… Those people that just vote on the abortion issue are kidding themselves thinking that it will ever change.

Bodhi on May 13, 2007 at 12:13 AM

I don’t vote on just the abortion issue, but it is number one issue on my list. The fact that we as a country have permitted people to kill their unborn child for convenience sake absolutely astonishes me.

… Only his gun stance scares me, but I think he’ll leave it alone.

Vincenzo on May 13, 2007 at 1:46 AM

Issue number two on my docket is guns. Rudy doesn’t like the fact that one of the checks and balances in our system of government, installed by our founding fathers, is the fact that citizens possess guns. Just check his history on the issue.

Rudy will not receive my vote.

You don’t have to agree with him to agree with the question I pose. Rudy speaks his mind, and speaks it well. Only his gun stance scares me, but I think he’ll leave it alone.

Vincenzo on May 13, 2007 at 1:46 AM

You can count on it if he is the #2 man on the ticket. And I think he may very well end up there.

- The Cat

But you do see VA voting for Hillary? Or you think there will be a massive write in vote in an attempt to posthumously re-elect Reagan.

Dash on May 13, 2007 at 10:20 AM

Rick Santorum was run out of office by all accounts because he supported Arlen Specter. Exit polls showed that values voters didn’t show up and that some voted for Casey. So it’s happened before.

You may notice that VA has one Republican and one Democrat senator, a Democrat governor, a Democrat state congress and house. Even after the Va Tech shootings there was no knee-jerk response in VA to implement new gun restrictions. I take from this (and living just across the border) that VA is a Democrat state that is very strongly pro-2nd Amendment. Bush carried it twice against the specter of gun control nuts running against him. Giuliani and Clinton are cut from the same cloth. In this case, the center-left (which is what VA is) votes for the Democrat.

VA isn’t the only state like this. NC, KY, FL, LA, NE, OK, ND, SD and OH (all states Bush carried) as well as PA, IA, NM and MN will be lean-Democrat if Giuliani is the nominee. Which states will Giuliani flip? NY? Nope. CA? Nope. WA? Nope. OR? Nope.

Rather than hoping that the electorate is so repulsed by the opponent, I submit that the Republican party would do better by nominating someone who is different than the Democrats. This is not Giuliani.

Bush is a much better person than either Gore or Kerry. He barely beat them. Giuliani’s “Get over it” mentality is precisely prescription for victory . . . for the Democrats.

Fair point, do we know where Rudy is on those specifics though? I can see him being against late term abortions certainly, the consent issue I really dont know.

Dash on May 13, 2007 at 11:03 AM

The best you can say about Giuliani the candidate is that he has tried to present a moving target on these specifics. In a questionnaire from NARAL, Giuliani favored late term abortions (including partial birth abortion) and was against parental notification. Lately he’s been trying to sound like he’s moving back toward the middle on these issues. But it depends on who’s asking the question.

If you want to see Rudy as President, look at him as Mayor.

Has he really changed his mind on important issues?

You are kidding yourself if you think having pro-life Presidents (and pro-choice ones) HAVEN’T made a difference. From a ban on partial birth abortion to parental consent to informed consent, these are NOT small things.

Fair point, do we know where Rudy is on those specifics though? I can see him being against late term abortions certainly, the consent issue I really dont know.

Bodhi on May 13, 2007 at 12:13 AM

You are kidding yourself if you think having pro-life Presidents (and pro-choice ones) HAVEN’T made a difference. From a ban on partial birth abortion to parental consent to informed consent, these are NOT small things. Clinton was so determined to have every abortion legal he vetoed the PBA and insisted on military doctors performing abortions. (which they refused)

I could go on and on. The point is…it matters. It matters a great deal to those of us who care about this issue.

I will never vote for Rudy unless he gets the nomination and Hillary gets the Dem nomination. Then I bite the bullet and vote for him. But that is the ONLY way I will.

He won’t deliver NY in the general election and will probably lose a lot of the more purple states in the South. Can you imagine the gun rights friendly state of VA voting for him? I can’t.

cmay on May 13, 2007 at 7:51 AM

But you do see VA voting for Hillary? Or you think there will be a massive write in vote in an attempt to posthumously re-elect Reagan.

Is there any question that Rudy is the most honest and capable candidate in this election?
Vincenzo

Rudy is corrupt. He dropped out of his senate run against Hillary because he was facing indictment and his ties with Bernard Kerik certainly raise doubts about his character. The bs line about being personally opposed to abortion but believing in a woman’s right to abort was exposed as ludicrous by Laura Ingraham’s interview with him.

I’ve posed these question before: What makes anybody think that Giuliani will beat Hillary? She carpet-bagged in his home state and he ran from her. He had the opportunity to run against her in ‘06. He no longer had cancer and his nasty divorce was behind him. He chose to run from her again. He won’t deliver NY in the general election and will probably lose a lot of the more purple states in the South. Can you imagine the gun rights friendly state of VA voting for him? I can’t.

What makes anybody think he’s the best person to fight terrorism? He has no track record with the military or diplomacy. Even worse, the WTC was bombed in 1993. In 1994 Giuliani became mayor of NYC. One thing is clear (and not partisan) is that there was no disaster preparedness or evacuation plan for the WTC. There were systemic problems with the comm equipment between the police, fire department and Port Authority. Ray Nagin is rightly criticized for not following his disaster preparedness plan in New Orleans. Giuliani didn’t even have one.

Remember, also, that Bush won the last two elections with very small margins–one small to moderate size state. Alienating voters within your own party is not the road to victory. The usual strategy is to run to the base in the primary and back towards center in the general election. Giuliani is certainly not doing this. Some folks would have you believe it’s out of honesty or conviction. It’s not; listen to his interview with Laura Ingraham. He tried to craft his message in more right-leaning terms. He sounded idiotic, and he knew it. So, if Giuliani wins the primary, we can expect to see him running against his own party while he is running against any Democrat nominee. I’m not sure how this helps the Global War on Terror.

got a feeling that by the time the primaries get going the Rudy fan club will be down to me and Ace.

I cannot imagine what it would take for me to not vote for Rudy. I’ve waited a long time for him to be President.

I think it’s quite good, actually, especially the end, but I’ve got a feeling that by the time the primaries get going the Rudy fan club will be down to me and Ace.

I’ll be there right with ya AP. Go Rudy!

How many times will it take?

Gun. Foot. Shoot.

The one candidate sure to trounce Hillary, the one meanest SOB needed to crush the global jihad, and too many conservatives are making him pass through the eye of the social conservative agenda (most of which I am on board for) needle. How many times will the foot get shot, before the Dems start picking out the White House draperies?

You don’t have to agree with him to agree with the question I pose. Rudy speaks his mind, and speaks it well. Only his gun stance scares me, but I think he’ll leave it alone.

Rudy puts up a great speech but perhaps he should consider a move to Texas.