Free Republic

The innermost circles of the American mafia are abuzz. The Boss of the Philly mob — ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino — is taking a victory strut, hobnobbing around the highest echelons of old-time mafia folk, mostly in Florida, describing what may have been the heist of the century: the 2020 presidential election.The feat is drawing praise from far-flung corners of the Italian American business community, which sees the thanks of a grateful administration as key to the revival of the community’s political influence.But an associate says that Merlino might just be willing to flip on Joe Biden and the Pennsylvania political...

Mafia boss Pasquale (Pat) Musitano, who struggled to push his Hamilton-based mob family to greater underworld power, was shot dead Friday in a parking lot four kilometres from where he will likely be buried alongside his kin. Musitano, 53, knew he was the target of determined enemies. A year ago, he was shot in a similar way, in a parking lot beside his hulking, armour-plated SUV. He was pierced by four bullets, then, including his head, but while people wondered if he was paralyzed or brain damaged, he was actually sitting up in a chair complaining of the hospital’s food...

For this reason, contrary to conventional wisdom, a victory by Rudy Giuliani would strengthen even the socially conservative agenda in the long run. As the new Fox Dynamics Poll shows, 65 percent of Americans would be “comfortable” with a Rudy Giuliani administration. Being comfortable is a major step in the right direction. Americans might actually listen to him when gives the State of the Union (without a teleprompter no less, as he usually speaks with note cards or does so extemporaneously). A Giuliani administration that would focus on fighting the Islamic Extremists, reducing the size and scope of government, handling...

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is the favourite Republican United States presidential contender for voters in the Garden State, according to a poll by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 48 per cent of respondents in New Jersey would vote for Giuliani in a head-to-head contest against Democratic New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In other match-ups, Rodham Clinton holds a one-point edge over Arizona senator John McCain, and a 24-point advantage over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. McCain leads former North Carolina senator John Edwards by six points, and Illinois senator Barack Obama by three points. In 2004,...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani apparently knows his pro-abortion position isn't going to play well in the heartland of America. Just over a week after an internal strategy memo leaked out acknowledging that fact, the mayor appointed a pro-life former congressman to help head his Iowa campaign. Giuliani tapped pro-life former Rep. Jim Nussle to be a leader on his presidential exploratory committee. Nussle had a 100 percent pro-life voting record during his last two years in Congress, according to the National Right to Life Committee. He lost a bid to become Iowa governor...

Like a stack of scratched records, pundits repeatedly dismiss Rudolph W. Giuliani’s presidential prospects because of his “social liberalism.” True, the former New York mayor’s views on abortion, guns, and gays (despite his opposition to same-sex marriage) clash with those of many socially conservative Republican primary voters. However, socio-cons care about more than just these three important matters. On school choice, welfare reform, adoption, and quality of life, evangelicals cannot quibble with Giuliani’s achievements. His Bush-like immigration proposals are no more liberal than the president’s. Socio-cons also like to see violent criminals incarcerated and terrorists incinerated. No Rightist calls Giuliani...

The Conservative Case for Rudy Giuliani in 2008 John Hawkins of Right Wing News makes the conservative case against Rudy Giuliani for 2008. Hawkins’ piece largely consists of the same old anti-Rudy arguments wrapped in slightly new packaging, focusing a lot on Rudy’s decade-old socially liberal positions on a few cultural issues, as well as his Manhattanite personal life and some nonsense about unelectability (more on that later). As such, I think this is a great opportunity for someone to lay out the conservative case for Rudy in ‘08. And that someone might as well be me. Giuliani: Pro-growth tax-cutter...

The S.C. Republican Party’s sponsorship of “An Evening Honoring Rudy Giuliani” last week spoke volumes. It reflected what some said is a shift in attitude toward GOP candidates with more liberal views on social issues. There’s a greater degree of tolerance and acceptance, party officials said. Giuliani, who rose to national prominence for his take-charge performance after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, supports gay rights, gun control and legalized abortion, which puts him at odds with most Republicans. Nevertheless, he has traveled the country extensively on behalf of GOP candidates this year while acknowledging his own interest in a possible...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Raising money for local Republicans even as he ponders his own political future, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said Monday that Republicans must increasingly be "a big party" that accepts divergent views. Giuliani said that broad-brush themes, like limited government, ought to define the Republican Party — not hot-button social issues like abortion and gay rights. "The major thing that we organize around as Republicans is government that puts more reliance on people than government," Giuliani said. "They (Democrats) tend to think of government solutions as most of the answers." Giuliani was in Iowa...

April 19, 2006 -- BLUE BELL, Pa. - Rudy Giuliani took a few swipes at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday while campaigning for a Republican senator. In a speech on behalf of Sen. Rick Santorum, Giuliani recalled that for most of his mayoralty, there was one Republican and one Democratic senator representing New York. MO< "[For] one year, I had Hillary," he mock-complained, drawing laughter. After a pause, he continued: "There's that book that just came out . . . [it] points out that one thing that Hillary and I do have in common: We're both Yankee fans. I became...

March 18, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani will soon make a pilgrimage to the politically potent state of Iowa - the first stop in the presidential nominating process - fueling further speculation that he's eyeing a 2008 bid, The Post has learned. The official reason for Giuliani's trip is to star at a May 1 "Get Motivated" leadership seminar that's already being advertised in The Des Moines Register. But the trip to Iowa, site of the first presidential nominating caucus, has much bigger symbolic value for Giuliani. "It tells us, at a minimum, that he's looking to keep his...

Gay Marriage: How much longer do we have to wait? “If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace,”--- Franklin D. Roosevelt. Gay marriage is a controversial topic that most Americans are confused about, and we need to think back to America’s core principle that our founding fathers had left us with in order to clear up the confusion. So why is there so many oppositions to gay marriage? Why does America have to take the right to...