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Topic Review (Newest First)
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| May 5th, 2005 01:09 AM | |||
| El Blanco |
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| May 5th, 2005 12:48 AM | |||
| KevinTheOmnivore |
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 I mean that in the most sincere way. 
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| May 4th, 2005 03:00 PM | |||
| sspadowsky |
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It's freedom and liberty that we hate. Duh. |
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| May 4th, 2005 02:31 PM | |||
| Cosmo Electrolux |
I would SO do Condi......
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| May 4th, 2005 12:25 PM | |||
| ziggytrix | Yeah, that's exactly it. I don't like Condi Rice, so obviously I'm a racist and/or misogynist. Her relatively recent transfiguration into a neocon sycophant has absolutely nothing to do with it! | ||
| May 4th, 2005 10:59 AM | |||
| El Blanco | Why not Rice? Do you hate black people or women? Maybe both? | ||
| May 4th, 2005 10:54 AM | |||
| ziggytrix | Rice? God I hope not. I'd probably vote for McCain over Clinton. | ||
| May 4th, 2005 10:32 AM | |||
| El Blanco |
Ya, I think most conservatives would taste bile with the thought of another President Clinton. It would just whoop up more votes for the Republicans. I agree that McCain would be a much better choice for the Republicans. Go ahead and try to question his military record. And domestic: campaign finance reform anyone? (I know it got castrated to pass, but it still makes him look good). They just need to keep his temper in check. I think you made the observation that he struck a deal with the Bush campaign for his endoresement. It may be a McCain/Rice ticket in 2008. |
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| May 4th, 2005 12:46 AM | |||
| KevinTheOmnivore |
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However, I tend to agree with you. I think this guy (who is currently pushing a book on the "independent voter," so he has a stake in harping on this) is over-estimating the signifigance of Pat Robertson's stamp of approval. I think Rudy will take a states right stance on guns, which doesn't really matter, becausethe NRA will (in th end, kicking and screaming) come back to the Republicans, because they simply won't go with Clinton. Furthermore, he's pro-gay rights, which could mean a whole lot of things, and can be dressed up. The abortion issue is the biggest achilles heal IMO, but I still think the Right will vote with him or not at all (once again avoiding Clinton). I think it'd be disasterous for the Dems to run Hillary, and I don't care what polls say, if you're a Dem, you want Rudy instead of McCain. Rudy might win the big partisan primaries, but McCain will win the most, if it comes down to it. He appeals to moderate voters, "security moms," environmentalists, blah blah. The RNC could be a barn-burner (no political pun intended) in 2008. |
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| May 3rd, 2005 11:12 PM | |||
| El Blanco |
Rudy won't be president. He is pro-gun control, pro-abortion and pro-gay rights. The only advantage he has over Ahnuld is he was born here. He will be AG or the head of FEMA, but they won't put him in the top spot. |
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| May 3rd, 2005 08:53 PM | |||
| KevinTheOmnivore |
The Religious Right and Rudy Good Lord. If it's Rudy vs. Clinton in 2008....eh, wake me up in 2012. :/ http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Com...5_3_05_JA.html May 3, 2005 The Religious Right and Rudy by John Avlon In the mental chess game pundits and powerbrokers play in the run-up to 2008, one complicating factor has been accepted as conventional wisdom: Rudolph Giuliani, the leader of most Republican polls, is too centrist to be accepted by the religious right's rank and file. That's why a comment by the founder of the Christian Coalition, the Reverend Pat Robertson, on ABC News's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" this past Sunday should send shockwaves through the Republican Party establishment and may signal the beginning of a healthy realignment in American politics. In response to a question about whether religious conservatives would split off from the Republican Party if a moderate like Mayor Giuliani were nominated for president, Rev. Robertson quickly said, "I don't think so. Rudy is a very good friend of mine, and he did a super job running the City of New York. And I think he'd make a good president. I like him a lot. Although he doesn't share all of my particular points of view on social issues, he's a very dedicated Catholic. And he's a great guy." This character endorsement is an important green light to a possible presidential run that some social-conservative political operatives were overconfidently whispering was dead on arrival. It is also a generous and timely reinforcement of Ronald Reagan's principle of the "big tent" by someone associated with the far right of the party. With even tacit support and an established comfort level with leaders of the Christian Coalition, the broad popular support for a Giuliani presidential campaign that already exists among Republicans and independents could be unstoppable. He could be the first Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan to win both New York and California on the way to winning the White House. Rev. Robertson's comments represent the result of Mr. Giuliani's personal reaching out to other Republicans in addition to the halo effect from his leadership after the attacks of September 11 and subsequent honor as Time magazine's Man of the Year. These factors have made him a valuable celebrity surrogate for Republican candidates across the country. Without ever backing off his core principles, Mr. Giuliani has been a tireless good soldier for the Republican Party in the last two election cycles, and contributed considerably on the ground to their gains in Congress and the Senate. In the process, he has created personal loyalties in unexpected places and proven that this former New York City mayor can play nationally. This is evident in events like an upcoming fund-raiser for longtime Christian Coalition leader and influential Republican operative Ralph Reed in his campaign for lieutenant governor of Georgia, where Mr. Giuliani has been asked to serve on the host committee. Apparently, association with Mr. Giuliani is an electoral asset even to a statewide candidate in the Deep South. It is evident in comments like that of Senator Lott of Mississippi, who told the Hill newspaper last month, "I don't think any senator can win the nomination [in 2008]; if they get the nomination they won't be elected president." These comments by Mr. Lott may not be music to the ears of some social conservatives who had been pinning their hopes on the possible candidacy of the Senate majority leader, William Frist. But then, Rev. Robertson did not give them much reason to celebrate either, saying with honesty and equanimity, "Bill is a wonderfully compassionate human being. He is humanitarian. He goes on medical missions. He's a delightful person. I just don't see him as a future president." He had a less live-and-let-live tone when asked about the centrist senator from Arizona, saying, "McCain I'd vote against under any circumstance." Make no mistake: There are some folks on the far right who have been marshaling their forces to stop a centrist Republican from getting elected president. Rev. Robertson's comments about Mr. Giuliani must be making them howl. There are reasons for this evolution - mutual respect and a will to win. As the Republican Party looks to the future, it's increasingly difficult to ignore presidential polls showing Senator Clinton beating Senator Frist or Senator Santorum, while losing decisively to Rudy Giuliani. His celebrity looms large across party lines, with a national reputation for leadership forged in the defining adversity of our time. Upon closer examination, Mr. Giuliani's conservative record on crime, taxes, and the war on terror has rallied many party faithful to his camp, while his alleged liberalism on social issues has been intentionally overstated. He is in favor of gay rights but opposed to gay marriage; he is personally opposed to abortion but supports a woman's right to choose. These are mainstream positions - consistent with a belief in individual freedom - even if they fall outside the far right of the Republican Party or the far left of the Democratic Party. Rev. Robertson's warm comments about Mr. Giuliani this Sunday send a powerful message to millions of religious conservatives not to judge their party's early front-runner on a narrow litmus test, but to instead look at the full record to gain a picture of the president he might make. Mr. Giuliani has been reaching out to his party, and now his party is beginning to return the favor as it looks for its strongest candidate in 2008. John Avlon is a columnist for the New York Sun and the author of Independent Nation. |
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