Can you point to me which Red States would vote Blue if it were Rudy versus Hillary, while the following Blue states would likely vote for Rudy:
ME
NH
CT
NJ
PA
MI
MN
WI
OR
Thats about 75 EVs (note I am giving NY and CA to Hillary along with IL).
Yes, it's amazing how much Democratic support the GOP could pick off if it nominates a Democrat for President. To top that off, we can even win a Senate seat in Massachusetts if we give John Kerry the Republican nomination in 2008. Ever thought about that?
One pundit recently said: Which state is Hillary going to lose that Kerry won?
Republicans need to wrap their minds around that. Whomever the Dem nominee is, 08 is going to be a rough race. If the GOP can't muster a viable candidate (shades of 1996), they are going to lose the White House.
Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina are all in play the moment we nominate a liberal. The only state on your list I see as even a remote possibility is Jersey.
The notion that if we only nominate the most liberal candidate in the party's history we'll be able to pick off blue states is probably the most short-sighted, foolish bit of strategery I've ever heard. Democrats will vote Democratic, no matter how much we try to appease them with our nominee.