[TommyDale]

I addressed this yesterday. Rudy may only poll 13% here on FR, and he may even poll 30% within the entire party. Even if he pulls 75% (highly unlikely) of the GOP vote, the remaining 25% or more will NEVER accept him with his liberal stances on abortion, partial birth abortion, gun control, stem cell research, or homosexual agenda. Rudy will not gain the support of the millions of Religious Right voters that GWB benefited from. Those people were mobilized in an extremely well organized effort to win back a majority in the Supreme Court. They have no reason to endorse a gun-grabbing, homosexual-agenda abortionist in 2008.

Going into a general election already outnumbered by Democrats, he would have to pull a huge number of Dem votes. When they are given the choice of a Dem they trust against a Dem who claims to be conserevative (Rudy) why do you think they will vote for? He cannot win.

[freeperfromnj]

I missed seeing your post yesterday. Thanks for the explanation. Given the close election in 2000, isn't the reverse also true? The same way the conservatives sit out Rudy, won't the middle of the road Republicans sit out an ultra conservative?

[visualops]

he would have to pull a huge number of Dem votes

No, he'd have to pull from the big chunk that's in the middle and votes either way. My opinion is 1/3 the people vote either way, 1/3 are solid right and 1/3 are solid left. The middle gets split and produces close races like 2000 and 2004. Guiliani I think is capable of getting a decent number of R voters, some of the D voters and getting alot of those people in the middle.