'STALLION' RUDY

NY Post ^ | March 21, 2007 | ZEV CHAFETS

[veronica]

March 21, 2007 -- RUDY Giuliani's supporters call him "America's Mayor." But he is something more: the first serious presidential candidate in history with a vowel at the end of his name. Oddly, so far in this year of ethnic- and gender-identity politics, Rudy's Italian-American heritage hasn't been much of an issue. Much more attention has gone to Hillary's "favorite daughter" campaign, Barack Obama's quest for African-American authenticity, Bill Richardson self-depiction as the first Hispanic candidate and the Mormon beliefs of Mitt Romney.

Almost nobody has focused on Rudy as the Italian Stallion. Yet.

"Italian-Americans aren't usually thought of as an electoral bloc," says Dr. Diane Heith, a political scientist as St. John's University. "They aren't even polled separately."

Nobody even knows how many Italian-Americans there are. The 2000 census reported almost 16 million, making them the fourth largest white ethnic group - and the only one that experienced growth in the last decade. The National Italian American Foundation puts the number at 25 million, close to 10 percent of the population. Either way, it is possible that there are more Italian-American voters than either blacks or Hispanics.

Not only that, Italian-Americans are strategically located. In four states - New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut - they make up more than 15 percent of the population. They are also heavily concentrated in the key swing states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Florida and California. These are mostly Democratic states; the Republicans haven't had a candidate who could challenge in all of them since Ronald Reagan.

[areafiftyone]

((((((RUDY PING))))

[TommyDale]

'STALLION' RUDY

A deserving name for a guy who mounted so many New York mares.

[Corin Stormhands]

A deserving name for a guy who mounted so many New York mares.

At least he ~could~.

[TommyDale]

Yep, another Bill Clinton!

[peyton randolph]

At least he ~could~.

---

Yep. Clinton needs a sink.

[areafiftyone]

Ummm It's a bit toooooo early in the morning for that. This is about Italian Americans if you don't mind.

[veronica]

:)

[ken5050]

Link here to the secret to getting out the "Italian vote"..(safe to click..a "blast from the past"...Enjoy

[wai-ming]

But he is something more: the first serious presidential candidate in history with a vowel at the end of his name.

Hmmmmm. I suppose James Monroe was never a serious presidential candidate!

[areafiftyone]

LOL! Now you are making me feel old! ;-)

[ASA Vet]

Here they're known as RinoRudyBots.

[ken5050]

(G)..BTW..did you see the Edwards video..??

[areafiftyone]

Which one - the Breck one or the Clairol one or the Nice and Easy one? ;-)

[1rudeboy]

How original!

[Emmett McCarthy]

Yes, I suppose there are many out there who will vote on some "ethnic identity" basis without even beginning to understand what the guy stands for. I actually had somebody tell me that Rudy won't be elected because of prejudice against Italians. I'm an Irish Catholic who wouldn't vote for a Kennedy and I'm sure there are numbers of Italians who are also Catholic who won't vote for Rudy.

[Old_Mil]

"Italian-Americans aren't usually thought of as an electoral bloc," says Dr. Diane Heith, a political scientist as St. John's University. "They aren't even polled separately."

Perhaps that's because italian-american voters are sophisticated enough to vote on issues and not race?

[ken5050]

There's MORE than one??...I meant the "I feel pretty" one..

[StatenIsland]

"Are Rudy Groupies known as the Whore Corps?"

Your post belies you screen name.