“Are you allowed to criticize “conservative” candidates if you are not a Rudy booster?”
Instead of putting conservative in quotations, whey don’t you just come out and say what you mean.
Critique is not the same as misrepresenting btw which is what happened on this thread.
I usually put both “conservative” and “liberal” in quotes because I think both of those terms mean so many things to so many people that both have nearly lost their meanings. I do personally have specific meanings attached, but mine will be at odds with what others think.
The quotes I put do make it look like I don’t think the other candidates are true conservatives in my previous post, so I admit that it was ill advised of me to use them there.
From what little I’ve read on these threads, I’m starting to get the impression that Fred Thompson is actually a real conservative. IMO, McCain is not, nor even is Bush at the fundamental level. Bush is an old fashioned French rationalist. Rudy is probably accurately described as a “liberal,” which is an improvement over the outright socialists that the Dems wish to run.
Rudy is well thought of by most Americans, both for having cleaned up NYC and for having showed fortitude and leadership as mayor after 9/11. These things may or may not be enough to recommend him as a presidential candidate, but it’s understandable to me why some freepers are willing to get behind him.