Oh-eight (R): In search of the GOP soul
Posted: Monday, October 08, 2007 9:26 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
Republicans
And what about the future of the GOP? The
Washington Times does a preview of sorts of the HBO doc "Mr. Conservative" about Barry Goldwater. It airs in Nov and the report notes it may lead to more soul-searching for the GOP. For now, some conservatives argue that going back to basics is what the GOP needs -- "limited government, free enterprise, a strong military, among other things."
CBN's Brody reports, "Rudy Giuliani has every intention of attending the Family Research Council's Value Voters Summit. An announcement is in the works. The Brody File is told that the hold up is a scheduling matter but Giuliani wants to go and both sides are working on the details.
This is significant. The FRC event is scheduled for Friday October 19th and Saturday October 20th. It will be a "who's who" of big time conservatives. Speakers include Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Tony Perkins of FRC, James Dobson of Focus on the Family and yes, with Giuliani likely to now attend, all the Republican Presidential candidates will speak. After the event on Saturday, results of the straw poll will be announced. This will be a very good indication of who religious conservatives will support.
The fact that Giuliani would even show up is a good move. Some may say what's the point with critics like Dobson and Perkins in the audience. But the Giuliani camp has never backed down from their assertion that they are going hard after the social conservative vote. Polls show the Mayor leads with weekly Church attendees. Giuliani is clearly not intimidated and will lay out his vision for the country. They may not agree with his pro-choice views (and a few other things too) but if the past is any indication, he'll most likely talk about adoption, making abortion rare, school choice and strict constructionist judges. Oh yeah, and 9/11 too. He won't get the single-issue voters but how many can he pick up with his broader message?
GIULIANI: This being Columbus Day (a HUGE holiday in NYC), the
N.Y. Daily News profiles Giuliani, the Italian. One thing that may be news to some -- Giuliani apparently first verbalized his ambition to be president in 1963. Also, "there is some evidence that Giuliani's candidacy has sparked a flicker of pride in (some of) the nation's vast Italian-American community, much like Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has drawn strong support from women and Mitt Romney has stirred Mormons.
About 12% of contributions to Giuliani's campaign have come from Italian-Americans, based on a review by The News. That's about double the percentage drawn by Republican rivals John McCain and Romney, and one-third higher than the portion received by Clinton, the review found."
A fascinating new gambit from Giuliani while he was campaigning in Florida over the weekend: NBC-NJ's Matthew Berger reports that Giuliani was looking for
disenchanted Florida Democrats to switch parties and vote in the GOP primary since their Dem vote won't count.
MCCAIN: The
New York Times notes how the candidate’s “Fall From The Top Lands McCain In Comfort Zone.”
PAUL:
Ron Paul has an
op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader today, which responds to a negative editorial he rec'd from one of the nation's leading conservative editorial pages: "A Paul administration would see Americans engaged overseas like never before, in business and cultural activities. But a Paul administration would never attempt to export democracy or other values at the barrel of a gun, as we have seen over and over again that this is a counterproductive approach that actually leads the United States to be resented and more isolated in the world."
ROMNEY: Conservative columnist
Kathleen Parker makes the case for Christian conservatives to back Romney and that they should overlook the Mormon thing. "Ultimately, Christian leaders (some of whom make off-the-record, supportive calls to Romney, I'm told) most likely will back the Mormon. But their actions meantime have hurt Romney as he tries to close the deal nationally. If they were smarter, they'd embrace Romney as the one who can beat Hillary because he, more than anyone else, unites all wings of the party -- economic, security and social."
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NBC/NJ's Erin McPike reports, amid two days of intense campaigning in the Granite State on Thursday and Saturday, Romney’s campaign dropped its first piece of direct mail there over the weekend, and the focus was his commitment to fiscal conservatism. Saturday’s mailer in the state that carries the motto “Live Free or Die” followed a radio ad the campaign debuted on Friday touting Romney’s vow to roll back taxes. And Friday’s ad was sandwiched between a volley between the Romney and Giuliani camps over their respective economic records – all ahead of this Tuesday’s economy-focused CNBC/Wall Street Journal debate.
Per the
Union-Leader Romney also went to "swanky country clubs in New Castle and Bedford to snowmobile races in a cow pasture in Fremont."
Is this a preview of Romney’s Kennedy-esque speech on being Mormon?
Portsmouth Herald: He was asked about his religion. Romney, to reporters: "I'm not a spokesman for my faith. My church has the responsibility to talk about the doctrine of the church."
The
Nashua Telegraph’s Landrigan wonders if Romney’s support is soft in New Hampshire: "It's appropriate to wonder if Romney's $3 million TV advertising campaign in New Hampshire has generated a good return on investment, with Giuliani and John McCain drawing ever closer in recent polls. Romney consultant Rich Killion said if given the chance, they would do it the same way, as the ads made Romney a better-known and more popular commodity."
THOMPSON: The New York Times previews Fred Thompson's potential as a debater. He really hasn't debated since 1994. "A look at some of Mr. Thompson’s debates years ago offers a mixed picture, with the candidate mostly projecting calm and confidence against" his '94 Dem foe, Jim Cooper.
"Mr. Thompson’s delivery back then was usually smooth and expressionless, not a monotone but not displaying much charisma, either. He sounded articulate, speaking in full, well-rounded sentences, but stopped short of eloquence. Even when he was on the attack, or firing back at a rough question, he rarely lost his cool."
The most interesting thing about Thompson's debate prep for tomorrow? Ex-GOP
Sen. Al D'Amato has been playing Giuliani.
The
WSJ reports Thompson plans to release an economic plan that "seems likely to go further than his rivals. He has hinted at politically risky proposals to rein in Social Security and Medicare benefits. And he appears to be heading toward proposing tax-code changes to help lower corporate tax rates, as well.
But Mr. Thompson may have trouble balancing his pitch to small-government purists with his quest for popular support in the competitive early-voting states. Even as he decried what he described as Washington's dependence on pork-barrel spending last week, he reversed position after touring an Iowa ethanol plant, saying he now supports subsidies for alternative fuel."
As for taxes, here's what Thompson said last week: "We are only one of two nations that hasn't reduced its corporate tax rate since 1994. It should be reduced to at least 28% in this country."
Mr. Thompson's aides outline a change to the tax code that would move away from taxing income or profits and shift toward a system that would reduce taxes on exports when they cross the border and impose them on imports when they enter the country. Under international rules, the European value-added tax, a kind of sales tax, is waived for exports, but those rules block the U.S. from reducing corporate-profit taxes for exporters.
AmSpec's Jennifer Rubin seems to be impressed with the "SNL" spoof on Thompson.
