Free Republic

FIGHTING THE LAST WAR April 11, 2012 In a fast-changing world, a common mistake is to keep fighting the last war. For example, why would Republicans support sending more troops to Afghanistan, when that war was long over, or helping topple Moammar Gadhafi, who had become an ally in the war on terrorism? Some Republicans seem to support all military deployments just out of habit. For years after the 9/11 terrorist attack on America, Democrats hysterically bemoaned any military action, especially in Iraq. They claimed to have many precious objections, but the truth was, they thought we deserved the...

Hotline Hears Rudy Giuliani has picked up the edorsement of Rep. Charlie Dent (PA). According to Giuliani's team, Dent plans "to enlist other" PA GOPers to follow suit. Dent, explaining his support: "Giuliani successfully led New York City and became known as 'America’s Mayor' because of his dynamic approach to tackling the challenges facing America’s largest city... It takes a determined fiscal leader to make the kind of transformation he achieved as Mayor of New York – and his record speaks for itself." (Hotline reporting)

In last Wednesday’s National Review Online, Evans & Novak reporter David Freddoso hammers former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani as a man with a mean streak. Freddoso’s piece recalls some of Giuliani’s more colorful moments in office including his once saying, “If you tell me off, I tell you off -- that’s my personality.” Freddoso repeats the often-stated myth that Giuliani was hated by the end of his term, until the September 11 terrorist attack rehabilitated his supposedly tattered reputation and rocketed him to global fame and acclaim. On the contrary, a key survey showed that New Yorkers...

In most of the Presidential elections since 1973, I have been what the pollsters refer to as a "single-issue" voter, being ever stalwart in my support for vigorous pro-life candidates. But this primary, I'm voting for Guiliani, despite his pro-choice stance. Here's why. First of all, contrary to a great deal of hysterical feminist rhetoric, the President of the United States can really only do three things to advance the pro-life cause as long as Roe stands. One, he can appoint strict constructionist judges who interpret the Constitution as written, as opposed to the hocus-pocus, magical finding of things that...

Rudy Giuliani became what was once known as a "Reagan Democrat" in 1980, when he switched his party registration from the consciously ambiguous New York City "Independent" to the bold and rare New York City "Republican." Giuliani remembers his conversion as a response to the inspiring candidacy of Ronald Reagan, who that year overwhelmed the struggling President Jimmy Carter to become the 40th President. Now that Rudy Giuliani is running for the Republican nomination for President ("Yes, I'm running. Sure.") and quoting Ronald Reagan enthusiastically ("The future belongs to the free."), it is compelling to look again at 1980 for...

ONLY a few months ago, conventional wisdom throughout much of the political world was that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani might make a competitive Republican candidate for president in a general election, but he could never win his party's nomination because conservative primary voters would reject him. Now, suddenly, that wisdom seems to have shifted, and as Giuliani trouped through California last week, he was wowing conservatives with his charisma, his gift for sounding spontaneous on the stump and his call for bold national leadership. "Rudy" - as he is known everywhere - has already been accepted as one...

For the second straight week, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) holds a fourteen percentage point lead in the race for the Republican Presidential nomination. Giuliani attracts support from 33% of Likely Primary Voters while Arizona Senator John McCain is supported by 19%. A week ago, it was Giuliani 32% McCain 18%. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) picked up a few points this week and now is favored by 13%. Trailing Gingrich is former Massachusetts Mitt Romney (R) at 9%. Senators Sam Brownback (R) and Chuck Hagel (R) each earn 3% support. It is not clear that...

Pundits of all political persuasions have been chattering about whether Rudy Giuliani, whose name is invariably modified by the description "social liberal," can overcome the objections of many religious conservatives to win the Republican nomination. Will his assurances to appoint judges in the mold of Roberts, Alito and Scalia be "enough" to put their concerns to rest? Will conservatives overlook social issues in an election focusing largely on foreign policy? The more interesting question is whether Giuliani can establish a new description of what it means to be "socially conservative." Perhaps to be socially conservative means something more than just...

Schneider: Giuliani's got the 'Big Mo' POSTED: 9:33 a.m. EST, February 15, 2007 Story Highlights• In latest USA Today/Gallup poll, Rudolph Giuliani enjoys a double-digit lead • Conservatives like the former New York mayor's leadership style • Sen. McCain is increasingly tied to the unpopular war in Iraq • Giuliani and Sen. Clinton virtually tied in USA Today/Gallup poll By Bill Schneider CNN Senior Political Analyst Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some candidates seem to be getting what the first President Bush once called "the Big Mo'' in the 2008 presidential race: momentum. Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani...

A Giuliani Fundraising Mailer The Rudy Giuliani Exploratory Cmte. sent out fundraising letters on 2/5. In a letter, Giuliani paints himself as Reagan 2.0, quoting the fmr. pres. as saying "The future belongs to the free." Giuliani: "Today, as Republicans, we need to restore that optimistic spirit to our party and to the national political debate that is shaping the future of this great nation." Giuliani writes that he believes the GOP is the "party of freedom" and then lays out the party platform of low taxes, small gov't, entitlement reform, and school choice, and then lists his GOP record...

As a presidential candidate, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is for real. Despite his unorthodox Republicanism — his support for legal abortion, his embrace of gun-control, and his unwillingness to act against court-imposed same-sex marriages — Giuliani now leads in several polls for the GOP nomination. The common wisdom is that most Republican voters know nothing of Rudy’s social liberalism, and so his support will dwindle as they learn more. But this may prove wrong. Knowledgeable folks on the Right, disheartened by a presidential field that lacks viable, trustworthy conservatives, are talking themselves into supporting the man who...

I don't often like to write articles that attack the media. I understand that the bottom line is ratings and I'm comfortable with that. I understand that certain stations have biases and I have no problem with that either. However, for some reason in almost every form of media, Rudy Giuliani is misunderstood. The common quote from anyone is the media is that he is pro choice, anti gun, pro gay and has been divorced twice, so how the hell is he leading the Republican field? Well, there are two reasons. The simple reason which I don't want to spend...

As we noted here, within minutes of Mitt Romney having announced his candidacy this morning, MSNBC, in the person of Chip Reid, branded him "far right." David Gregory has now made it a one-two punch. A bit later on MSNBC, Gregory played clips from 1994 of Romney expressing pro-choice and pro-gay rights views. Noting Romney's subsequent change to a pro-life position, Gregory expressed this opinion, in the guise of a question, to his two MSM guests: "With all respect to Governor Romney, is anybody really going to buy that, buy the timing of that, that that was some genuine...