Free Republic

"Our view was always, 'Let's just run a business.'" Today, former Walmart CEO Bill Simon would be in the minority. As more companies pick sides in the cultural debate, he -- like a lot of executives -- is having a hard time understanding which business these CEOs are in: advancing left-wing advocacy or their company's brand? Things have changed a lot over Bill Simon's career. In the retail business, he remembers, it used to be simple. "We'll sell to anybody. We'll try to stay out of the public eye on issues that can be confrontational." Fast-forward to today, when everything...

Its USAToday so link only. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-03-30-wal-mart-ceo-expects-inflation_N.htm

Starting last fall, when Giuliani first called Bill Simon and said he was running for president, Simon, 56, has been more responsible than anyone for Giuliani's policy education, and he has been the agent charged with managing the sometimes eager, sometimes awkward relationship between the former mayor of a liberal city and the conservative establishment. Well before Giuliani said publicly that he would be a candidate, Simon put him through a rolling seminar that those in the campaign called Simon University, bringing in thinkers to brief Giuliani on key issues. The result is that though many of Giuliani's campaign operatives...

Rudy Giuliani's Abortion Problems Continue as Spokesman Defends Him by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor April 9, 2007 Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Rudy Giuliani's problems with his position on abortion continued into this week after he told CNN last week that he supported taxpayer-funded abortions and then promptly backed away from the comments. On Monday, Giuilani adviser Bill Simon wrote a letter to National Review Online, a prominent conservative magazine and tried to defend Giuliani's record. He cited research from University of Alabama professor Michael New, who is one of the most highly regarded analysts of the effect of abortion laws...

Rudy Giuliani's campaign is fighting to defend the mayor on abortion today at National Review, but the opposition is coming from the editors of NR themselves. After Giuliani said last week that abortion is a constitutional right and as such must be publicly funded, NR's editors said his position "makes neither logical, moral, nor political sense." In response today, Giuilani adviser Bill Simon responded in a letter that first cited Univ. of Alabama professor Michael New's claim that abortions in NYC under Giuilani declined at a rate greater than the national average at the time. Simon goes on to reiterate...

I believe that your editorial “Life Lessons for Rudy” was written in good faith, but it ignored the National Review Online article of January 22 titled “Giuliani’s Choices.” Abortions declined by 16.8 percent in New York City during the Giuliani administration, according to the Center for Disease Control. And University of Alabama political scientist Michael New told your publication, “The decline in abortions in New York City under Giuliani was greater than the national decline.” Mayor Giuliani’s success in reducing abortions in New York City was further examined in your publication’s article “Rudy’s Right Record” on March 20. Rudy Giuliani...

With considerable frequency, given that the boss is a megamillionaire celebrity with a resort home in Idaho, A-list invitations everywhere and a private plane at his beck and call, the staff of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issues one-sentence advisories to the press Sunday nights or Monday mornings: "The governor has returned to the state." For the next 10 months, those who work for a few other politicians might have to adopt that routine as well. Rudy Giuliani's staff, for instance, or Hillary Clinton's, or John Edwards', or Barrack Obama's or John McCain's. They, too, will return to California again and again...

No one would have guessed who's lining up behind whom in California's GOP presidential primary contest. It's got lots of people scratching their heads. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York, is getting endorsements from key California conservatives despite the fact he is pro-choice, pro-gun control, pro-gay rights. Bill Simon, a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2002, is selling Giuliani to some of the state's most conservative leaders. Simon worked for Giuliani when he headed the U.S. Attorney's office in New York. The two were eating breakfast together in New York on the morning of...

WASHINGTON - With the presidential election less than two years away, a handful of California lawmakers are already rallying around former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for the Republican nomination. Among them: conservative Reps. Jerry Lewis of Redlands and Devin Nunes of Visalia and moderate Rep. Mary Bono of Palm Springs. Giuliani, whose stance on abortion, gay rights, gun-control and immigration puts him at odds with the party's conservative base, also has won the support of key California conservatives in recent days. They include Bill Simon, a former Republican candidate for governor and longtime friend, and Steve Frank, publisher of...

Bill Simon, an unsuccessful 2002 California gubernatorial candidate, former federal prosecutor under Giuliani and bedrock social conservative, delivered a spirited intro. "He comforted us. He inspired us in what was one of the darkest moments in our history," Simon said, extolling Giuliani's leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Extraordinary times cry out for extraordinary leadership, and these as such times." "It would be fair to say that Bill Simon is using his personal cachet to vouch for Giuliani," said Jon Fleischman, a conservative Republican activist and publisher of the Flash Report political newsletter. "Giuliani is a moderate on social...

Former New York mayor and GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani arrived in San Diego Tuesday and was soon shaking the hands of potential voters and raising funds for his fledgling campaign. Conservative Republican Bill Simon joined Giuliani for a lunch of red Manhattan clam chowder at Point Loma Seafoods, a popular seafood hangout in the Point Loma. A crowd of supporters pressed in close to snap camera-phone shots and get Giuliani's signature on everything from ball caps to old newsweeklies with his face on the cover.

Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee Announces Bill Simon To Join Team As Director of Policy New York, Feb 26 - The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee announced today that Bill Simon, co-chairman of William E. Simon & Sons, LLC and former California Republican gubernatorial nominee, has joined the team as Director of Policy "I am pleased my good friend Bill Simon has joined our campaign team,” Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. “Bill and I have long shared a vision for the future." Mr. Simon has a long and distinguished career in law, business and public policy. He is co-chairman of William...

Bill Simon: I think Rudy will make an extraordinary President. I don't know of anyone I'm in 100% agreement with respect to every issue -- even my fellow conservatives. So I'm not troubled if I don't agree with someone on every issue as long as they demonstrate very strong leadership qualities, which Rudy does, and a very strong sense of public service, which Rudy does, and a very firm agenda in areas that are important to me and in a way in which he can execute -- all of which Rudy does. When you think about the priorities he's expressed...

.......On Nov. 15, Mr. Giuliani met in Manhattan with supporters who could form the core of a national fund-raising effort, including Thomas O. Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers; Mel M. Immergut, the chairman of the New York law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy; and William E. Simon Jr., an investor who ran for governor of California in 2002. Mr. Giuliani crisscrossed the country this year, visiting 25 states to campaign with or raise money for Republican candidates, according to his political action committee, Solutions America. But political analysts say his liberal views on social issues like abortion...

Bill Simon, the investor and philanthropist who was the Republican nominee against Gray Davis in 2002, has sent a letter to supporters informing them that he won’t be a candidate for state treasurer next year as he had planned. In the letter, Simon cites the oft-used “personal” reasons for backing out, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. But this is one case where that might actually be true. Simon has confided in friends in recent months that the unanticipated pressures involved in caring for their developmentally disabled 17-year-old son have been all-consuming for him and his...

WASHINGTON - A long-awaited final report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will be released in the next two weeks, containing new information about U.S. government mistakes and Saudi financing of terrorists. Former Rep. Tim Roemer, who served on the House Intelligence Committee and who has read the report, said it will be ''highly explosive'' when it becomes public.The staff director for the congressional investigation that produced the 800-page report, Eleanor Hill, said Wednesday that several lengthy battles with the Bush administration over how much secret data to declassify have been resolved.She expects the document to go to the Government...

RINO: An acronym for "Republican In Name Only." A confused creature most commonly found in the United States Senate. For more information, see "Olympia Snowe," "Lincoln Chafee" and especially "Arlen Specter." At some point, George W. Bush and his chief political advisor, Karl Rove, apparently decided that supporting so-called "mainstream" Republicans, without regard to their political ideology, was a wise political strategy. I cannot imagine why, since their previous endorsements of liberal Republicans have been embarrassing disasters. They did it in the 2002 California governor's primary by endorsing former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a pro-abortion, big-government liberal, over a...

<p>On March 2, voters soundly defeated Proposition 56, a measure designed to make it easier for state government to increase taxes. The voters also gave Governor Schwarzenegger an overwhelming victory in approving Propositions 57 and 58, which he has described as critical to solving California's budget problems without raising taxes.</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is off to an impressive start. By keeping his most politically appealing promises and by boldly exercising gubernatorial power to restore a measure of public confidence in government, he has earned and banked a great deal of political capital.</p>

Simon Supporters: First let me say how gracious and selfless Simon was in stepping aside for the greater good of the party and state. I respect Simon for doing so and he may have gained an opportunity next year against Boxer. I want to invite you into Arnold's camp. There's a lot of misinformation out there about Arnold's conservative credentials. I wanted to set the record straight- for a complete analysis on Arnold's politics (hint: he is No "liberal"), please visit: The Inside Scoop. This election should be focused on who can we trust to get California out of the...