JimRob, some of us think the Republican Party has not been conservative for quite some time. GHWB was certainly no conservative. GWB is not a conservative, although he is pro-life. When we had a majority in congress, they did very little that was conservative.
About the only think in the Republican Party that is conservative is the rhetoric. Giuliani refuses to engage in the rhetoric, and in spite of the fact that I disagree with him on abortion and guns, I must admire his courage in refusing to pander the conservative activists in the party. The activists are in the minority, as we will see when this all plays out.
Either you do not have a handle on the pulse of the American people, or Zogby, Rasmussen, Gallup and the like don't. Because they all say Giuliani is quite a popular guy with the public.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/national.html
The one thing I think you will find about Rudy is that, like Reagan, the criticism will flow off him like water off a duck. He was innoculated from criticism the day his city was devastated by the terrorists, and whosoever attacks him loses credibility themselves, in the collective minds of the public at large. That is an advantage the Republican Party cannot afford to ignore, especially given the current state of affairs.
This is no longer a conservative country, I am afraid, JimRob, just as California is no longer a conservative state.
If you want to be relevant, you take the best coalition you can get. Giuliani is the only guy who can get us to a majority in 08, and more and more Republicans (yes, conservatives like Steve Forbes and T. Boone Pickens as well) are seeing that.
I guess you'll not be posting photos of the president's day and holding inaugural balls after Rudy wins. You'll become more of a niche and less mainstream, but that may well be a good thing for conservatives in the long run.
As for me, I think he is going to win, and I'd rather have some influence over the guy than be on the outside looking in.
Free Republic is a conservative site and we fight like hell for conservative principles, conservative values and conservative candidates. The Republican party is pro God, pro life, pro family, pro constitution, pro gun, pro national security, pro national sovereignty, pro defense, pro limited government, and pro America or I would not have joined it or supported it. It is a conservative party whether you and your liberal troll buddies like it or not and I intend to do all in my limited ability to see that it stays that way.
And I repeat, the abortionist, gay rights supporting, illegal alien pandering, gun grabbing authoritarian liberal pig Rudy Giuliani will NEVER ever be elected to the presidency from the conservative party or I go down in flames fighting against him and you and your lame ass liberal troll buddies!
FR will not be used in an attempt to turn the Republican party into a liberal party or to elect a socialist abortionist pig to the White house. Get used to it!!