Giuliani won't run for governor or Senate, reports say

Giuliani won't run for governor or Senate, reports say: "

Giuliani, former New York mayor, is expected Tuesday to endorse Rick Lazio for governor. That takes him out of that race, and now it doesn't appear he'll run for the Senate, either.

I feel like I can sleep a little better at night now.

Crooks and Liars » McCain-Giuliani ‘08?

Crooks and Liars » McCain-Giuliani ‘08?:

"I have my own personal nomination for vice president for McCain. It’s Rudy
Giuliani, precisely because he shares the vision of a practical, reforming,
war-winning Republican Party that inspires John McCain, plus the
stronger-than-usual grounds for hoping that he might be the rare candidate who
can make a difference in an essential state — in this case, New Jersey."

If McCain runs with Giuliani, Obama would have to run with Clinton to lose.

Pat Robertson Sees Self in Huckabee (But Prefers Giuliani)

Mary Katharine Ham on Giuliani, Robertson, and Obama

RUDY GIULIANI WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!!

Rudy Giuliani Tries To Goose The Election In California - Oliver Willis

Rudy Giuliani Tries To Goose The Election In California - Oliver Willis:

"A close friend and major fundraiser of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has
identified himself as the mystery financer of the proposed California initiative
to apportion the state's 55 electoral votes by congressional district instead of
winner-take-all. "

Now we know who was behind that little trick.

Giuliani flip flops on Gun Control

Daily Kos: Rudy Giuliani and the Tragedy of $9.11

Daily Kos: Rudy Giuliani and the Tragedy of $9.11:

"So some nebulous 'someone' decided that a great house-by-house fundraiser for
Rudy Giuliani would be to ask for contributions in the amount of $9.11. Yes,
that's right: have a fundraiser for Rudy Giuliani in the form of paying him
$9.11 in the memory of, well, 9/11. Presumably, this brilliant idea was because
the campaign's original idea of selling bone fragments from Ground Zero on eBay
was shot down, as was the idea of permanently affixing a bronze full-body
sculpture of Giuliani to that twisted set of steel I-beams that looks remarkably
like a Christian cross."

Blame and denials are flying in every direction in this. It is a sad choice of fund raising ploys, and while it could be that Giuliani isn't behind it. My guess is that him, or someone in his camp is behind it.

It is becoming a Rudy v. Fred race | Redstate

It is becoming a Rudy v. Fred race Redstate:

"It really is Rudy v. Fred now. One of the few polling companies that
I truly respect and pay a lot of attention to is Mason-Dixon. When last they
polled South Carolina, and this was back in June, they had undeclared Fred at
25% and Rudy at 21%."

Of course the hard right doesn't want either one of them to be president. The right is at the same point that the left was at in 2000. Having gotten their side in power for eight years, and not having achieved the goals that they had dreamed of. Bush has been in power for eight years, and he has not put through many of the goals that the conservative base wanted. This is good news for the Democrats, because the base was uninspired in 2000 for the Democrats, they didn't come out to vote for Gore a nominee that they didn't like. I think the right is going to have the same problem, their voters are not going to come out to vote for a leader that they don't like. After eight years of having one of their own in office that disappointed them.

Rudy Giuliani: A Betrayal of Trust

She Changed

Mayor Giuliani Reacts To President Bush's Speech

RUDE AWAKENING: GIULIANI’S NUMBERS TUMBLE

RUDE AWAKENING: GIULIANI’S NUMBERS TUMBLE

According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll “Giuliani's support dropped
from 37 percent in a July poll to 28 percent in the latest survey, and his
decline from February has been even more sharp. Then, he had the backing of 53
percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and had a better than
2 to 1 advantage over his closest rival.”

I've said it before and I am saying it again. I think that conservative voters, while at first excited about Rudy, will continue to fall away, and most will not vote for him. He has one strong issue, and the more that Republicans see of him and his stand on other issues the less they like of him.

Giuliani: Illegal Immigration is Not a Crime - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime

Giuliani: Illegal Immigration is Not a Crime - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime:

"Rudy's right, it's a civil offense, not a criminal violation, to be in this
country without proper documentation. Many of the persons the right blasts as
being illegal entered this country legally and then overstayed their visas.
Their initial entry was lawful. Staying past the expiration date on their visa
is not a crime."

He may or may not be correct, and it is true that a lot of undocumented migrants are here with expired documents. Building a fence isn't going to help solve that problem. This is not going to help Rudy with voters on the right, that don't seem to thrilled by him as it is.

News Hounds: Steve Forbes, Co-Chair of the Giuliani Campaign, Suggests We Shoot Poor People

News Hounds: Steve Forbes, Co-Chair of the Giuliani Campaign, Suggests We Shoot Poor People:

"This morning (September 1, 2007) during one of Fox's Saturday morning 'business
news' shows, Forbes on Fox, Fox aired a segment declaring that, 'We need a 'fat
tax' to save America.' (That's fat tax, not flat tax, and note that the
seemingly ever-present Cavuto mark was missing from the chyron.) The premise was
that we should tax junk food in order to help pay for the increased medical
expenses generated by overweight and obese people. One of the participants, Bill
Baldwin, the Editor of Forbes magazine, seemed to agree, If you eat a
Nutri-Grain bar and get diabetes, you're jacking up my health insurance premium.
Yes, it should be taxed. There are a lot of things you do that impose taxes, ah,
impose costs on innocent people and they should be taxed. "

Like it or not, this is the same logic that has been used very loudly for taxing cigarettes. If the logic is sound for cigarettes, you would have to show me how that same logic cannot be extended to food. The only problem that I see is drawing the line between normal consumption and obese consumption - with tobacco there is no normal amount of consumption.

Who Is... United States Republican presidential candidates, 2008 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United States Republican presidential candidates, 2008 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rudy Giuliani, born May 28, 1944, in New York, former mayor of New York City. Giuliani said on October 2, 2005, that he would look at the possibility of running for President. On November 13, 2006, he announced that he was forming an exploratory committee. He has led several state and nationwide polls for the Republican nomination and the general election, and has been mentioned by many media sources as a possible candidate since the 9/11 attacks and a speech to the 2004 Republican Convention. Giuliani is pro-choice, and supports a type of civil union between same sex couples and agrees for legal and medical reasons that same sex relationships should get the same rights under the law. He also believes in strong restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms and agrees with harsh punishment for illegal weapons or non permitted weapons. While opinions differ, some think that these positions could help him, should he secure the nomination, in the general election; others question whether the Republican base would support a nominee with Giuliani's social positions. On February 5, 2007, Giuliani unofficially entered the race for the 2008 US presidential election by filing a "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission, but legally keeping him at the same level as he was while running an exploratory committee. On February 15, Giuliani officially announced that he was running on CNN's Larry King Live show. If elected, Giuliani would be the first Italian-American to hold the office of president, the second Roman Catholic, following John Kennedy.

Megan McCardle: "Rudy's Craaaaaaazy"

Megan McCardle: "Rudy's Craaaaaaazy"

I am not defending Rudy, the presidential candidate. Almost no one who has lived in New York wants Rudy anywhere near the nuclear football, nor would we like to see his strongly authoritarian instincts (however much they arguably may have done for New York's policing) unleashed on the federal justice system. Rudy is craaaaaaaaazy.

Speaks for itself.

ABC News: Giuliani-McCain: That's the Ticket?

ABC News: Giuliani-McCain: That's the Ticket?:

"At a campaign event Aug. 8, 2007, Giuliani told a crowd in Iowa, 'I happen
to be a very big admirer of Sen. McCain and I can tell you quite honestly that
if I weren't running for president I would be here supporting him. If for some
reason I made a decision not to run he'd be my candidate.' It was the second
time this summer Giuliani voiced support for McCain without much prompting. 'I'm
flattered by that,' McCain told ABC News Radio. 'That's a very nice thing for
him to say. I have great respect for him and we are very friendly.' "

Is this the prelude to an offer of joining on the ticket together. Does a Giuliani-McCain ticket have what it takes to beat the democratic nominee. What does each bring to the table that makes the union stronger. One theory is based on geography, and I think that one could be important in this race. If Hilary and Rudy get the nominations for their parties - they are both based in New York. The tickets will be searching for vice presidents that could balance that. For Rudy that makes McCain, from the western state of Arizona a good choice, maybe Hilary could go with Richardson from New Mexico.

Ideologically McCain and Giuliani are not that far apart, they both have a weak history on the immigration issue, they both support the current course in Iraq and they both have a rocky relationship with the religious base of the party. Ideologically speaking Giuliani might be better paired with someone like Huckabee that can bring in the religious voters. As the governor of Arkansas he has the potential to bring geographic balance to the ticket as well.

Talking Points Memo | Giuliani endorses Bush’s Social Security plan

Talking Points Memo Giuliani endorses Bush’s Social Security plan:

"Giuliani stressed his desire to have private forces shape the country's economy
in education as well as in health care and Social Security. He said he supported
President Bush's unsuccessful proposal to allow people to invest some of their
Social Security taxes in private accounts. 'I would have preferred, over my
lifetime, if I could have invested some of that Social Security money myself,'
said Giuliani, 63. 'I think I would have done much better than the government
did. I believe young people today, a lot of them feel that way. I think people
who want a private option should be entitled to have it.'"

Social security is a safety net for older people. It is meant to be there to take care of those who get to old to work. It is a system that I think I am not alone in feeling should be protected, I also think I am not alone in feeling mistrustful of attempts to change that system. Bush could not get this through, and I think that this is a failing stand for Giuliani as well. It should be noted that the majority of elderly people are conservative, and live off social security. When you talk about changing the system - you are talking about their pay checks and it doesn't make them happy.

Talking Points Memo | Sane Rudy of Yesteryear Comes Back to Haunt Nutso Rudy of Today

Talking Points Memo Sane Rudy of Yesteryear Comes Back to Haunt Nutso Rudy of Today:

"Yesterday in South Carolina, Rudy Giuliani promised he could and would 'end
illegal immigration.' But we got video of him back in 1996 saying that's just
not possible and you've just got to accept that."

I think the only way that we are going to end illegal immigration is to make it easier to enter the country legally. People are willing to float across the gulf, walk across the deserts, crawl through tunnels and over fences. Make it easy and simple for them to enter the country legally, so that there is no reason for them to cross the desert.