THE DAILY BLADE: How Resilient Is Rudy?: Part IV
The last time The Stiletto looked at what Rudy was up to, he had just entered a lion’s den, to give a speech at Regent University, the Christian college founded by conservative televangelist Pat Robertson, and left the stage to thunderous applause. Now that Rudy’s finally gotten off the phone (video) – dude, pressing the “END” button for several seconds will turn the phone off until you are done with your speech – The Stiletto decided to pull together one of her periodic (and somewhat labor intensive) Rudy roundups:
† Rudy is coming off two strong fundraising quarters, and leads the Republican pack in donations – as Romney is forced to dip into his own rather considerable bank account, now that his Mormon base in UT and rich VC pals have forked over all they plan to give for the time being. Rudy's campaign announced he had raised $11 million in the third quarter, with $10.5 million allocated to the primary, and has $16 million cash on hand. In the previous quarter, he took in $17 million, and has raised $45 million to date. (It should be noted that Hillary’s overall take is $63 for the primary and $17 million for the general election.)
† He continues to lead in the polls, with the RealClearPolitics average giving him a 7 point lead over Thompson. RCP’s Tom Bevan notes that Rudy has “closed the gap with Mitt Romney to under 4 points in New Hampshire; and he is leading the field in South Carolina and Florida. ” However, 18 percent of Republicans have not settled on a candidate yet, so it’s possible that the hitherto lethargic and gaffe-prone Fred Thompson could turn the tables. In Rudy’s favor, however, is that he is getting through to voters – and pundits - with his message that he’s the only thing standing in the way of Hillary hiring a decorator to redo the Oval Office. Paradoxically, the stronger she gets the stronger he gets.
† Rudy’s messy marital history and rollercoaster relationship with his kids notwithstanding, conservative women like him. After a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women – the only Republican candidate who deigned to address the group – he got a Standing O. A recent Gallup Poll finds that Rudy has slightly more support among women than men, 34 percent vs. 31 percent. One pragmatic attendee told the Los Angeles Times: “I've been married 3½ times, so how can I judge him? We need somebody who's a little conservative, but who's also kind of liberal, so we might get him in,” adding that he might appeal to some Dems as well.
† In addition to promising to appoint strict constructionists to the Supreme Court, Rudy’s found an effective way to finesse his moderate-to-liberal record on abortion, gay rights, gun control and other contentious issues that divide Americans: “the founding fathers would say [divisive issues] should be consigned to state and local governments, experimenting, deciding, having different views, and the federal government having a more limited role.”
From the start, the conventional wisdom had it that once American voters – especially those who live in the Bible Belt – find out where Rudy stands on social issues, his candidacy would no longer be viable. With some of these voters, national security trumps all other issues - for this election cycle. But Rudy is also helped by the waning influence of the religious right among Republicans.
Editorial Note: To read previous posts in the "How Resilient Is Rudy?" series, click here, here and here.
The Other Shoe Drops: Updates To Previous Posts
† WaPo: Genocide, Schmenocide. Why Can’t “Rich” Armenians Just Shut Up, Already?: Now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has indicated that is ready to schedule a floor vote on HR 106 (AKA “The Armenian Genocide Resolution”), Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called President Bush to warn him that should H.Res. 106 (AKA “The Armenian Genocide Resolution”) pass – a near certainty, as it has 226 co-sponsors on both sides of the aisle – Turkey will be fit to be tied.
In a statement, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who authored the legislation noted that the U.S. has “a compelling historical and moral reason to recognize the Armenian genocide, which cost a million-and-a-half people their lives. But we also have a powerful contemporary reason as well - how can we take effective action against the genocide in Darfur if we lack the will to condemn genocide whenever and wherever it occurs?”
An equally apt parallel would be Iraq, where the tiny Christian minority is being driven from their homes. Reports The Washington Post, a journalist in Baghdad found a note on his front door threatening him and his family with death unless they convert to Islam; pay $300 a month for “protection”; or leave. They fled their home of 11 years.
Editorial Note: Former CA governor George Deukmejian (1983-1991) issued this statement (video and PDF) urging passage of H.Res./S.Res. 106.
† Great Moments In Higher Education: Part II (second item): After pigging out on pizza, Colorado State University’s Board of Student Communications voted to allow Rocky Mountain Collegian editor J. David McSwane to keep his job despite sparking a campus furor when he dropped the F Bomb on President Bush in an “editorial.” The board ruled that had “violated standards it and The Collegian had set, which state that: 'Profane and vulgar words are not acceptable for opinion writing,'” reports the Rocky Mountain News. The board could have opted to fire, suspend or reprimand “Mac The Swine,” but really, was there ever any doubt as to the outcome of the proceeding?
† The Sum For The Parts: Philly-area funeral directors Louis Garzone, 65, his younger brother, Gerald Garzone, 47, and James McCafferty, 37, were arrested on thousands of counts of theft of body parts and related charges. After a 16-month investigation, a grand jury charged them with selling 244 bodies to Michael Mastromarino a former oral surgeon who allegedly harvested bones, tissue and skin from the corpses for transplants. Mastromarino is fighting charges in NY that he plundered 1,077 bodies. Seven funeral directors in NY have already pleaded guilty, including one whose funeral home allegedly stripped parts off of the late “Masterpiece Theatre” host Alistair Cooke.
Hi Stiletto-
Why don't you do a very clear comparisonof the all who are running for president? Pros and cons sort of thing: Categorizing positions on foreign affairs, immigration, the economy, health and other domestic issues, global warming, Israel, their own moral backgrounds, etc.
Thanks, Susan
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Good idea - but it's better to wait until several candidates drop out, because with 10 candidates running on each side as such a comparison would be unwieldy.
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As a Christian conservative: 1. I can't figure out how Regent can give this pro-gay, pro abort, a platform to speak set alone a standing O. (Btw, I spent a year at this school.) I guess their argument would be that he was there to give an inspirational speech--whatever!! Why not have Hillary there to give an inspirational speech? There almost the same kind of Marxist believers (one is lighter than the other), and 2. How the Republicans can seriously look at RG as a valid Republican candidate is mystifying to me! I will not vote for him in the general if he is nominated. I will consider the Republican party dead to true conservative values if this guy gets nominated and that will be a sad day in America because America will no longer have choices in party candidates. Just two parties veying for basically the same kind of voter--moderate to liberal. If you're interested, I did post my own thoughts on his weekend comments re: him not "kow-towing" to the Religious Right, and what the impact of blowing off that voter block will have on this country for anyone interested:
http://gto7.wordpress.com/2007/10/04/rinos-were-not-your-btch/
Thanks for your posts Stiletto!
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Thank you for sharing your post - The Stiletto hopes everyone who reads her post will read yours as well. You are squarely in the same camp as Ann Coulter and Star Parker in your reasons for ruling Rudy out. The Stiletto is leaning in Sean Hannity's direction - he all but told James Dobson last night that he was going to vote for Rudy.
Having read The Stiletto Blog, you know The Stiletto is against baby killing (including Plan b and embryonic stem cell research), pro Second Amendment, wants to secure the borders (now!) and believes that the West should stop at nothing to turn back the tide of Islamofascism (the bastard child of multiculturalism) before we are all forced to live under Sharia law or be killed (which is what is happening to the Christians of Iraq today, and what happened to the Armenians of Ottoman Turkey nearly 100 years ago).
So why isn't Rudy anathama to The Stiletto? Three reasons:
1. The president has the bully pulpit, but is powerless to ban abortion and guns, or to allow gay marriage. Municipal, state and federal legislatures pass laws, and the courts decide whether they are constitutional and can stand. Our system of checks and balances is a bit out of whack because the judiciary is running the country - as any citizen group who's gotten a referendum passed by voters only to see it struck down by a judge knows all too well. In the real world, Rudy's liberal social positions are null and void - he cannot do anything about them one way or another as president.
2. Like Sean Hannity, The Stiletto lived through the Dinkins years: An army of homeless people were roaming the streets (and turned Manhattan into one giant Port-O-Potty); children were being killed in their beds by stray bullets; droves of middle class New Yorkers were fleeing - which meant those of us who stayed were getting taxed up the wazoo; Staten Island was on the verge of seceding from the rest of the city; and everyone from Wall Street to Washington, D.C. had written the city off as "ungovernable." Rudy came in and changed all that. And then on 9/11 he was a commanding, comforting presence that reassured everyone from Wall Street to Washington, D.C. that all the gains the city had made were not going to evaporate like the WTC did. Compare his performance to Ray Nagin's for instance. As far as The Stiletto is concerned, Rudy is the only candidate who has proven he can govern under the most trying circumstances. The others tell you what they WILL do; look at New York City today and you will see what Rudy DID do.
3. You might not like Rudy's positions, but at least he doesn't pull his punches or flip-flop. Therefore, when he says that 9/11 made him understand why Americans feel that gun ownership is the best way to protect their freedoms, The Stiletto believes he is being sincere. Compare that to Romney's constant flip-flopping on all the issues that matter to conservatives. The Stiletto is deeply disappointed with the direction President Bush has taken on various issues - chiefly illegal immigration, not prosecuting Sandy Berger to the fullest extent of the law, pandering to Turkey's Armenian Genocide denial - and feels she was duped into voting for him because he made all the right noises when he ran for his first and second terms. What a refreshing change to go into the voting booth with her eyes open, knowing EXACLY what she is going to get, insead of waking up with buyer's remorse down the road.
Because of the global dangers we face, The Stiletto does not feel that America can afford to indulge ideological purity in 2008 - we need to vote with our heads and not with our hearts.
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I can't make my comments any shorter so I have to split them up. Sorry!
1. The Pres. does sign the bill into law which he very much has the power to avail himself to. If we get a liberal Congress I do wonder if Rudy's liberal bent will dance through his pen. The pres. also picks Judicial nominations for the High Court & again Rudy does have a track record of picking liberal judges. That is more scary than anything else. So I don't agree that his liberal bent is null and void. He has power to wreck chaos on what we conservatives have worked so hard on for a while now.
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No worries. The Stiletto cannot change this setting, so post as many comments as you need to so that you say everything you need to say. Rudy has repeatedly said he will nominate strict constructionists to the Supreme Court, and is very good friends with both Scalia and Alito. Also, while he is liberal on social issues, he is conservative on fiscal and national security issues.
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2. I don't know what the Dinkin's years are, but I gather from what you have said it was dismal and dark. There are many major cities, I live in one, that are dark and dismal places to live because of the illegal alien problem alone. This has a trickle down effect in that we are one of the highest taxed states in the Union. Rudy has a track record for creating the sanctuary city in NY. This is a serious question in my mind as America battles domestic terrorism. Rudy has his bread buttered on the North American Highway too, another serious sovereignty problem. He is a One World Government, pro-amnesty, globalist, gun grabbing, pro-abort. Everything Hill is. They are both cultural Marxists.
3. Flip-flopping. The libs are looking at us conservatives, and laughing because we have flip-flopped on our Conservative Principles, and for what? To win! The Rs are promoting a heavily pro-gay, pro-abort, anti-marriage (one man, one woman) adulterer. That's flip flopping. We should be supporting a person who is more representative of what we stand for and not the media choice. Because Rudy is running we have a pretty severe split in the party that we haven't seen before. I, too, am disappointed in Bush, but more in his later years than his former. My question to you is if what Bush has done to America is so disturbing to you then I hope Rudy's connection to dissembling USA Sovereignty will equalling disturb you for consistency sake.
Links re: Rudy's connection to the NAU/ Super highway:
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/grassi/070504
http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff149.htm
As far as your statement that," America can['t] afford to indulge [in] ideological purity in 2008 - we need to vote with our heads and not with our hearts" bothers me because Conservatives are bringing up valid questions and concerns, we are then accused of being emotional. We are being asked to compromise our positions. Why and by whom? Why do you suppose that is? The Dems are running candidates that stand for their platform, why can't the Republican party find candidates that stands for our platform? We can run candidates that are conservative and will deal effectively with terrorism. It can be done! It's time the Conservatives go defensive, and demand that if anyone wants to run under the "R" banner they better tow the Conservative line rather than expecting the Conservatives to bend to the left. We can be a conservative party running conservative candidates that will deal far better with terrorism than any leftist demo can ever do!
Thanks for your posts.
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Rudy did not initiate the sanctuary city policy in NYC - that was Ed Koch's doing. Bet he wishes now that he had rescinded that policy, but again 9/11 changed a lot of things for a lot of pepole not just him. Just as all Dems are not moonbats (Zell Miller, Joe Lieberman), neither are all Republicans coservative. In fact polls are showing an increasing amount of divergence between conservatives and Republicans about what this election is all about. Again, The Stiletto is more conservative than most New Yorkers - certainly more so than Rudy - but will not rule him out on ideological grounds. With any luck, if he becomes the nominee he'll pick Mike Huckabee as his running mate. Then the ticket will be geographically and ideologically balanced and conservatives will have their day on top again when Huckabee runs for the top spot.
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Well, thanks for the conversation. It's refreshing to swap ideas without being attacked for my views which surprisingly does happen with pro-rudyites! New name I just coined. I'm not sure if you are a mom, but I will be placing your blog in this link of my blog called Security Moms Unite!:
http://gto7.wordpress.com/security-moms-of-america-unite/
Thanks! May the best MAN win!
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The Stiletto is not a mom, but is a doting auntie to five nieces and nephews and would kill UBL herself with her trusty 9 mm S&W if he ever tried to harm any of them - so thank you for including The Stiletto Blog in the Security Moms Unite! blogroll.
If 9/11 had never happened, Rudy would have had no rationale or resume on which to run. Being the mayor of a city is not a path to the White House - normally. But there is nothing normal about this election or the threats we face today, so The Stiletto is keeping an open mind about him even though she disagrees with just about all his positions on social issues. How can The Stiletto attack you when she agrees with you? But if you think you're on the receiving end of punishment by pro-rudyites, try declaring yourself a Rudy supporter on Free Republic! Yipes ...
Yes - may the best (natural born) man win.
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Free Republic revoked my posting privileges without explanation after repeated request for info. Things that make you go Hmmm. I don't know!
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You're not missing much. Lately the comments have gotten vituperous and mean-spirited. For instance, in response to a post about the Armenian Genocide several people said, more or less, "get over it, it happened 100 years ago." The Stiletto was shocked at the callousness. Frankly, some of what's on there is verging into DailyKos territory in terms of odiousness. Instead of the Mods going after you they sure have plenty other egregious posters they could have gone after.
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I couldn't agree more! Before I was interested in blogging I noticed that as well. Not only that I noticed that their comments were no longer a No Compromising Conservative stance! Bummer.
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The Stiletto, for one, is glad you're blogging!
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