http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=15941 -- Well-connected public figures report that they have been told recently by Rudolph Giuliani that, as of now, he intends to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. The former mayor of New York was on top of last month's national Gallup poll measuring presidential preferences by registered Republicans, with 29 percent. Sen. John McCain's 24 percent was second, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich third at 8 percent. National polls all year have shown Giuliani running either first or second to McCain, with the rest of the presidential possibilities far behind. Republican insiders respond to these numbers by saying rank-and-file GOP voters will abandon Giuliani once they realize his position on abortion, gay rights and gun control. Party strategists calculate that if he actually runs, he must change on at least one of these issues.
Sadly, I think a lot of the Religious Right will oppose Rudy thus giving him almost no chance of garnering the nomination. I'd vote for him.
nah, the religious right are not as powerful as everyone would like to believe. With that being said, it'll be messy for Rudy
Why would he *not* run . . . I think this is his best opportunity. the more distance between 9/11 and his running the less chance of him winning unless he picks up another office senator or something Rocket River
I hope so. It's just to get the nomination you have to win the primaries. Voters in the primary aren't really representative of the average voter and I'm just hoping a lot of the primary voters won't let his view on gay marriage, for instance, get in the way.
He has almost no shot at winning the nomination unless he flip flops on a couple of issues. The Religious Right exercises major control over the Republican nomination process and if Rudy doesn't reach at least some amount of peace with them he is doomed. McCain has already taken this step. Supposedly the "money people" in the GOP have already tilted towards McCain which means the whole thing is McCain's to lose. At best, Rudy could end up the V.P. choice of the nominee. He just can't win the nomination. Maybe he could blaze a path for the next go round where the GOP nominee is not owned by the R.R.
This is really bizarre. You have as the front runners for the Republican nomination, currently, a man who had an ugly, very public split with his wife, is pro-choice, etc., and is either going to have to lie about his positions, with loads of evidence of just what those positions are in the public arena for opponents to use, or lose, you've got a Senator who made his reputation battling the very thing represented by this Administration like no other, a scandal ridden, bought and paid for captive of Big Business and the far-right, who's now sucking up to the Pat Robertson's and Bob Jones Universities of this country, something amazingly hypocritical, and then you have Newt freakin' Gingrich, who needs no introductions. Wow. I've got to say that coming from the opposition camp, I would much prefer Guiliani get the nomination, because if he were elected, I think he would be best for the country. I also don't think he has a chance in the primaries, except for a few liberal states with a lot of moderate Republicans. That's sad for the GOP, because he has the best shot of the 3 winning nationally. (IMO) Most strange, and it's still a bit early. Getting less early all the time, however. Keep D&D Civil.
I've stated this before, but I bet these stances have a certain political imperativeness in a Gotham election, kind of like being pro-life or pro-gun in Mobile, Alabama, and that reality allows for great cover once he inevitably flip-flops. ("The people of New York wanted a gun ban, the people of America don't, therefore, as President of the United States, I would not impose one.") I don't recall Governor or candidtate Bush ever saying he would overturn Roe, but his Evangelism made a restrained moral stance against abortion a pretty easy sell, as would Rudy's Catholicism and Law & Order reputation. (Save for his bald-faced lying about adultery with Judith Nathan, whom he then married). Besides, Rudy could explain how a couple of days in an NYC public school or a nice evening stroll through Harlem, South Bronx or Crown Heights might make population control and assault-weapon bans a bit more sensible to some Red-Staters.
If Rudy could get through the primaries (an enormous if) he would benefit from the fact that he wouldn't have to run against the party of the dirty tricks machine, the party that delights in trotting out private details and family history or the party that simplifies complex issues with the fetishistic use of the words flip and flop. If he was running as a Democrat, all we'd know about this guy was that he was a serial adulterer and lied about it, that he was anti-God and religion on account of his heathen positions on gays and abortion and that he makes John Kerry look like the picture of resolve. We would also be subjected to countless bald jokes and imitations of his lisp, which I actually count among his greatest flaws as a modern candidate. In the age of television and the internet, I don't think we will ever elect a president that lisps.
This morning while I was out walking I passed the radio over Limbaugh and the stand in host referred to Giuliani, McCain and even Hillary Clinton as herotodites or heretodites. Anybody know the word he was refereing to? (I assume it's the same root as heretic, He was talking about how the loonies of the left were out of touch with any mainstream Americans while the loonies of the hard right expressed ideas that were supported by millions of Americans so I guess he was refering to their divergent views as compared to their parties)
The party that can push the most centric person past the primaries will win. It's a shame how the primaries end up working. The right choses a candidate, the left chose a candidate and the middle has to pick between the represenatives of two parties that don't represent them.
I'm pro choice and pro gun, but only for fetuses. They should be allowed to carry guns to defend themselves from the aborters. Whoever wants it more gets the prize, and if a fetus can get up off his ass and exerceise his 2nd Amendment rights then far be it from me to stop him.
Thanks, since he used a colloquial variation of it, I couldn't spell it close enough to look it up. heterodites
