Just in time for Halloween, the late President Gerald Ford has spoken from the grave.
Read his thoughts on Giuliani here.
Archive for October, 2007
Gerald Ford to GOP: Pick Rudy if You Want to Win
October 28, 2007Brownback to Romney: Bite Me
October 26, 2007Well, Sam Brownback’s supporters may find the language in this title’s post a little beyond the pale. But that’s sort of what it seems like.
Hizzoner and Sam have met, and Gov. Brownback left calling Mayor Giuliani an “excellent leader”. At least one reporter with the Washington Post thought Brownback “[S]eemed on the verge of backing [Giuliani]“. Link here.
The picture below is also from that piece, and while it was taken in June it does seem delicious in the current context, no? If I were Team Giuliani I certainly wouldn’t count my chickens before they’re hatched on this one, but even if Sam decided to back the Huck or McCain, it remains a partial victory that the one candidate Sam is apparently not considering for an endorsement is Romney.
Mitt Romney’s brain: “Can’t these darn GOP voters see that I’ve fine-tuned my internal poli-software to mirror the polling of the GOP electorate circa 2005? I wonder how large a donation I have to make to myself NOW…”
Romney Donations Down, Candidate’s Own Contributions Up
October 26, 2007
– taken from this article at Politico.com. It’s a fairly glowing piece about Romney, but it does offer this little gem: “Most self-financiers at the presidential and congressional levels are losers.” Like John Kerry.
It’s fine that Romney wants to use his own money, but the trends you see above are telling. As people have gotten to know Romney, their contributions have dropped sharply - from $21 million in the first quarter to $9.8 million in the most recent. The article points out that Romney has had to infuse his campaign with $8.5 million in the most recent quarter just to keep it solvent. Sound familiar? Check out this article from 2003.
Jeb Bush To Work for Hizzoner
October 18, 2007Well, Jeb Bush, Jr., that is. He’s the youngest son of the former FL governor, and will be heading up Giuliani’s Young Republicans organization in the Sunshine State.
I don’t suppose this amounts to all that much. It does register somewhat, though, when put in the context of the hullabaloo that ensued when it turned out out Mayor Giuliani’s daughter was once seen fraternizing online with some Obama supporters.
You see, if *that* mattered, then this does. The Bush that most conservatives wish they’d gotten instead of the current one hasn’t endorsed anyone. But his namesake now has.
Rudy Unloads on Hillary
October 16, 2007Rudy to drop bombs on Hannity & Colmes tonight… excerpts
New Gallup Pollage: Rudy Motivates the Most Republicans
October 16, 2007There’s a new Gallup poll out. Check it here.
Rudy is the favored GOP candidate nationally. By a lot. Of course, we’re used to that. But let me tell you what is more interesting about this particular poll
Recently there has been some hyperventilating about the possibility of social conservatives potentially deserting the GOP for a third party if they are unhappy with the nominee. Or, perhaps more likely, deciding to stay home.
First, please note the story line has now changed from “Rudy can’t win the GOP nomination because of social issues” to a presumption that it is entirely likely a candidate that is not Gary Bauer’s first choice will secure the nomination.
Well, as I always advise, let’s look at actual data. Shall we?
In that Gallup poll 411 voters that are registered republicans or independents than lean towards the GOP were asked about how they would respond to particular hypothetical nominees in a general election.
| Vote for enthusiastic-ally | Vote for, mainly against the Democrat | Vote for the Democrat | Stay home, not vote | No opinion | |
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| Rudy Giuliani | 51 | 27 | 6 | 9 | 8 |
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| John McCain | 38 | 37 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
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| Fred Thompson | 37 | 30 | 5 | 11 | 17 |
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| Mitt Romney | 25 | 38 | 9 | 13 | 17 |
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So can we now please start putting to rest the canard that the GOP grassroots won’t support Giuliani in a general election? Hizzoner has– by far– the highest “vote for enthusiastically” score, and the lowest (both individually and combined) scores for “stay at home” and “not vote”.
Of course, I imagine none of this is going to persuade Ramesh Ponnuru to throw in with Team Rudy, but I would like to hear what he makes of the data.  Is the GOP not particularly socially conservative? Is the voting power of that faction in the GOP diffused? Are there more socially conservative voters supporting Mayor Giuliani than we imagine? I ask about Mr. Ponnuru specifically, as he is the most eloquent and polite spokesman for the social right I know.
UPDATE
Mr. Ponnuru actually did respond to my questions above here not long after this post, although he was responding to someone else’s e-mail.
Re. Funny Guy…
October 15, 2007Also from the Italian American event last night we get the photo below, which we could call “La Cosa Originalista”:
That would be Alito, Giuliani, and Scalia.
Those that have problems with Hizzoner’s history on certain social issues should just medidate on this photo while pondering the political realities of how the president of the United States does and does not determine actual policy on these sometimes contentious social issues.
Funny Guy…
October 14, 2007Italian dinner shows lighter side of Giuliani:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/247.1/popup/index.php?cl=4522313
AP Agrees with Rudy
October 11, 2007The AP says Rudy wins over Romney on tax cuts: read more
