Alicia Colon: Giuliani Can Win

The New York Sun ^ | 2.16.07 | Alicia Colon

[meg88]

Many Republicans were sharply affected by last November's disastrous election and have become more pragmatic about their priorities. Mr. Giuliani, while adhering to his positions, insists he is a strict constitutionalist and will appoint judges who are the same.

While gun control is just one of the hot-button issues that may present a problem for Mr. Giuliani during the Republican primary campaign, there is an overriding issue that might make this and other social issues moot — the war on terror.

I briefly met Mr. Giuliani in 2004 at a Harvard Club luncheon honoring the posthumous publication of William E. Simon's autobiography.

His speech made everyone in the room cheer, and perhaps inspired some of the conservatives present to look at Mr. Giuliani as a possible 2008 candidate.

Recalling the events of September 11, 2001, Mr. Giuliani said his first thought was a sense of amazement that he was asking the White House for air support to defend New York City.

The second thought he had was, "Thank God George Bush is the president of the United States."

He then suggested correctly that if Vice President Gore were president, he probably would have followed the Clinton strategy of a symbolic response, then a retreat.

Mr. Bush on the other hand was "determined, focused, and offered a clear vision of what he intended to do." That, Mr. Giuliani said, is the importance of leadership.

He recently reiterated his admiration for President Bush, and if there are some who think he's just posturing to seduce the base, I can attest that his appreciation is sincere and predates his presidential ambitions.

[Faustian Justice2]

Not all of us Conservatives you know probably not even most go to Evangelical Church's or live in a small town or have any desire to own guns...

Gosh...I'm three for three of the above!

[WorkingClassFilth]

At least Rudy says what most other GOP Senators and rep's believe secretly.

There some truth.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Is that from Giuliani raised money for Stonewall Vets, a militant gay organization with ties to an anti-war communist group?

[WalterSkinner]

The South and non-coastal western states will be Giuliani's Waterloo come primary time.

..let him try that routine in SC--McCain couldn't even survive...

[Beagle8U]

"Im just curious-Aside from the WOT what is the difference (on social issues) Between Rudy and Kerry?"

On social issues Rudy is left of Kerry. Kerry at least pretended to not be a gun grabber and did his fake goose hunt.

I'm sure we'll be seeing Rudy in his dress, tromping the cornfields in Iowa trying to pass himself off as a country boy.

[cripplecreek]

I'm not going to beat up on him because I like the man but I don't believe he can win.

The GOP needs to recapture the Reagan democrats, not attempt to capture the Clinton democrats.

[Dolphy]

Seems to me just about everyone is sick of getting jerked around by southerners.

I don't know about that but I do know that a candidate that can't mount a serious challenge in at least some of the 2004 blue states, is going to lose. We can't go in with our best shot being only to defend the 2004 electoral map.

[mylife]

Heck! Hes the video!~ Guiliani/Trump

[Recon Dad]

What's the difference between Lyndon B. Johnson and President Bush on fiscal issues?


Besides the huge nose and droopy eyes......oh fiscal......sorry thought you asked about facial differences.

On a serious note the only difference was LBJ got to the "War on Poverty" first or Bush probably tried it.

[don-o]

Colon? Is that akin to the Clymer?

[aligncare]

He's not a lefty on the issues I care most about -- WoT, taxes and the economy. And on social issues, the president plays only a minor role. Religion, community, family and the courts have more of an impact, in my opinion.

Look, I too am perplexed by the cultural demise of the US. But, how do you stop social change? Abortion, homosexuality, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse are social ills -- there shouldn't be a "federal department of..." to handle these issues.

[WalterSkinner]

If you write us off forget about being anything but losers

..that's an interesting statement

I've been saying this very thing to the Rudy people...

[alloysteel]

Was there ever any doubt?

International terrorism can still invoke enough emotion even in the most flaccid of spirits, to stir some to act in their own self interest. Rudy taps into this latent reservoir of patriotism, just by being known as "America's Mayor".

I know Rudy is not ideologically pure, and he does have some political baggage (a LOT, really), but not more than his most likely rival in the Dem'crat party.

Consider the alternative. If not Rudy, then who? If not 2008, then when?

[OMalley]

Thats what I was thinking, Thanks:)

Is there anywhere where his record or his platform would be listed?

[JCEccles]

Abortion, homosexuality, violence, drugs and alcohol abuse are social ills -- there shouldn't be a "federal department of..." to handle these issues.

But there is. Social liberalism infects all large federal agencies, all under the direction and control of the president. Working hand-in-hand with a social liberal Pelosi-Reid Congress Rudy can damage this nation irretrievably by the policies and legislation he pursues and champions.

. . . . while the Supreme Court, even if it filled with nine Scalias, just sits back and watches.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

"I'm generally not going to change my views".

---

Cool, neither am I!

[Fierce Allegiance]

But, how do you stop social change?

A good start would be by not electing someone who helps to push that change, like Rudy does.

[bilhosty]

"I've been saying this very thing to the Rudy people"

I have never heard anyone say they were writingoff the So-cons. If you had access to my recent posts. You wuld see that I have always meant that there should be a coalition. A small-town_urban-suburban coalition would rule.

[michigander]

an Urban-Suburban conservative...
... not even most go to Evangelical Church's or live in a small town or have any desire to own guns.If you write us off forget about being anything but losers.

That knife is sharpened on both sides.
If only all the folks in 'flyover country' were as knowledgeable as you?
The BIG cities is where it's at?
When TSHTF the government will protect us?
Do you think that electoral college thing is a pain in the butt too?

[SWAMPSNIPER]

If you don't "have any desire to own guns", that simply means that you won't live up to your own personal obligations, as an American Citizen! Ain't no way you are a "conservative"!

---

"The prospect of tyranny may not grab the headlines the way vivid stories of gun crime routinely do. But few saw the Third Reich coming until it was too late. The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed—where the government refuses to stand for reelection and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once."
Judge Alex Kozinsky