Posted on 09/19/2007 4:26:24 AM PDT by IrishMike
Early in my career as a political speechwriter, a young but wise campaign manager explained why candidates from the same party too often tear each other to pieces in the primaries. He told me that when all the candidates of your party are shooting at the probable opponent from the other party, your frontrunner is going to get shot in the back. I thought of that analogy the other day as I read about Rudy Giuliani’s potent political attacks on Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, the frontrunner for the Democrats’ presidential nomination, stuck George Soros’ giant left foot in her mouth attempting to do the bidding of MoveOn.org. For the entire world to see, Hillary decided that a Senate committee hearing would be a good place to call a decorated war hero, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of American forces in Iraq, a liar. Parroting the same extremist nonsense that is rapidly making the folks at MoveOn the leading leftist nutters of the blogosphere, Hillary’s comments landed with a clank in most parts of America, most notably at the Giuliani for President Campaign headquarters.
The previous week, the folks running the nation’s premiere agenda-driven newspaper, The New York Times, embarrassed themselves by substantially discounting the now-infamous, full-page, MoveOn ad calling Gen. Petraeus “Gen. Betray Us.” Apparently, The Times management doesn’t realize that George Soros can afford the full rate.
Adding to their heartburn was former New York City Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, who demanded and got the same $65,000 rate for what normally would be $165,000 worth of ad space. (Can you imagine anyone ever again paying the full rate for a full-page ad after this fiasco?) Rudy used the opportunity to excoriate Hillary for her cowardly submission to the anti-war Left and asked America who they trusted more, the senator or the general.
Rather than firing back at his opponents, Rudy is focusing on his likely Democrat challenger. Instead of answering the attacks of Mitt Romney and others in his party who are running behind him in the polls, Giuliani is acting as if he is already the Republican nominee.
Let me say again that even though Giuliani is tough on crime and terrorism, I don’t like his domestic agenda at all. As a pro-life, pro-family, pro-traditional marriage, pro-Second Amendment Republican, I find him far too liberal on most social issues. As my son said to me recently, “Rudy Giuliani is a just Democrat who’s willing to blow stuff up.”
I also find Giuliani’s personal life to be downright offensive. In some ways, he makes Bill Clinton look stable. At least Clinton never had Monica Lewinsky move into the White House and openly live with him like then-Mayor Giuliani did when he had his girlfriend (now his wife) move into Gracie Mansion while he was still married to the mother of his children.
Having said all that, going after Hillary Clinton is a brilliant strategy. It makes Rudy look presidential. It makes his GOP opponents look small when they attack him. And it creates its own momentum. The more Giuliani acts like the heir apparent to the Republican nomination, the more voters will become comfortable with him.
Those of us who were looking to Fred Thompson as the fiscal and social conservative who could wrestle the GOP mantle away from hizzonor are becoming increasingly alarmed by the efficiency of the Giuliani campaign. As I wrote a few months ago, just as Democrats must find a way to turn red states blue, the converse is also true, and Rudy could change the color of the map radically. Consider the electoral vote-rich states that could fall into the GOP column with Giuliani as the nominee: California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and, of course, New York. That’s a strong temptation to many Republicans who simply want to win.
Giuliani is leading in most polls largely due to his record as a tough mayor who cleaned up America’s biggest, dirtiest city and because of his leadership in the aftermath of 9/11. The war against Islamist fanaticism demands an alternative to Hillary Clinton. Rudy Giuliani firmly believes he is that alternative. An alarming number of Republicans seem to agree with him.
Maybe you should change your screen name to moonbat.
Rooty has never been a conservative, not in the past, and he is not one now.
Look at his record. If that doesn’t work for you, ask his mother.
You can’t turn back to principles that never were. If you could, they wouldn’t be called principles.
Makes me think of Rooty.
Why do you put CONSERVATIVE in quotation marks? Are you one of these FRiberals who thinks that conservatives "have had their foot on the neck of the GOP for too long"?
Why don't we just nominate conservatives for both spots, that's how we win. The Rooty Rooter plan is to somehow out-liberal the 'Rats.
And if you don't know how Rooty trampled the Constitution, you just don't get it.
I suppose it is your forum so you can indeed take your football home or even throw dissenting players off the playing field. But then that makes the FR no better then the loony left sites who sit around all day telling each other how right and wonderful they are because they are in lock step with each other. Kind of like a massive circle jerk, wouldn't you say?
I suppose it is your forum so you can indeed take your football home or even throw dissenting players off the playing field. But then that makes the FR no better then the loony left sites who sit around all day telling each other how right and wonderful they are because they are in lock step with each other. Kind of like a massive circle jerk, wouldn't you say?
We’re conservatives here. We don’t waste our time or resources on liberals. Abortionists can kiss my ass.
> BTW I do not think Rudy is electable. His negatives in the West are stronger than anyone is talking about and I still question how strong his support is in the South. I am all too familiar with too bad choices for President.
You may be right, FRiend. In which case Conservatives are truly poked. Rooted beyond any possible recovery. It will be HillBilly for the next eight years...
...because NOBODY ON THE RIGHT IS CURRENTLY ELECTABLE. Nobody.
Let me tell you how the "let's run our own liberal" strategy would pan out. Rooty Toot MIGHT pick up a few 'Rats, but nowhere near enough to overcome the number of conservatives who stay home.
Rooty Toot is probably the only candidate who will lose to Hitlery.
Maybe we all should after being hoodwinked by Bush and the majority of pubbies in Congress.
Is that you Hildy?
Are you calling ME a liberal?
True. A RINO in the White House would go along with the Rats in Congress, and the RINOs in Congress would be effectively leaderless.
The only silver lining to a Rat President is that the Republicans in Congress would have some standing to oppose the Rat game plan.
And then there's the SCOTUS nominees. Is there ANY difference between a RINO and a Rat nominee? Rudy approves of Ginsburg and would nominate her kind. Pro-life and RKBA will fall into the ash heap of history.
Why would any conservative go out special on a cold day in November to select that kind of outcome?
The VP has no power in picking judges.
No, but I like your tag line very much. More people on this forum should be made aware of it. Seems as if RR got it then we ought to also.
I agree. I like Rudy because he is the only candidate with any balls. He’s the best person to deal with the middle east and he will stand up to Washington spending
People who promote LIBERAL candidates and agree with their LIBERAL positions are more than likely LIBERALS, at the very least they are moderates, but they damn sure aren't conservatives.
Sorry pal. We won’t be promoting Rudy on FR. He’ll never win the White House anyway. He’s probably the only Republican guaranteed to lose to the dems. You’re wasting your time.
I’m a Fred supporter. I used to be a Rudy supporter. I still believe that Rudy could beat Hillary in the general election, possibly more easily than Fred could.
My opposition to Rudy is not for his failings as a possible foe to Hillary but because he is wrong for the conservative GOP. New Yorkers simply do not think or believe like Americans.
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