one issue and wrong about too many others.
You may be on to something. Many of the social conservatives lack the political sophistication required to get their candidates nominated. Many don't even know who they favor. It looks to me like the social conservative bloc is down to 25 percent max in the Republican primaries, much less in the Northeast. I wish conservatives could figure things out.
What evidence do you have that a policy Democrat will nominate Conservatives to the bench ? A social liberal will appoint like-minded people, period.
I would really like Rudy as Sec of State..his anti-gun and pro abortion stances will kill him with GOP primary voters..my two cents..
What evidence do you have that a policy Democrat will nominate Conservatives to the bench ? A social liberal will appoint like-minded people, period.
First, why does this constitute a story on the part of the WaPo?
Second, Rudy might prefer constructionist judges over activists, but the fact is that Rudy is not going to spend political capital trying to get doctrinaire constructionists.
Rudy may end up on the right side more than not, but he's not an ideologue and it is the opposite of that, he favors "common sense". He'd value a "smart" judge over anything else.
If you're a Rudy guy, you have to realize that this is his main weakness.
He has to get elected in order to be in a position to appoint strict-constructionist judges, and the only way he'll become the Republican nominee is if pro-life Christian conservatives and NRA members get so P.O.'d that they decide to stay home and skip the Republican primaries.
In which case, if he by some spectacular stroke of luck does become the nominee, his vote tally in November '08 will make the McGovern '72 campaign look successful.
Not buying it, he has way too much baggage (anti-gun, pro-choice). Conservatives will never accept someone like that.
A leopard doesn't/can't change it's spots.
He has to win both the nomination and the election to appoint judges. So what does he do to win the large number of folks that won't vote for a gun-grabbing anti-life candidate in the meantime?
He was law and order insofar as a NYC Mayor could be with policing, but that's it. He is still pro-abort, anti-2A, pro-gay rights and is pro-illegals. Like I said, a policy liberal Democrat WILL appoint like-minded liberals to the bench. To think otherwise is delusional.
There will be a bunch of people on FR screaming if you don't vote for a left winger with an R by their name, you will get a left winger with a D by their name.
This worked so well last election!
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