February straw poll results
posted at 10:33 am on February 16, 2007 by Ian
Thanks for participating this month’s straw poll.
With over 31% of the “first choice” vote, the winner of February’s straw poll is Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
At Hot Air, Newt Gingrich won with 38% and in second is Rudy Giuliani with 26% of the vote. In a distant third, is Mitt Romney at 14%. What may be a surprise is the lack of acceptability of McCain. He is in negative territory. Gee, I knew he wasn’t liked, but I didn’t know he wasn’t that well liked. Full results available here.
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The results from HA are skewed, we were not able to vote for Michelle.
infidel on February 16, 2007 at 10:49 AM
St. John of Tucson, how do I despise thee? Let me count the ways:
*McCain-Feingold
*Torture Ban
*Gang of 14 obstructionism
*Support for amnesty (including a shameful town hall meeting in which he told a bunch of union guys that they were incapable of picking lettuce, even for $50 an hour)
*Capitulation on Global Warming
I dare say that McCain is as disliked as Shrillary.
Kid from Brooklyn on February 16, 2007 at 10:54 AM
Giuliani’s like a candle in the wind buring at both ends and not long for this race!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on February 16, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Dick Morris thinks Newt has real potential. I hope he’s right.
Bugler on February 16, 2007 at 11:04 AM
1) Anything Dick Morris says is wrong. He said Hillary would lose her Senate seat, and that Hillary would not run for Pres.
2) I’ll vote Dem before I’ll vote McCain.
Clark1 on February 16, 2007 at 11:10 AM
Maybe McCain can hire Marcotte and McEwan to help jumpstart his flaccid campaign.
JammieWearingFool on February 16, 2007 at 11:13 AM
According to that Fox News Poll most Republicans favor McCain over Gingrich. Does that mean that HotAir readers are completely disconnected from the rest of the GOP, or are HotAir readers representative of the ultra-conservative right wing?
GregH on February 16, 2007 at 11:15 AM
Never have trusted or liked McCain. I admire and respect his tenacity at toughing out the Hanoi Hilton, but never thought much of him as a politician.
Giuliani has name recognition and his handling of NYC during and after 9/11 was superb. Don’t trust his stand on the Second Amendment.
Newt is the surprisingly strong contender, but I still like and prefer California’s Duncan Hunter.
Jack.
Jack Deth on February 16, 2007 at 11:16 AM
Meanwhile in other news I just emailed my representative in Congress regarding the non-binding resolution.
I feel royally screwed BTW over the last election. I live in what was always a Republican district until this year. They rezoned and I am now in a district represented by a Democrat. This district only has a very small corner which can be considered Republican. Well we all have our crosses to bear.
LakeRuins on February 16, 2007 at 11:17 AM
It means most of the people contacted for the poll live in the NYC and Washington DC area.
LakeRuins on February 16, 2007 at 11:19 AM
I fear that Newt is waiting waaaay too long to throw his hat in the ring. By September the train will have left the station without him. Pity. He’s the only one who could soar over the Dhims in a debate and challenge the intellect of Shrillary or barack HUSSEIN obama.
pistolero on February 16, 2007 at 11:21 AM
Newt is right to wait. The way things are now you would think the election is this coming November instead of November 2008. I would wait also, let the other guys expend their war chests, endure the abuse and keep defining themselves.
LakeRuins on February 16, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Yes and no. You do not have to be ultraconservative to see that the Reagan revolution was hijacked under the Bushes, McCain, etc. Liberal policies inevitably lead to failure no matter who is in charge.
Valiant on February 16, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Newt has said that he is working on something along the line of “Contract with American II”. If nobody picks up on what he is going to propose, he will run.
I don’t see any of the lukewarm conservatives we have running at the moment getting cozy with Newt. I think he’ll run. If nothing else, he would make a good conservative pick as VP for a ticket.
E L Frederick (Sniper One) on February 16, 2007 at 11:35 AM
I think newt would run for the VP spot. I think he understands he can’t win nationally. But as a VP under guiliani or something, it’d be a solid ticket.
lorien1973 on February 16, 2007 at 11:41 AM
Seems to me he called the 2006 elections pretty accurately…
bspoogeferd on February 16, 2007 at 12:01 PM
Over at The Autopsy I put together a little video message about Murtha’s package. Anyone who supports that from the GOP is an instant loser in my book.
Nethicus on February 16, 2007 at 12:08 PM
I wouldn’t vote for Gingrich, if I was paid to.
amerpundit on February 16, 2007 at 12:08 PM
Considering how cr-ppy the Republicans were this year, that wasn’t exactly a hard call on his part.
Slublog on February 16, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Since when is Morman a race? Look, the day Newt starts taking advice from Dick Morris is the day I move to Iran!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on February 16, 2007 at 12:12 PM
I’m hopeful since Tancredo came in at #4 . . .it’s a start.
heroyalwhyness on February 16, 2007 at 12:36 PM
I can’t stand McCain either, but I wouldn’t goes as far as to say I would vote for Clinton or Obama. That would be insane. I don’t think McCain has a chance anyway. We can only hope not.
trader67 on February 16, 2007 at 12:38 PM
I believe the HotAir crowd is right (both correct and conservative) in choosing Newt. The only way the GOP wins in 2008 is with a solid REAGAN REPUBLICAN at the TOP of the ticket. Romney knows this and that is why he is trying to redefine himself as a Reagan Republican. His problem is that he ran against Teddy K as a RINO in ’94 and ran Massachusetts as a Weld Republican.
The GOP needs solid conservative leadership at the top to keep the GOP voters interested. Moderates might take some independent votes but they won’t get enough GOP support to win. A moderate at the top of the GOP ticket will guarantee a Dem victory.
Run Newt run!!!
LonelyMassRepublican on February 16, 2007 at 12:41 PM
It doesn’t mean anything since the GOP Blogger total is a composite number of the results of several different blogs. Each blog has members holding certain viewpoints, which tends to attract others of a similar viewpoint, and so each has a different result.
For example:
Rightwingnews.com shows that Gingrich is favored over Giuliani 31.4 percent to 21 percent.
Polipundent.com shows that Giuliani is favored over Gingrich 35.3 percent to 24.4 percent. This is almost exactly the same spread (10.4 percent vs 11.1) of the first poll but with opposite results.
Gopusa.com is similar to Rightwingnews.com with Gingrich being favored over Giuliani 28.6 percent to 19.5 percent, yet Rightangleblog.com has Giuliani over Gingrich 27 percent to 16.2 percent. This is another instance where you have two different blogs opposing each other in the total results.
So, what conclusion can we draw? It’s simple, each blog is going to have different results just like each voting district in any election will have different results when compared to others. It’s not that one blog is more or less representative than another, it’s just that people are different with separate, and sometime opposing, viewpoints and that difference is highlighted by polls and election results when compared side by side to others.
RedinBlueCounty on February 16, 2007 at 12:45 PM
This could get interesting. Now how many 9-11 funerals did Hillary attend? We might not like everything about the man but we may have a winner here.
Timber Wolf on February 16, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Don’t count McCain out. He’s got one thing going for him– in open primaries (where anyone can vote), he does well because he courts the “moderates” (or undecideds who usually vote Democrat). I can’t remember what kind of primary California has, but the change in their primary schedule may give McCain a substantial boost.
Nethicus on February 16, 2007 at 1:00 PM
Rudy is my man. I’d take him over Speaker Gingrich any day of the week, and twice on Sunday!
Ringmaster on February 16, 2007 at 1:01 PM
I don’t see how I could vote for Newt as a first choice WHEN HE ISN”T EVEN RUNNING!
csdeven on February 16, 2007 at 1:08 PM
Newt may be waiting for the coronation that the GOP gave Bush before he announced in 1999. Ain’t gonna happen- at least not from the neocon establishment.
Valiant on February 16, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Where did you pop out of?
Rick on February 16, 2007 at 2:03 PM
I’m not sure why that would be a surprise, Bryan. All you had to do was look at the comments on McCain right here in the HotAir threads.
I think that the rank and file GOP’er will never reconcile with McCain for his current position on immigration, his sponsorship of McCain/Feingold and his backroom antics with the gang of 14. Besides, he just doesn’t exude confidence which is a damn desirable trait for a Presidential candidate.
To be honest, I just don’t know if I could even hold my nose and vote for him. It would be a real dilemma.
I thought that stat was interesting too. Not sure if I’d assign it to us being “disconnected” from mainstream Republicans or more informed. By virtue of taking the time to surf HotAir and other political blogs, I think we’re better informed about politician’s positions. The typical guy or gal on the street probably knows McCain was a POW and served honorably, but that’s about it. So, in their eyes, he’s a solid citizen. All of that’s true, but his positions don’t fly for alot of folks here.
If you want to play the poll game, I find it interesting that in the same Fox poll, 45% of those polled said they are not very or not at all comfortable with Hillary being President, vs. 24% for Rudy and 27% for McCain. Does that place you outside of the mainstream?
BacaDog on February 16, 2007 at 2:13 PM
Huh. I thought I was one of, maybe, five wierdos in the country who was backing Newt. I guess there are a lot more wierdos than I thought.
As for McCain, I see him as the conservative Shrillary, in that every stand he takes is carefully calculated. His views do seem to be heartfelt, but his willingness to act on those views depends entirely on expediency. I expect that a lot of other Hot Air readers hold a similar view.
Wolfman on February 16, 2007 at 2:27 PM
What I want to is, who are the two HotAir readers who voted fo Pataki as their first choice?
C’mon, seriously, Pataki !?
billy on February 16, 2007 at 5:07 PM
Guliani is a hot-potato.
He’s a real risk because a lot of social conservative Republicans won’t vote for an anti-life candidate, no matter who runs. GOP risks alienating a significant voter base that decided in the last election to just stay home. GOP can’t afford to risk that in 2008.
Lawrence on February 16, 2007 at 5:25 PM
“Gunny” R. Lee Emry for President!
Tony737 on February 16, 2007 at 6:42 PM
Dammit! I can’t even post a six word comment without a typo! That’s R. Lee Emrey! Sorry ’bout that, Gunny! Semper Fi! Carry on!
Tony737 on February 16, 2007 at 6:57 PM
Tony! You are really blowing it dude!
It’s ERMEY.
csdeven on February 16, 2007 at 7:40 PM
CRAP! I typoed while tryin’ to correct a typo! Dammit! Now I owe the ‘ol Gunny 50 push ups! Thank you CSDeven
Tony737 on February 16, 2007 at 9:42 PM
RUDY
RUDY
RUDY
Seriously, Newt is a bright guy, but he sucks at Strategy. Plus, Newt’s experience is pitiful (getting beat like a drum by Clenis and Shrillary isn’t great resume building).
Rudy took on NYC liberals and won, again and again. He’s right on WoT, right on Crime, right on taxes, right on bureaucracy… Give him a good VP (Condi, Newt, Cheney) and he’s a solid candidate.
Scalia, Alito, Robert. Those are the judges he likes, the judges he will appoint. Rudy can and will win, and with the right judges his own fairly liberal views don’t matter. Rudy’s the only one who would eagerly replace Jack Bauer at the end of the IV or battery cables when an interrogation comes along. For that, and for spitting in the face fo the Saudis, he’s got my vote.
libertarianuberalles on February 16, 2007 at 9:51 PM
Anti-life, anti-2nd amendment, pro-gay marriage.
And if you’re going to use misdirection to try and woo the pro-life constituency by talking about judges you’d appoint rather than your pro-abortion position, better if you said Rehnquist or Thomas in my mind. I think it’s hilarious that people say a congressman cannot win the presidency because it’s too small a job with too big a jump in governance, but they are happy to vote for a social-lib mayor with an R by his name just because he’s popular. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Tancredo is #4 with a bullet, and there’s 20 months to go. 20 months before the 1992 election, I daresay 99% of you had never heard of Bill Clinton or Al Gore.
As for Newt, based on the above it is wise for him to wait. The less time he gives the Democrat attack dogs to go after him the better. Waiting “too long” would only hurt an unknown.
Freelancer on February 16, 2007 at 11:37 PM
We need 535 “Gunnys” in the congress!
csdeven on February 17, 2007 at 12:53 AM
I would vote for gunny.
infidel on February 17, 2007 at 3:02 AM
What’s your problem with Thomas?
Watcher on February 17, 2007 at 11:42 AM
It’s not a national sample??? That’s odd.
honora on February 17, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Tancredo doesn’t stand a chance. I know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of you, but America as a whole isn’t really down with Tancredo’s “America is full,” “[Miami] has become a third world country” views. And that’s all Tancredo will ever be: A racist, nativist, single-issue Congressman who lied to his constituents about how many terms he would serve and is so caustic that he’s been banned from the White House. It’ll never happen.
Mark Jaquith on February 17, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Nothing, you miss my meaning. Rehnquist and Thomas both were strictly pro-life, moreso than any of the three justices named by Rudy. So if he’s going to use the argument that his own pro-abortion stance will be outweighed by nominating pro-life justices, then name the most pro-life justices as examples. That’s all.
Freelancer on February 17, 2007 at 11:33 PM