Polls: More good news for Rudy

Not to defend Guiliani but as a matter of information the debris at Fresh Kills was also sorted for human remains.

 

I'm not necessarily a Republican. I'm a Federalist Capitalist, and Federalism and capitalism don't seem to play a big part of the Republican Party lately.

But I think that liberals (and non-political types) have a pretty slanted idea of what Conservatives (even the so-called Christian Right) holds as important. Abortion is a big deal, no question. Gun Rights is a big deal for a small minority of traditional conservative voters, but those voters will vote for the least offensive person (which would be anyone but Sen. Clinton). But Gay Rights isn't a big deal at all. A big portion of the party would definitely support civil unions. Even for those Conservatives who believe in restricting Gay Rights, that issue probably wouldn't crack the top-ten.

I'm pretty sure that if there were a major national figure who was fiercely pro-life, fiercely pro-America, tough on crime, promised to cut taxes and balance the budget, as charismatic as Reagan or Bill Clinton, and gay, he/she could make a run at the Republican nomination.

 

Possibly not for a majority of conservatives but there is a signifigant subset of conservatives that homosexuality is a huge issue. Consider how big of an issue that the anti-Gay marriage ammendments have been. Following the Karl Rove strategy of winning elections its not a matter of finding issues that appeal to a majority but about putting together enough narrow issues to gain a plurality. A Republican to win the nomination will still have to deal with that. Also looking at the last two Republican presidential losses part of the problem was that many conservatives didn't vote since while Dole and GH Bush were lesser evils than Clinton they failed to excite the base enough to come out and actually support them. Guiliani even if he wins the election is likely to face the same problem.

 

Apparently this vidoe is making the rounds in conservative circles-

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It will be an interesting primary season for Rudy.

source-www.dailykos.com

 

I would bet that if you held an election with only an anti-Gay marriage amendment on the ballot, you couldn't get 10% turnout. The proponents of those things know that and always make sure that they are on the ballot when voters are coming for some other reason. Even among the most hard-line Christian Right (and I go to church with a lot of them) it's just not that big of a deal.

 

I think the fact that this is an issue shows that there is a strong subset of conservatives that is concerned about homosexuals. I think contrary to putting the anti-Gay Marriage ammendment on elections with other issues to get voters to vote for it it appeared in 2004 that the anti-Gay Marriage ammendments were put on ballots to get conservativest to get out to vote.

I don't deny your experience is different but nationally this does seem to be a very big issue among conservatives.

 

March 9, 2007
Giuliani Courts Former Partner and Antagonist
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA

They made for successful but jealous partners, a pair of outsize talents and egos whose relationship crumbled more than a decade ago in a series of public spats.

But as Rudolph W. Giuliani runs for president, he appears to be mending fences with William J. Bratton, his former police commissioner in New York and now the police chief of Los Angeles. On a campaign swing through Los Angeles on Monday, Mr. Giuliani met privately with Mr. Bratton, according to aides to both men.

“The last time the two met was in 1996 in New York,” Lt. Paul Vernon, a Los Angeles police spokesman, wrote in an e-mail message confirming the encounter.

As mayor of New York City for eight years, Mr. Giuliani never shied from making enemies, and he rarely reached out to former antagonists. His style ran more to ignoring such critics, with the occasional disparaging comment thrown in.

But lately, as he talks about his crime-fighting history in the campaign, he has made some complimentary references to Mr. Bratton.

Richard Emery, a prominent New York lawyer who is close to Mr. Bratton, said, “Of all the conflicts to smooth over, this is a big one, because Bill could have an awful lot to say about Rudy in a campaign, and it wouldn’t be good.”

When Mr. Giuliani became mayor in 1994, he made law enforcement his signature issue and made Mr. Bratton his police commissioner. Crime fell sharply, and both became stars.

But an administration that prized unwavering loyalty to the mayor could not stomach Mr. Bratton’s celebrity. Mr. Bratton dined with celebrities and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. He tried to organize a parade for the Police Department’s 150th anniversary, prominently featuring himself, but Mr. Giuliani killed that plan.

Mr. Bratton left the job after just two years — it was generally acknowledged that he was forced out — and publicly toyed with the idea of running against Mr. Giuliani.

Surveys showed that the public gave Mr. Bratton more credit for the drop in crime than it gave Mr. Giuliani. Seething Giuliani loyalists said the commissioner had encouraged that view, and noted that crime continued to fall long after he left. Bratton allies said his successors were coasting on the systems he had built.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/09/us/politics/09rudy.html?pagewanted=print

 

Yeah, but a lot of those skeletons are already out there. His 3 marriages, the shaky relationship with his son, the crossdressing photos, his liberal social views, etc. These are all common knowledge.

And if there's one thing the guy grew accustomed to being mayor of New York for nearly a decade, it's dealing with mudslinging and a hostile press. It's his nomination to lose.

 

You would probably be amazed (well, maybe not, to be fair) at how little the average American knows about the different candidates this early in the election cycle. Sure, Rudy is nationally known because of 9/11, but most people know little to nothing about his personal life, or his positions on the issues. They will, when his opposition in the primaries insure it, and it won't be pretty. I'll be astonished if he gets the GOP nod, but the front-end loaded primaries may be a big plus for him, enabling him to grab delegates before the negative ads take their toll. If he can get enough, then he can have that "inevitability" factor all the candidates are trying to have, where the voters start thinking, "This guy (gal) is way out in front... must be something to him. Dorothy and Toto are going to vote for him. Maybe I should!"



D&D. Rudy Slippers.

 

Firefighters for Rudy! Hilarious. This guy's going down in flames and nobody's going to be there to extinguish the fire.

 

Barely.

Nope.

 

I understand your point but you are wrong. The scrutiny of being a presidential nominee blows away dealing with the press in NYC. It's not even close. And those skeletons haven't been fully probed and flashed for everyone to see yet. This may surprise you, but very few people know Rudy like you, I and some others here. Don't be surprised if additional skeletons come out.

Just watch (and cringe if you like Rudy). It won't be pretty. The worst case scenario for Rudy is if the right-wingers coalesce around a candidate they all think can win and Rudy is viewed as their only obstacle. He will end up burnt, charred and broken or more likely will pull out when he realizes that's what will happen. The only way it's "his nomination to lose" is if he sweet-talks these people into supporting him, which I don't think will happen.

 

Good find, but this isn't even the tip of the iceberg that will hit Rudy.

 

@basso