Posted on 12/01/2007 5:01:26 PM PST by Jay777
Rudy Panic set in for many Republicans this week, with conservative leaders both nationally and in Iowa concluding they need to settle on a single champion to prevent Rudolph W. Giuliani from winning the GOP presidential nomination.
They fear that victory by the socially liberal former New York mayor could permanently shatter the largely successful coalition of social, religious, economic and national defense conservatives that, more often than not, has worked electoral magic for Republican candidates at all levels.
"The main driving force behind all of that is a belief that Rudy Giuliani is positioned to win the nomination and a belief that, and I describe it this way, the four most central planks in our Republican platform would be sacrificed in the process: life, marriage, guns, border security," said Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican. He said the calls and e-mails in Iowa grew "utterly intense in the last week" as Republicans urged one another to settle on an anti-Rudy candidate.
A new poll showing a statistical tie between Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee for the Jan. 3 Iowa first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses is fueling the frenzy.
"What conservatives have to realize is that Giuliani is now relying on Mike Huckabee to take his most viable opponent, Mitt Romney, down in Iowa, and that anyone voting for him there in the caucuses will be inadvertently, and ironically, helping the New Yorker," David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said earlier this week in a surprise endorsement of Mr. Romney.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The same thing the pro Rudy forces offered us, nothing.
I won't vote for Rudy if he is the nominee and I expect there are lots of Rudy voters who won't vote for the flip side of Rudy which would be Huckabee.
As I see it there are only three top tier candidates who can satisfy all three legs of the conservative stool and those are Thompson, Romney and Hunter. All three have major issues in my view but not large enough issues to have folks who normally vote for the Republican not vote for him in the next presidential election.
Hunter, my choice, is not gaining any traction and he will pose issues for the absolutist free traders but is strong on the social and security issues.
Romney has issues with everybody since he has gotten religion on the road to Damascus but I think most could coalesce around him if they had to.
Thompson is damn near perfect on the issues in that he offers something to the economic, social and security conservatives but, and this just may be me, he is as exciting as watching a big ole oak tree grow.
And then we have Wildman McCain whose conservative ratings would satisfy everybody but whose judgement on certain issues is cause to think the man is unstable at a minimum. The problem is he almost always outperforms all the other Republicans in head to head matchups in key state polls.
It ain't easy being a political junky with knowledge of the issues because all the sunspots show up every time we see a candidate.
Gee, it's either Rudy or Romney...Iowa matters...and, Fred isn't in the hunt.
I'm wonderin' who paid these guys to write this drivel. Oh yeah, it was the Romney campaign:)
I love Rush but Rush isn’t going to endorse Duncan Hunter for the same reasons other Republican insiders don’t support Hunter. Hunter isn’t willing to bend over and kiss China’s @$$ like the big money inside the beltway types are willing to do. Rush is one of them. He had to be dragged to the anti illegal immigration side. He used to be for the illegals and not that long ago. Rush still has some growing to do yet.
“Perhaps I’m missing something...”
No, I think your instincts are right on.
Sir, you are very insightful...or just speaking a truth the socons don't think about much. This party is SPLIT, and if the GOP nominates another school prayer, constitutional abortion ban, constitutional gay marriage ban social conservative...more will leave this party than will leave if a social liberal/federalist is nominated.
Be assured, the old coalition is over.
I believe the ONLY hope to hold together this very, very fragile coalition is to nominate a federalist that is "personally" opposed to abortion, gay marriage and the like...but will NOT advocate for Federal Power to enable the socons to prevail.
If someone to the right of that position on social issues is nominated, millions will leave. Perhaps 10's of millions.
Absolutely. A vote for Rudy in the primary is a vote for Hillary for POTUS.
If the party explodes, they will suffer just as much as we will."
I don't think so. I think they'll join the left and the RINOs will switch parties en masse and there will be ONE very BIG Democrat party. Consider that the $ men who donate the big $ to Republicans have already gone over to the Democrats. I think the rest will follow once the election is over and the Republicans are wiped out and they can see there's no hope of winning another national election.
The Party has been moving to the left for a while now. However, if you want to destroy the 'conservative identity' of the Republican Party--
a LIBERAL LIKE RUDY IS THE RIGHT MAN AT THE RIGHT TIME!!!!
There aren't huge numbers of social conservatives. They're maybe 15-20% of the electorate as a whole, and 1/2 of those vote dim.
Who do you think put the new Senators in Montana and Virginia over the top? Social liberals?
The RINOs, country clubbers, and assorted party honchos have been waiting for their opportunity to wrest the Republican party back to where they think it was stolen from them by Reagan. They recognize this as their chance. They long for the good old days of Democrat rule just as the Democrats do. They have never been comfortable in wielding power and have proven it repeatedly since '94.
I agree with you, the destruction looks not only inevitable, but desired by some.
I think the Times missed a meeting - months ago.
Rudy panic set in at FR the day he started running!
At this point in 2003 most people were sure Howard Dean had a lock on the Dem nomination. Rudy could very easily be Dean without the screaming.
This all plays right into the hands of those that want a North American Union.A bunch of rinos OPEN BOARDERS TYPES are leading in the polls and the conservative candidates cant get any traction? This is not by accident,this is by design.Unless the great unwashed in the republican party throw the rinos under the bus WE ARE SCREWED! Hunter is the guy who will put a stop to this nonsense provided we all get behind him.Ever wonder why the running for 08 started as soon as it did.Just my two cents worth.
I will tell you why I would not vote for Hunter if I lived in Iowa. This race has been about who can present himself as the real conservative, but Hunter, a guy with the best conservative credentials of any candidate since Reagan, can’t get arrested. He hasn’t organized a decent campaign, and that means he can’t be relied on to handle the federal government.
I will consider voting for him as a protest vote when the Illinois primary rolls around, but that’s only because we Illinoisans almost never have any effect on the nomination. It’s usually locked up before we get to vote.
Duncan Hunter is a great guy, but decidedly not a top-tier polling candidate. Neither is Tancredo.
Rush said what was true. Of those candidates not at the bottom of the barrel, Fred is the only conservative.
Of all the announced candidates, Duncan is the most conservative.
Well, that depends. Are you talking about them leaving over abortion? Why would they leave now when they never have before?
If they're not leaving over abortion specifically but over the whole socon vs. libcon thing, Romney will be an acceptable canddate to them, and so would Huckabee once they get a gander at his record. I hate that that's where we might end up, but I only see fracture if Rudy's the nominee, and perhaps not even then.
Very true...AND FOR GOOD REASON!!
After all, FR is well ahead of the nation when it comes to screening for LIBERALS,,,,and even well ahead of the Republican Party!
There is also the party that champions the corporate equality of its constituents, that does not acknowledge God-given rights, that champions the subjugation of the rights of non-constituents to constituents, that champions freedom from responsibility at the expense of innocent parties whose personhood (and therefore whose right to due process) is denied to facilitate their destruction, that champions immediate gratification and discourages individual accomplishment. This party champions Eminent Domain and the supremacy of The State, unmitigated abortion on demand for any reason, homosexuality - essentially, any form of depravity that will appeal directly to the basest desires of the human human in exchange for party loyalty.
I can't really distill it down further than that. Each person - including a few on this very thread - has to evaluate in his or her own heart where he (she) belongs, and which party best represents his (her) beliefs. Naturally the party that champions human rights is going to have its share of those who acknowledge the Creator as the great Bestower of those rights. If folks are uncomfortable with that, they might consider going elsewhere. For those of us who love American and believe her ideals to be both noble and immutable the Republican Party, for all her warts, is the best vehicle forward.
should read “distinct WORLDVIEW”
“They fear that victory by the socially liberal former New York mayor could permanently shatter the largely successful coalition of social, religious, economic and national defense conservatives that, more often than not, has worked electoral magic for Republican candidates at all levels.”
A Rudy nomination WILL destroy the republican party.
For what it’s worth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.