I suspect everyone! I suspect no one!
Posted on 03/02/2007 6:30:19 PM PST by PhiKapMom
By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent Fri Mar 2, 4:36 PM ET
Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani acknowledged his differences with the party's conservative base on Friday but said bigger principles should be at stake in the race for the White House.
The former New York mayor led a parade of six Republican White House contenders who wooed frustrated conservatives at an annual convention. He asked the activists to look past his support for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.
Giuliani, dubbed "America's Mayor" for his leadership after the September 11 attacks, touted his New York record of reducing crime, cutting city taxes and moving people from welfare to jobs.
"We all don't see eye to eye on everything. You and I have a lot of common beliefs that are the same, and we have some that are different," Giuliani told attendees at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.
"The point of a presidential election is to figure out who do you believe the most, and what do you think are the most important things for this country at a particular time," he said.
Giuliani leads the Republican presidential field in national polls, but he and the other top-tier candidates -- Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- have been criticized for straying from conservative principles.
McCain championed campaign finance reform, opposed some of President George W. Bush's tax cuts and attacked conservative religious leaders during his 2000 presidential campaign. His decision not to appear at the three-day conservative gathering further angered some activists.
Romney has shifted his positions on social issues like abortion and gay rights to become more conservative.
Even many lesser-known candidates have sparked grumbling from conservatives, who have made their displeasure with the 2008 Republican field evident.
"DUDE, WHERE'S MY CANDIDATE?"
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, criticized for raising taxes as governor, promised to sign a pledge he would not raise taxes as president and joked about the state of distress at the conference.
"It might be renamed the conservative presidential anxiety conference," he said. "The theme might be, 'Dude, where's my candidate?"'
Huckabee and Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo also took veiled swipes at the top contenders, particularly Romney and his changing positions on hot-button social issues.
"We have to have leaders who understand that being a leader is about being a thermostat, not a thermometer," Huckabee said. "We can't afford to elect people who simply reflect a culture and reflect a common view, but don't necessarily believe it."
Tancredo, using a biblical reference, said such conversions "are supposed to be made on the road to Damascus, not the road to Des Moines."
California Rep. Duncan Hunter (news, bio, voting record) and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback (news, bio, voting record) stressed their opposition to abortion rights and their determination to appoint judges who would overturn the Supreme Court decision making it legal.
"If any judicial candidate comes before me who can look at a sonogram of an unborn child and not see a valuable human life, then I will not appoint that candidate to the federal bench," Hunter said.
Romney said he had seen the ineffectiveness of liberal policies while presiding over Massachusetts, one of the most liberal states in the country. He also promised to sign the pledge against tax increases and said he would repeal McCain's signature bill overhauling campaign finance laws.
Tancredo, who entered the race to stress his opposition to illegal immigration, said he had no problem with being called a single-issue candidate as long as people know "my single issue is the survival and success of the conservative movement in America."
I spoke with several attendees, and that is what I was told. I would think since they were in attendance, they would know what they were thinking. Nice try, however.
That is not what the attendees are saying. You might want to make a few phone calls, if you know anyone attending.
I also spoke to some CR's that are there and they loved Rudy and said everyone wanted in to hear his speech and they had to lock hands to keep people out. The room was packed.
They said that Rudy was the main attraction and after he spoke a lot of them left to go sightseeing!
See Post 12.
And Post 23.
So you say, after looking at a complete days worth of replies on various threads from you, I find anything you say 'suspect'. But nice try.
Just finishing watching the Giuliani speech. One of the worst political speeches I've ever witnessed. Unfocused, scattered, boring, almost impossible to follow his thoughts. Awful. Truly awful.
I suspect anybody that calls Ted Olsen a RINO sellout.
Hunten Dunken is a 20 year big spending
***That would be an indictment of the republican party, not necessarily a good indictment of a loyal republican within the party. Duncan will push for good solid fiscally conservative choices.
hack who has not led on a single issue.
***He leads on immigration, and he's breaking the party line on fair trade, two issues that just happen to cut deeply across party lines and attract wide support.
No Chance..bye bye.
***Mister NoChance came within a few votes of beating Giuliani in Spartanburg last night. And he doesn't risk splitting the party base the way a social liberal like Rudy does.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/poll?poll=172;results=1
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/poll?poll=171;results=1
yeah, that's why the crowd keeps clapping.
Its ok, I really didn't expect you to like it.
yeah sure, I guess the "attendees" are some people other then the ones I hear clapping in the room.
Starstruck college kids and polite conservatives. That's all.
Rudy has me convinced: If he gets the GOP nomination, I will register to vote as a Democrat. I mean, why not? He'd do it himself if he could.
Maybe he was watching another candidate speak and got them mixed up. You never know.
If I thought it was any good, I'd say so. But it's not. It's truly pathetic.
"Talk about pandering Romney is the worst. Now saying he would repeal McCain's signature bill overhauling campaign finance laws. What part of a SCOTUS ruling does he not understand."
What does the U.S. supreme court ruling have to do with anything? Congress can still repeal it.
Also Giuliani is the worst. He'll say anything to win. It's unknown if the leftist Giuliani as New York mayor is the true Giuliani, the one pretending to be a conservative now is the real one or the Giuliani that will pretend to be a moderate should he win the primary is the real Giuliani. No one knows.
"I won't govern America like New York." Sounds like backpeddling to me.
Go back and watch it again. There was NEVER 100% applause, many people sat and listened politely, but didn't get as excited as they did for Hunter, LaPierre or Ann Coulter.
those "starstruck" college kids - republicans are losing that generation Y demographic 58/42 to the Dems. so we damn sure better have a candidate who can demonstrate appeal to young adults, across the entire political spectrum.
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