Softball Season Continues for One Presidential Campaign
We at the Cooler are starting to wonder when the "softball phase" with Guiliani will be over.
This is taken (portion) from an article in today's New York Times...
Mr. Giuliani recently spoke to state Republican conventions in New Hampshire and California, but he did not take questions, so there was little opportunity to address his views on social issues that set him apart from many in his party.
In the last month, Mr. Giuliani has had three brief public exchanges with groups of business people who were more interested in economic issues than social ones. At an agricultural fair in Central California he was asked about farm policy, and at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in New Hampshire, he was asked about budget deficits.
The Giuliani campaign billed the stop Wednesday in South Carolina, an early primary state, as a town-hall meeting. But only “first responders” had been invited, and Mr. Giuliani’s speech was devoted to the heroism of police officers and firefighters on Sept. 11 and the threat of terrorism.
Many of those present described themselves as religious and more conservative than Mr. Giuliani, but they also said they attended because they were fans — and after hearing him praise them as the nation’s heroes, they were in no mood to challenge him.
This is taken (portion) from an article in today's New York Times...
Mr. Giuliani recently spoke to state Republican conventions in New Hampshire and California, but he did not take questions, so there was little opportunity to address his views on social issues that set him apart from many in his party.
In the last month, Mr. Giuliani has had three brief public exchanges with groups of business people who were more interested in economic issues than social ones. At an agricultural fair in Central California he was asked about farm policy, and at a Chamber of Commerce dinner in New Hampshire, he was asked about budget deficits.
The Giuliani campaign billed the stop Wednesday in South Carolina, an early primary state, as a town-hall meeting. But only “first responders” had been invited, and Mr. Giuliani’s speech was devoted to the heroism of police officers and firefighters on Sept. 11 and the threat of terrorism.
Many of those present described themselves as religious and more conservative than Mr. Giuliani, but they also said they attended because they were fans — and after hearing him praise them as the nation’s heroes, they were in no mood to challenge him.
posted by Caucus Cooler at 2/23/2007
32 Comments:
I am a hero and a drunk now vote for me!
I've never seen a presidential candidate so insulated from world as RG. It makes you wonder what his administration would be like if he were prez - secretive with no access. And so far Mr. "I get things done" can't seem to do just that with his campaign.
Romney could go around speaking to mormon churches and attend meetings of recently reformed anti abortion goers and get praise as well.
Maybe McCain could go around to groups with only veterans and bankers who want to cut government spending.
But they won't b/c they have more sack than Guiliani.
Politically smart, but personally he doesn't have the courage to take the heat for his family values issues which are to the left of America and definitely to the left of Iowa.
At least Romney and McCain have sack and are willing to let it hang out for people to see and think about.
If this guy can't take the heat for his personal stands on issues how can we trust that he is going to fight a war, go through perhaps THE most tenacious SCOTUS appointment battle we have ever seen and cut government spending?
With President Giuliani every day is HERO DAY!!!
On the campaign:
Giuliani's a hero!
Giuliani's an even bigger hero!!
Giuliani's the biggest hero of them all!!!
Now, about the issues?
WHo cares about the issues!!!
How dare you ask the great Rudy such demeaning questions!!!
"Bill Clinton's policies are very similar to most of mine."
-Rudy Giuliani, drag queen
So this is what bitterness sounds like?
No, this is what Giuliani the pretend Republican's massive support is.
Rudy really would make a better Democrat.
One good thing to the looooong campaign season this cycle is bringing...NO WAY rg gets through the nomination process ducking questions on his social ineptitude. it will find him
You guys kill me! You're so afraid of Rudy because he represents a different and more discerning wing of the Republican Party.
If you guys were in charge, we would have litmus tests and could fit everyone that met that test into a phone booth.
If Rudy is so unpopular, why has he led in EVERY Iowa caucus poll (of LIKELY caucus voters)? Because Republicans are tired of losing with Self-Righteous Right Wing candidates who spout off about values and then don't live them. Candidates who spout off about being fiscally conservative and then spend, spend, spend (e.g. Mitt Romney's Universal Health Care Plan & John McCains 8 trillion dollar spending spree tenure in Congress).
We regular Republicans are sick of it. We want to win with someone who may not be perfect in his personal life, who isn't afraid to be himself and not try to be all things to all people, and who will be tough with us as well as the Democrats. Rudy is that person.
So bash away on your little blog, keep trying to exclude good Republicans because they are not SoCo hypocrites, and keep losing elections. The rest of us will be there in February voting for a tough as nails winner that the MAJORITY of the public likes (and in the end, that is what elections are all about, trying to win).
12:49, I'm sick of the self righteous right wing pretenders, too. But do we really need another pretender in Rudy? Why not a real conservative instead of a pretend Republican?
Welcome to Iowa tony ;).. err 1249..
New video has surfaced showing Mitt Romney arguing forcefully how pro-choice we was in 2002. Copy the following for the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_w9pquznG4
Unbelievable, this guy flip flops on every issue. At least Rudy has a freikin clue as to who he his and what his beliefs are.
Amen 12:349!
Will love it when Rudy gets the youtube treatment....one video where he praises NARAL...and another where he talks about the need for stricter gun lawas. Now this WILL sell in middle America...if you think Rudy really has a chance in Iowa, you need to wake the 'f up.
Iowa doesn't decide the nominee dumbass. It is a new day, the crazies won't be controlling the process this time, they are to fractured.
Top three. That's all Rudy needs. If he makes it to Super Tuesday - it's over.
Did anybody ever read the speech that Rudy gave to NARAL while accepting a "choice award" praising Margaret Sanger? Strange words for somebody whose supporters call "Functionally pro-life."
How about "pro-life not?"
12:49
A M E N!
Yeah Rudy would be a great president Except he won't make it! the people who are concerned about values will not vote for him in a general election. Rudy is more liberal than most democrats.
8:32 LOL
Rudy dominates even more in a general election.
Value voters are going with him in the primary as well because they value security, low crime, decreased welfare rolls, improved educational system, and someone that can stand up to Iran.
Rudy tossing that AIDS infested terrorist Arafat out of public buildings in NYC is the only thing that prevents me from going to Home Depo and buying a lentgth of rope for Rudy to go piss up.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070225/ap_on_el_pr/romney_polygamy;_ylt=ApfMzRgGJ9sjmp8WBotAujvMWM0F
Romney's ancestors were polygamists?
7:46 explains the bias as to why Mittis is # 1 in the rankings on this site.
If you really think Mitt is # 1, I have a bridge to sell you.
8:32
I seam to remember an Iowa Governor candidate in 2006 that said the same thing...HMMMM I see a relationship.
Rudy HAS no values, period.
The Talented Mr. Romney
By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, February 20, 2007; A13
I have been following the zigs and zags of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and now Republican presidential candidate, watching him grow progressively less progressive, sort of making himself up as he goes along. As a result, I surf the Web with trepidation, bracing myself for the story that I fear might be coming: "Romney Says He Is Not Really a Mormon.''
I joke, of course. But the way things are going, I would not be surprised if the possibility of a Romney religious conversion has gone from inconceivable to a focus group for, as they say, further study. After all, the same bloc of voters -- conservative Christians -- that once found Romney suspiciously liberal on abortion and gay rights does not much like his Mormonism, either. This nice touch of intolerance has got to worry Romney. In recent polls, something like one-third of all voters have said they would be less likely to vote for a Mormon candidate -- and the figure is a bit higher (39 percent) among Republicans. Iowa, where conservative Christians comprise about 37 percent of the GOP electorate, could be trouble.
What's an ambitious, square-jawed opportunist to do? He might do as he has done in the past and change his position. He once was nicely supportive of gay issues -- not marriage, but civil unions -- and of repealing the odious "don't ask, don't tell'' provisions relating to military service. Romney once felt so strongly about gay rights that he even went to the left of Ted Kennedy in their 1994 senatorial battle. "The gay community needs more support from the Republican Party,'' Romney said in an interview that year. And in a letter written in 1994 to the Log Cabin Republicans, he looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve "openly and honestly in our nation's military." That day will not come should he become president, he has said recently. Peering into the homophobic heart of GOP primary voters, Romney now thinks gays ought to stay in the closet. He has changed his mind.
Something similar happened on abortion. Where once Romney wanted it safe and legal, he now clearly just wants it illegal. This metamorphosis came as he studied the issue of embryonic stem cell research and had nothing to do, mind you, with his race for the Republican nomination. Okay, I too have evolved on certain aspects of the abortion issue -- late-term abortion, for instance -- but a total flip from always legal to always illegal (the clear message he's sending abortion foes) can have only one explanation: Potomac fever.
Romney is not the only Republican candidate to mothball principles for the campaign. Rudy Giuliani is now not as pro-choice as he used to be, and John McCain has hired the very mudslingers he once wanted to garrote. But Romney is in a class of his own. He used to have fairly reasonable positions on gun control. Within the past year, though, he joined the National Rifle Association -- an admission made under some duress Sunday to George Stephanopoulos on ABC's "This Week.'' In fact, to watch Romney on the show was to see a thoroughly counterfeit man. If he were a coin, a vending machine would spit him out.
Of course, I do not really expect Romney to renounce his religion since, among other things, it would cost him more votes than it would gain him. But I do suggest that his craven crawl toward the White House shows a man of obvious talents and experience who illustrates how broken our system is. Why should anyone have to tailor his beliefs to get past ideological bottlenecks in the early primary states? For Republicans, it's the religious right; for Democrats, it's economic pressure groups such as teachers unions. The rest of us can only stand by, helpless, waiting for extremists to pick a man or woman on the basis of issues that mean less to us -- not the war in Iraq, for instance, but gay civil unions.
If there is one thing to say for the system, though, it is that it subjects presidential candidates to a kind of torture. We learn early on which of them have principles, backbone and pride in themselves -- the sort of integrity we want in a president. Since all politicians, like lovers and mattress salesmen, lie a bit, we do not expect purity. But Romney has taken things too far. I don't know whether he has any respect for himself, but he sure as hell has none for us.
cohenr@washpost.com
Try the washington post article by Ruth Marcus entitled "Mitt's Extreme Makeover" if you think the "Talented Mr. Romney" was the only story on Mitt's track record for saying or doing anything. Just a sample:
But it was also hard to see how a man with deeply held convictions on abortion rights -- either for or against -- could take a position so calibrated and inconclusive. Listening to Romney that day was like watching a chameleon in the fleeting moment that its color changes to suit its environment. Indeed, several months later, after vetoing a bill to expand access to emergency contraception, Romney wrote in the Boston Globe about how his views on the subject had "evolved and deepened."
Yeah, "evolved and deepened". And people say that is just like Ronald Reagan. I don't think so. I won't be tricked. This guy is bad news!
Links are your friend.
Take Romney off of # 1!
Tommy Thompson should be number 1.
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