Giuliani Is Popular With GOP, Public Despite Negatives

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 1/22/2007 | Brian Mitchell

[BunnySlippers]

"If you can go toe-to-toe with liberals in Massachusetts and New York City and acquit yourself well, you are prepared for D.C.," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

**

Mead credits Giuliani with mental toughness rare among elected officials. Instead of seeking consensus, Giuliani openly defied many of the city's leading liberals on crime and welfare reform.

"Giuliani confronted not only the bureaucracy, but the community groups and the academics and the journalists and all those who said you couldn't be tough on the poor," Mead said. "He said that you can be — you can demand that they play by the rules. And he got away with it."

**

"It's very difficult for such a person to win Republican primaries," said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College.

Difficult, but not impossible, Norquist said. As an example, he pointed to Ronald Reagan.

"Reagan passed the most liberal abortion laws in the country and the most liberal divorce laws in the country as governor (of California), and then ran as the pro-life, social-conservative presidential candidate," Norquist said.

**

Giuliani's sharp-edge personality is another wild card. He sometimes rubs people, especially journalists, the wrong way.

On the other hand, his toughness might appeal to like-minded conservatives.

"A nice person couldn't have done what Giuliani did in New York," Mead said. "You needed a pit bull. Giuliani is a pit bull."

[FreeInWV]

"...similar to those W has appointed."

Sadly, it is the fringe right wing extremists so disparaged on this thread that held his feet to the fire and got us Roberts instead of Meirs.

Can you imagine the name calling & infighting that would occur here if Rudy appointed someone like RB Ginsburg?

[BunnySlippers]

Did you think Alan Keyes was an acceptable GOP candidate for president?
Did you think he had a chance of winning?

[auto power]

What IS this obsession that you and people like you have with gays???.....

[Kuksool]

{W. had a gay speak at his first convention.}


That would have been Jim Koble. However, Koble did not talk about gay rights in his speech. He gave a speech about free trade.

[Spiff]

W. had a gay speak at his first convention.

Yes, a pro-abort gay POS RINO named Jim Kolbe. I know him well.

ALL politicians do it.

And that makes it the right thing to do somehow?

Marching along side gays in various states of undress simulating or actually performing sex acts in a parade demonstrating such debauchery under the rainbow banner of "gay pride" is a whole lot different from inviting a 9 term Republican Congressman to speak about global trade at the RNC convention.

[cicero's_son]

In your face, Rudy-haters!!!

[Kuksool]

Bigger problem for Giuliani would be Diallo's family. Hillary successfully milked the tragedy to give momentum for her Senate run. The shooting incident would be perfect to motivative African-Americans to vote in 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo

[cicero's_son]

Many so-called moderates and independents will vote for Rudy. If he gets the GOP nod, these voters will off-set the "my way or the highway" crowd in the GOP.

Very true.

And frankly, I'd rather have the moderates and independents at my side than the tantrum-throwers who cost us this last election.

[jeltz25]

and nothing would endear Rudy more to the "silent majority"/Reagan dem types than having the Sharpton's and the Jackson's and Hillary bring out Diallo and have Bruce start opening his trap.

There's a big reservoir of white resentment. You saw it in the Duke case. White folks are sick and tired of being called racists at every turn and having cops called racists and animals.

The blacks are against Rudy anyway. But I think pandering with Diallo would firm up his white support. Just like bringing up James Byrd helped W.

[areafiftyone]

The contemporary gay conservative movement was launched in 1978 when a handful of gay Republicans separated themselves from the mainstream gay and lesbian organizing against California's Briggs Initiative, a state ballot proposition sponsored by then-state Senator John Briggs. The initiative would have barred gay people from teaching in public schools and would have allowed schools to fire any employee for "advocating, soliciting, imposing, encouraging or promoting" homosexuality. Lou Sheldon, currently head of the Traditional Values Coalition which has vociferously worked against the gay community, was the state field director for the initiative in 1978. The gay Republicans also opposed the Briggs Initiative, but worked within the Republican Party and called themselves the Log Cabin Club in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the GOP's first successful presidential candidate and a strong supporter of individual rights. Based in San Francisco, the group was small, but it won a key conservative ally in California's former governor, Ronald Reagan.

[princess leah]

I'm tired of the hand wringing going on here - much of the threads about Rudy are no better than what democrats would do. I say let's hold our fire, listen when the debates start, vote for your best choice in the Primary, but for crying out loud, be realistic and realize that the #1 issue on America's plate is our enemies both foreign and domestic...(by the way, Areafiftyone's post #32 was accurate and realistic)

[freeperfromnj]

Rudy always stood up for the cops and firefighters while he was mayor. I belive the uniformed unions will support him over Hillary.

[PhiKapMom]

What base? You mean the base where they stayed home and didn't vote this time to teach us a lesson or all of us broken glass Republican base who are conservative and to us losing is not an option. Broken glass Republicans are the true base of this Party, and we are rising up to say enough is enough.

The right wing my way or no way crowd have tried to co-opt the Party from true broken glass Republicans thinking you and your my way or no way crowd could take over the Republican Party and all of us lifelong Republicans who have been in the trenches for years as Conservatives when you johnny come latelies came in the party were going to fade away. We are still here and fighting for Republican candidates while you one issue folks are bellyaching you don't like this or that candidate and taught us a lesson by staying home.

Those of us in the trenches know what it takes to win elections and hiding your heads in the sand that it has to be a true conservative or nothing doesn't win elections. You win elections by forming coalitions with other groups and to do that you need to bring in other people that will vote for your nationwide candidate. Some of you on FR have proved to us one too many times that you will vote 3rd party or stay home if a certain candidate is nominated and with that attitude do not deserve a seat at the table IMO. Pandering is over as far as I am concerned. Most one issue folks I know personally will back Rudy if nominated so that doesn't mesh with what I am reading on here.

I will back whoever is our nominee but I will work as hard as I can to see that nominee is Rudy because he can beat the DemocRATs and will stand up for America and against the terrorist. Appeasement is not a word that is in his vocabulary. You would think after 9-11, everyone would have learned but it is obvious that even on here some of you have forgotten what happened when you would threaten to stay home or not vote in 2008.

I say it is time for all of us to start reaching out to our neighbors, friends, family, and whoever will listen that the WOT is too important to hand over the WH to the likes of Ms. Clinton, Obama, or Edwards. We need a President with a backbone that is stiff and if he rubs the media the wrong way, works for me. That man is Rudy who has stood up whether you like him or not.

Rudy is not waffling trying to make himself into a social conservative to pander. He expresses his own opinion about abortion but doesn't pander. Shame some of you have your heads buried in the sand and have no clue how important this election is for our Nation and the men and women who lay their lives on the line every day to protect us.
I am a lifelong Conservative and Broken Glass Republican and to me "Losing is not an Option" and there is a huge difference in the two parties when it comes to national security which is at the top of the agenda! I proudly support Rudy as a Conservative because I believe he will get the job done, will surround himself with good people, and will appoint strict constitutionalist judges.

[areafiftyone]

Thank you! Voice of reason!

[cicero's_son]

Bless you, bless you, bless you!!!

I'm going to bookmark your post and re-read whenever I need encouragement in the next election cycle.

[PhiKapMom]

And frankly, I'd rather have the moderates and independents at my side than the tantrum-throwers who cost us this last election.

That makes two of us. This Broken Glass Republican has had it with the tantrum-throwers!

[Blackirish]

WOW!

[areafiftyone]

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks! I am tired of being told that people will stay home when I have worked in the trenches election after election to help get us the House, Senate, and White House. I can remember when Republicans didn't have enough Senators to stop the DemocRATs and had to form a coalition with the Southern DemocRAT Senators to stop some legislation or get other things passed. Now the one issue types come around and want to run things -- I don't think so if I can help it!

Candidates that pander to one issue people will never win a national election IMHO!

[cicero's_son]

We Republicans can be so naive sometimes.

I frankly wish we would learn something from the Dems. They view US as the enemy. When they are in power, they use the full force of their authority to destroy us and all of the institutions we hold dear.

To them, foreign enemies and long-term socio-economic challenges are mere distractions.

The real object of power for them is the total destruction of conservatives, conservatism, and traditional American values and institutions.

Meanwhile, we seem content to play tiddlywinks whenever we manage to gain power. We engage in these endless "philsophical" debates over ideological purity. And we naively think that the country will see through the other side's tactics.

One thing I am sure about: Rudy is as bloody-minded as they come. Liberals and Democrats would truly FEAR this man. That alone makes him attractive to me.