In federal election filings, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) hasn’t declared himself a Republican, Newsday reports.
“The ex-mayor still is holding back from submitting the simple one-page form declaring himself a possible candidate, despite raising $1.4 million to run. And asked what party he belongs to on a different form, Giuliani didn’t say - he left the answer blank… Giuliani’s campaign confirmed that leaving off the Republican designation wasn’t a typo.”
Said a campaign lawyer: “It was the campaign’s judgment that we didn’t have to fill in that box.”
Very interesting. It’s a bit premature to speculate, but let’s speculate. Who among his supporters would cease to support him? Whose support might he attract?
In listening to the pundits, his run in the Primaries will be a “test” of the strength of the Conservatives who are far in the Right.
In other words, will they come out in force to oppose Guiliani because of his stands on guns, abortion and Gay Rights.
His Team counters that they are ready for any attack.
Should be interesting!
Mufasa[/quote]
He’ll stick with gay rights and abortion. I think he’ll modify on guns, probably go with a “states rights” position. If he does he’s good to go, if not he’ll kiss the south goodbye.
He’ll stick with gay rights and abortion. I think he’ll modify on guns, probably go with a “states rights” position. If he does he’s good to go, if not he’ll kiss the south goodbye.
[/quote]
He could very well take a federalist position on each of those issues – in fact, I would expect him to do so. I think he can balance taking a federalist position with a promise to appoint originalist judges and win over social conservatives – or at least enough of them to win.
[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
He could very well take a federalist position on each of those issues – in fact, I would expect him to do so. I think he can balance taking a federalist position with a promise to appoint originalist judges and win over social conservatives – or at least enough of them to win.[/quote]
I’d vote for him twice!
But seriously, republicans need someone charismatic who has a proven track record of competence for the upcoming election. I really think that if he can get through the primaries, he’s going to be a much more compelling option than the possible democratic candidates.
As for whether Giuliani’s positions will hurt him with the conservative ‘base’ - while I think that is a bit oversimplified to begin with, if a Hillary Clinton were to be the Democratic candidate, the conservative ‘base’ won’t give a damn if Giuliani marries a he-goat and a midget: nothing will mobilize conservative voters like a Clinton candidacy.
As such, I really don’t think Giuliani’s moderate-liberal stances will hurt him much.
[quote]thunderbolt23 wrote:
As for whether Giuliani’s positions will hurt him with the conservative ‘base’ - while I think that is a bit oversimplified to begin with, if a Hillary Clinton were to be the Democratic candidate, the conservative ‘base’ won’t give a damn if Giuliani marries a he-goat and a midget: nothing will mobilize conservative voters like a Clinton candidacy.
As such, I really don’t think Giuliani’s moderate-liberal stances will hurt him much. [/quote]
I think the argument is that those stances will hurt any chance of him winning a primary. The conservative ‘base’ is going to vote against the likely Democratic candidates almost regardless of who the particular republican candidate happens to be. But it seems that primaries are won by appealing to the base, rather than to moderates. You tend to have more active (and more polarized) people voting in primaries.
[quote]nephorm wrote:
But seriously, republicans need someone charismatic…[/quote]
You want charisma? You got your wish! Check out that charisma (and eyeshadow). Think of how inspiring Rudy will be, to nations all across the globe. And boy, will he will command respect from our enemies.
Lets bring some DIGNITY and HONOR back to the White House. RUN RUDY, RUN!
Hell, I’ll send him ten bucks to encourage him! You guys should send him money, too!
John McCain has hired the same PR firm and political strategists who were responsible for the Swiftboating of John Kerry. They are the toughest campaign team you can hire.
How long until Rudy drops out, once he starts gettin g raked over the coals? Rudy can dish it out, but he can’t take it. All he has is the illusion of a legacy. Once McCain’s team starts tearing holes in that, will Rudy be able to stay in the race? I don’t think so.
I really like this matchup… Rudy can’t win the primary because he’s too liberal. But in order to prove that Rudy’s too liberal, McCain will have to stake out positions that will show that he isn’t actually a moderate, which will keep McCain from winning a general election.
In short, the GOP’s 2008 dilemma… none of their presidential candidates can bridge the growing gap between the social conservative and fiscal conservative voters. And the primary will only serve to point out the GOP candidates’ flaws to the voters that each candidate would need to win over, in order to win a general election.
On the right, the issues will be much more divisive… should abortion even be legal? Is homosexuality normal, or a crime against nature? Can you vote for someone who has been married three times? For the Democrats, the main issue will be about ending the Iraq war… just how many months should that take? 9 months, 18 months, or 24 months?
