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Rudy to Give Big GOP Keynote Speech In New Hampshire Next Month
First Obama, now Rudy: Giuliani has just scored a major speaking engagement in New Hampshire, agreeing to keynote the Granite State's annual Republican State Committee meeting on January 27, according to the New Hampshire GOP's web site. Rudy's scheduled speech puts him in a good position to try and impress New Hampshire GOP operatives and woo them to sign on with his candidacy. That's because anyone at the gathering, from officeholders to party activists, would be a good catch for his campaign, particularly since he lags behind his GOP rivals in building an organization. According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, which broke the story of Rudy's speech today, Giuliani was last in the state in October.
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Does anybody really think this messily divorced adulterer who was an unpopular mayor until 9-11, who is far too socially liberal for the GOP base, who has absolutely no foreign policy experience, whose best buddy is a corrupt mob connected convicted bribe taker who escaped a felony by the skin of his teeth and of whom there are really good high res photos of in a dress, actually stands a chance of being nominated? By Republicans?
Exposed to even a marginally thorough scrutiny during a primary he would be lucky to escape with his dignity, what little there is of it, intact. Other candidates will not be so kind to him and respectful of the BS "America's Mayor" story as the media has been.
December 22, 2006 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
It will be fascinating to watch that, I agree.
December 22, 2006 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree it will be fascinating. Seems as if a portion of the GOP takes its "lesson learned" that a competent president is essential--and that Rudy's performance with 09/11 and afterward stands as an example of government competence. It remains to be seen if GOP rank and file can overlook Rudy's negatives. It will be interesting.
December 22, 2006 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
mjshep
Do you really believe that a conniving, grossly unpopular woman (Hillary) has any chance to win the White House?
Or a guy who is half black with an ethnic name like Barak Obama?
Given the voting trends of the United States over the past several presidential elections, we have had adulterers, drunks, womanizers, and bull-headed warmongers elected.
Why on Earth would you think Guiliani has no chance?
December 23, 2006 1:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
And, I don't think, nor do polls support, that Hillary is "grossly unpopular," which does not mean I think she'd be a good choice.
Although I'm not a backer of Obama, I don't think his name and color would be insurmountable handicaps, outside of the South and maybe Utah, and no Dem is winning there anyway so it doesn't matter.
December 23, 2006 2:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Off topic but worthwhile noting for future reference. Mrs. Giuliani "serves as the Executive Director of the Campaign for Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers in New York, which focuses on emergency preparedness in the City of New York", according to Giuliani's former website, Solutions America.
In July, I did a post here in the TPM Cafe about the Department of Defense awarding tens of millions of dollars to St. Vincent's in an odd fashion. Between 2002 and 2005, more than $215 million was awarded to St. Vincent's.
My guess is that the $215 million was above and beyond allocations to New York City from the Department of Homeland Security.
One contract for $64,875,779 ran between 10/16/02 and 3/3/03 concurrent with the congressional campaign season. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
I am curious if Mrs. G had anything to say about how the $215 million was spent. Then again, I am curious about how the money was spent whether Mr. or Mrs. G had anything to say about it or not.
The $215 million has bothered me since I first came across it. Something is wrong about it.
December 23, 2006 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would say that if the GOP primary comes down to Giulliani or Mitt Romney, Rudy just might get the nod.
As Greg Sargeant has been reporting over the last couple of weeks, Romney's past record has been surprisingly centrist on key issues like gay marriage and abortion. If he continues that rhetoric, the GOP base would almost certainly favor Giulliani.
The X factor with the Republicans is John McCain. On the one hand he is the clear-cut favorite to win the nomination, but on the other he is an old hat and his failure against Bush in 2000 might just doom his chances in 2008.
Then again, if he is widely accepted by the GOP, McCain will almost certainly beat anyone the right brings.
December 23, 2006 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're nuts. After Rudy got kicked out of the mayor's mansion, because his wife could no longer tolerate his public adultery, he moved in with two gay guys.
Rudy liked to dress up in women's clothes. There are pictures. Lots of them.
He's pro-choice, for heavens sake.
He has no chance with the base. That's who votes in the primaries.
He can't possibly win the Republican nomination.
(A weird thing just occurred to me. His mistress, now wife, used to live across the street from me. I'd see her in the morning walking her dog, usually while walking my dog. Or she'd be picking up a newspaper at the Yemeni bodega up the blog. And then, all of a sudden, she had security--two beefy guys who accompanied her on these errands. Treasurer Alan Hevesi was just forced to resign for using state cars and drivers. Rightly so, of course. I wonder who paid for those security guards.)
December 25, 2006 10:14 AM | Reply | Permalink