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McCain's Campaign Crumbles, Is Giuliani Next?
The Seattle Post ^ | July 10, 2007 3:55 p.m. | Chris Grygiel

Posted on 07/11/2007 7:59:23 AM PDT by hardback

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is down and nearly out in his quest for the GOP presidential nomination.

Several factors contributed to the one-time Republican frontrunner's demise.

*McCain was never a favorite of social conservatives, a key voting block within the party. In McCain's 2000 campaign much of his "straight talk" appeal lay in the fact that he took on that faction, endearing him to independents and for awhile the news media. McCain realized he'd need social conservatives if he wanted the '08 nomination and he strongly courted them this time around. The plan backfired. He appeared to be flip-flopping, still never won over the religious right and his media coverage turned negative.

*McCain never got traction when it came to fund raising, which was a huge problem because the eventual winner of the race will likely spend north of $500 million.

*And, ironically, McCain was ultimately doomed by his close association with President Bush. Bush took out McCain in 2000, and the Arizona senator was bitter about what he saw as nasty moves made by those who backed Bush. It surprised some that McCain became such a strong supporter of the Iraq war. Most Republican candidates are now distancing themselves from the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, but McCain became linked in the public's mind with that unpopular conflict.

So all this is good news for Rudy Giuliani, right? Maybe not. The former New York mayor has been leading in the polls, but an unannounced candidate- the actor-turned-politician-turned actor Fred Thompson - is gaining on him and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is running strong in Iowa and New Hampshire.

As the National Journal writes in its rankings of GOP candidates:

Mr. Electable (Giuliani) has map-changing capabilities that no other Republican would dare claim. And he's still popular among Republicans, as evidenced by those national polls. But while everyone's been obsessing over how low John McCain will go, it's Giuliani who has seen his national numbers cut in half since April, and his leads in Iowa and New Hampshire erased by Romney. Does Rudy Inc. realize that the window is closing on his own ability to define his biography? Get some paid media up soon, Mr. Mayor.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: fredthompson; mccain; next; rudy
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To: B4Ranch
Now what with amnesty, the SPP, the NAU, etc.........clearly, the globalists have got Bush and Rudy by the gonads and they are squeezing real hard........... Quick, hand me that knife.

Heheh----good one. You think fast.

101 posted on 07/11/2007 4:51:45 PM PDT by Liz (It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong. Voltaire)
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To: B4Ranch

B U M P


102 posted on 07/11/2007 5:12:06 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker ( Hunter/Thompson/Thompson/Hunter in 08! "Read my lips....No new RINO's" !!)
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To: B4Ranch

LOL!!


103 posted on 07/11/2007 5:13:16 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker ( Hunter/Thompson/Thompson/Hunter in 08! "Read my lips....No new RINO's" !!)
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To: teddyballgame

Teddy!! I didn’t TRY anything. I live in WA state and this kind of garbage is all over the place.. The story is a dud and I said so.


104 posted on 07/11/2007 5:58:04 PM PDT by cousair
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To: Mr. Silverback

So who will you vote for??


105 posted on 07/11/2007 5:59:45 PM PDT by cousair
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To: org.whodat

And you are behind which candidate??


106 posted on 07/11/2007 6:01:03 PM PDT by cousair
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To: WOSG
"Yes, McCain is toast. And yes immigration is reason #1 for mcCain’s final fall."

It's deeper and worse. The final product was either a vote for illegal aliens OR American citizens. 80% of everybody crashed the Capitol phone system when they clearly understood this.

What's worse is that Bush used up about the last of his political capital on amnesty also. 6-8 Middle East countries could be burning in a year because of this.

107 posted on 07/11/2007 6:08:49 PM PDT by BobS
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To: Plutarch

That's a good find. Bush and congress dropped in the same time frame. And polls started coming out that people don't trust congress to do what the laws say.

108 posted on 07/11/2007 6:16:26 PM PDT by BobS
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To: cousair
So who will you vote for??

I support Hunter (I don't think he's necessarily done yet, Bill Clinton had 3% in the polls in October of 1991) and will gladly take Fred.

One thing I will not support is running a New york lib against a New York lib. That's bad politics and bad marketing.

109 posted on 07/12/2007 7:34:27 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Capitalize on victory--push the fence now!)
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To: phillyfanatic

I totally agree...Mitt has money, and people around him that could put him in the WH, but I don’t think America wants that. I like Rudy because he is a proven leader, but he is a lib on a lot of points. Until or unless someone else comes along..I will watch him. Fred is a winner, but it takes fire in the belly to want this job, and I am not sure he has that. He might work well with Rudy...and as you say...we shall see.


110 posted on 07/12/2007 8:06:00 AM PDT by cousair
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To: Mr. Silverback

I like Hunter also...but who he is and mounting the PR mountain would be HUGE for him.


111 posted on 07/12/2007 8:08:18 AM PDT by cousair
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To: org.whodat

Don’t even go there!!


112 posted on 07/12/2007 8:10:45 AM PDT by cousair
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To: Plutarch

Fixed it, nice chart.

Note to self: Post on blog. Need to refute MSM nonsense about McCain’s Iraq surge support being reason behind his downfall.


113 posted on 07/12/2007 9:29:56 AM PDT by WOSG ( Don't tell me what you are against, tell me what you are FOR.)
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To: phillyfanatic

“Agreed. Rudy has a far more substantial national campaign than Mitt and one is astounded at the numbness of many Pub voters when they delete him already .”

Rudy is a liberal who is wrong on immigration (pro ‘sanctuary city’), guns (pro gun control), welfare reform (opposed it), abortion (got an award from NARAL), judges (thinks pro-Roe judges are just fine), Constitution (see previous on his weak bill of rights record), spending (for more spending), stem cells, marriage (against FMA). He’s on the Democrat’s side on many issues, which is wrong!

We want Rudy to not win because nominating a Liberal Republican will destroy the unity of the party, destroy our chances in many races, and hand over massive majorities to the Democrats. That’s just mindless!

” The MSM wants Rudy gone. They will also try to delete Fred. If that leaves Mitt, we are all toast.”
The MSM has attacked Mitt Romney more than anyone else...
And yet in the Mitt Romney versus Hillary Clinton matchup, Mitt was down only 5 points. All this without the national name ID of Hillary.

” The Rudy-Fred ticket is still the one that I think could actually win.”

WRONG! Rudy is *LESS ELECTABLE THAN FRED THOMPSON* and less electable than Mitt Romney. Here’s why:
1) All Rudy’s liberal positions will poison the base towards him. For years the conservative base has carried the water for less-conservative national candidates, in hopes of getting some crumbs from the table ... Well with the big spending GOP Congress and Bush’s immigration reform, the base has rebelled... they (we) will not carry water for RINOs any more. I personally am not contributing to RNC anymore because of RINOs and you can see it in fundraising overall - GOP fundraising is down at these ‘central groups’.
2) Rudy’s other big weaknesses are corruption and competence. Just watch while Kerik and other Rudy decisions/friends come back to haunt him as the MSM tars Rudy as another GWB. This is the them the Dems will run on, and Rudy plays right into it.

” We shall see. The Dems could still implode but with the surrender monkeys in the NE RINO Pub Senators, the GOP might implode before.”

We have to be SMART if we want to avoid implosion, and the number 1 key is to get a unifying candidate. RUDY DIVIDES THE PARTY due to his many deviations from the core principles of the party, SO HE IS UNACCEPTABLE. If Romney, Thompson, Hunter, or whoever else can come forward and *unite* the party - that person should be our candidate.

A UNITED REPUBLICAN PARTY CAN WIN IN 2008!


114 posted on 07/12/2007 9:45:01 AM PDT by WOSG ( Don't tell me what you are against, tell me what you are FOR.)
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To: teddyballgame; CanaGuy

“Mitt the Mormon will both crumble...too much baggage”

“huh? Mitt’s gonna hack a heck of a lot less baggage than Fred and all the tail he’s been chasing in Hollywood.”

It’s a bizarre comment, indeed.

Mitt: Multi-millionaire super-succesful venture capitalist, who is still married to his first wife and has grandkids, but looks real good for his age, and is amazingly articulate on TV. So articulate the main hit on him is that he is ‘too smooth’. Smart, successful, family man, and managed to win in a blue state.

Mitt’s baggage so far is that he locked his dog in a cage when he took his dog on family vacation 20 years ago(!)

The word weird has been used against Mitt. I’ll tell you weird, it’s the weirdness of the attacks on him. He’s ‘too slick’ - after years of lamenting how bad GOP PR is. His religion - when we are facing a Dem party that has become anti-religious. The fact that he’s become prolife conveniently after running differently in a blue state where such a position would be politically fatal - Mitt gets the hit yet all these others who had similar shifts have their bios ignored.

Maybe Mitt’s problem is that, while he’s running as a Reagan, we don’t quite believe it; maybe, we are more likely to get a smarter, more articulate, more competent, slightly-more-conservative-than George W Bush ... and many conservatives are not really wanting it. We really want Reagan.

Problem is, even Reagan wasn’t “Reagan” the myth. Reagan compromised, enjoyed Tip O’Neill’s company, raised taxes (after he cut them), and gave us at least one supreme court justice who caused heartburn for conservatives - Sandra Day O’Connor. Reagan wasn’t about doing everything right for conservatives, but about standing for conservative principles as best he could.

If we have a candidate will to articulate conservative principle, advocate them, govern on them, and do his best to convince others to think and do likewise, we can’t go wrong. While I understand skepticism about Mitt’s campaign, we should at least appreciate his embrace in the campaign of conservative positions on life, small government, free markets, marriage, etc. Romney has to prove he really means it ... and so does Thompson.

Don’t tell me what you are against, tell me what you are FOR.


115 posted on 07/12/2007 10:05:10 AM PDT by WOSG ( Don't tell me what you are against, tell me what you are FOR.)
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To: WOSG

I will support the nominee, period. My guess is that in a national campaign, Rudy will draw as many as any of the guys we have. But, then I would support a Fred-Rudy ticket.


116 posted on 07/12/2007 11:12:02 AM PDT by phillyfanatic ( w)
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