How Pure Does Rudy Have to Be?

[billybigrigger]

Stumbled across this when I went to the site to look at a link on another thread! My bottom line on whom I vote for in the primaries is can he win in the General election. Hopeing Thompson's numbers will go up if he get's in the race, but what are you going to do if at primary time you believe that Rudy is the only one that has a chance to beat whomever the dem is.

How pure does rudy need to be. (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0307/3090.html)


On Monday, Giuliani was endorsed by David Vitter, a conservative Republican senator from Louisiana.

When a reporter asked Vitter if Giuliani would be a "tough sell" in Louisiana, Vitter replied: "I don't think he is going to be at all, particularly post-Katrina."

Translation: When the next hurricane hits, people are going to want a president who knows what he is doing rather than a president who believes that abortion is murder.

Some Republicans will not buy this. Perhaps most of them won't. After all, Republican media wizards have sold them on the opposite message for years. They have said that ideology is what really matters in elections, not competence. Ideology, Republicans have been told in election after election, is what gets people to the polls.

Giuliani has a different message: He says he knows how to run things. He says he knows how to get the job done. He says America will be attacked by terrorists in the future and it would be a good idea to have a president who can handle that.

He does not ignore the Republican base. He just asks it to grow up.

[RealDeal]

Translation: When the next hurricane hits, people are going to want a president who knows what he is doing rather than a president who believes that abortion is murder.


Hmmm... the same president under whom both MAYORS served... one got hit with terrorists, the other with a hurricane... one did well, one didn't... the president had NOTHING to do with Katrina.

Republican media wizards have sold them on the opposite message for years. They have said that ideology is what really matters in elections, not competence.

Ideology IS what matters, but it does not negate the willingness to act on that ideology. I resent the insinuation that our current prez is "incompetent". FAR FROM IT! Neither was his father, nor Reagan, or Ford, or Nixon... where is this BS coming from? The incompetence I see is from the left, starting things that they can't finish (Viet Nam), or mishandling/ misreading/ ignoring things (al Qaeda) that our guys have to "clean up" for them...

Giuliani has a different message: He says he knows how to run things. He says he knows how to get the job done. He says America will be attacked by terrorists in the future and it would be a good idea to have a president who can handle that.


We HAVE a president that has that same attitude, and God help Rudy if he thinks he could do any better... it's not like they operate in a vacuum.

His stance on the WOT is about the only thing I agree with him on... and yeah, if push comes to shove, I would vote for him... but I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that.

[makamends]

Which would you rather have: purity or the presidency?

I'm going with purity here. There are things that just can't be compromised. If we can't carry forward the value of human life then it's just over for us. We might as well wander off to the elephant graveyard.

[Terri]

I'm going with purity here. There are things that just can't be compromised. If we can't carry forward the value of human life then it's just over for us. We might as well wander off to the elephant graveyard.
I'm sure you'll get it from Hillary. :tqrolleyes:

Protecting the country has to come first. I seriously doubt that abortion law will be at the top of your list of concerns if a dirty bomb goes off in your city.

Rudy is certainly not the only Republican who would protect the country but if he does win the nomination he's infinitely preferable to Hillary, Obama or Edwards.

If we support our preferred candidate now maybe we won't have to make that decision.

[Speedway]

If we support our preferred candidate now maybe we won't have to make that decision.

Most of us agree with that, but Billy's premise for this thread is that we should support Rudy now because he IS probably the only one who can beat Hillary (or Obama).


what are you going to do if at primary time you believe that Rudy is the only one that has a chance to beat whomever the dem is.

The thing is, I don't think I'll ever believe that. I agree that principles matter and I'll support the candidate in the primary who best represents my beliefs. We all should. And then we should support whoever the nominee is because Hillary or Obama would be a disaster for this country.

If the nominee is Rudy, I'll support him.

But NOT this early!

[Terri]

Me too.

[billybigrigger]

Most of us agree with that, but Billy's premise for this thread is that we should support Rudy now because he IS probably the only one who can beat Hillary (or Obama).


Absolutely not!

what are you going to do if at primary time you believe that Rudy is the only one that has a chance to beat whomever the dem is.

I said what are you going to do if at primary time you believe that Rudy is the only one that has a chance to beat whom ever the dem is.

No where did I say what you should or should not do. It was a question. What is the base going to do, not now, but at primary time, what are you going to do at primary time if you believe he's the only guy that can win.

At this time their is not a single person that I see that appeals to the base that comes polls within 10 points of either Hillary or Obama. I would imagine the numbers would be even worse with them as a team. Don't know is Obama would run with Hillary, but just guessing I think he would. Nobody is even on the radar screen below Fred Thompson. His numbers are 10 points or more behind Hillary. But that even doesn't tell the story.

It the electoral college that counts. Virginia voted for Bush twice but has been trending dem mostly to the large population centers of northern Va, next to the border with DC. I think the chances are better than 50% that Hillary would take VA this time around. Ohio went for Bush barely in '04 went heavily dem in '06. See little hope of us winning Ohio. I believe that Rudy could take Florida this time, don't think anyone else could at this time. The big one PA went for Kerry and Gore the last two times but the polls say Rudy could take PA. Rudy has a chance of taking NY and NH nobody else does.

Again my guy at the moment is Thompson and will be if I believe he can beat Hillary in November of 08. My question is would the base vote for Rudy in the primary if they were convinced that he was the only one that had a chance of beating Hillary.

If we support our preferred candidate now maybe we won't have to make that decision.

That's the question would you support your preferred candidate even if it meant certain defeat in November. If anybody below the top four were nominated there's little doubt in my mind that it would mean certain defeat. The people that are polling in the bottom half of single digits at this point in the game are not going to be president.