More oh-eight (R): GOP in disarray?
Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007 9:13 AM by Domenico MontanaroRepublicans
Time's Duffy looks at the GOP field and notes how no one is stepping up. And he wonders if it says more about the state of the party in general. "Still, it is hard to overestimate the moral and intellectual power outage that now darkens the GOP. Long out of step with a majority of voters on such secondary issues as outlawing abortion and narrowing stem-cell research, Republicans have more recently managed to get themselves on the wrong side of popular trends on what were once old reliables: foreign policy, economics, energy, even health care."
GIULIANI: Politico's Smith and Martin wonder if Giuliani's fall in the polls, particularly in the early states, has something to do with the fall of Clinton's numbers.
After yesterday's "debate," Giuliani sat down with the Des Moines Register's editorial board. The paper's story on the meeting led with Giuliani's call for the GOP to get involved in the climate change issue. "Giuliani said his solution to the problem would be similar to others he proposes to deal with urgent issues: He would use government incentives instead of mandates. Rather than capping trade or punishing American companies, he said, he would offer government incentives to encourage energy independence and to promote cleaner coal, nuclear power and greener alternatives such as hydroelectric, wind and solar power."
More: "When asked why he had not spent much time campaigning in Iowa, Giuliani said his campaign decided to raise money and spend time proportionately in all of the 25 states that have nominating contests coming up in the next month. He said he would have liked to attend more town-hall-like forums, ‘but you can't spend all of your time in Iowa and New Hampshire and expect to win.’”
Speaking of slipping in the polls, Giuliani's support dropped 10 points in the latest Quinnipiac New Jersey poll . He still leads the GOP primary by a large margin, just not as big as it was.
It's also interesting that Giuliani's numbers in Feb. 5 states are falling faster than Clinton's. Could the difference be the amount of time Clinton is spending competing in the early states, compared to Giuliani? Probably.
The New York Daily News is proving to be a thorn in Giuliani's side. The paper picks up on Giuliani's debate response yesterday when he claimed to run an open government as mayor. “Longtime Giuliani critics called his transparency boast laughable. ‘He ran the least open, least transparent government in living memory,’ said noted First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, who often battled City Hall for information. ‘It's his equivalent of, “I never had sex with that woman,”’ joked Abrams, referring to Bill Clinton's infamous lie about Monica Lewinsky.”
HUCKABEE: The New York Times , in covering the Huckabee apology to Romney, includes this from the Web site for the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints: “On first hearing, the doctrine that Lucifer and our Lord, Jesus Christ, are brothers may seem surprising to some-especially to those unacquainted with latter-day revelations. But both the scriptures and the prophets affirm that Jesus Christ and Lucifer are indeed offspring of our Heavenly Father and, therefore, spirit brothers. Jesus Christ was with the Father from the beginning. Lucifer, too, was an angel ‘who was in authority in the presence of God,’ a ‘son of the morning.’ (See Isa. 14:12; D&C 76:25-27.) Both Jesus and Lucifer were strong leaders with great knowledge and influence. But as the Firstborn of the Father, Jesus was Lucifer’s older brother. (See Col. 1:15; D&C 93:21.)”
“How could two such great spirits become so totally opposite? The answer lies in the principle of agency, which has existed from all eternity. (See D&C 93:30-31.) Of Lucifer, the scripture says that because of rebellion ‘he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies.’ (Moses 4:4.) Note that he was not created evil, but became Satan by his own choice.”
“When our Father in Heaven presented his plan of salvation, Jesus sustained the plan and his part in it, giving the glory to God, to whom it properly belonged. Lucifer, on the other hand, sought power, honor, and glory only for himself. (See Isa. 14:13-14; Moses 4:1-2.) When his modification of the Father’s plan was rejected, he rebelled against God and was subsequently cast out of heaven with those who had sided with him. (See Rev. 12:7-9; D&C 29:36-37.)”
MCCAIN: The New York Sun was intrigued by McCain's use of Michael Bloomberg yesterday in an answer about education during the debate. "As speculation persists about Mr. Bloomberg's own presidential ambitions, the high praise from Mr. McCain could start talk of a possible partnership if Mr. McCain's bid for the Republican nomination fails. Mr. McCain has returned to his maverick roots in trying to come back from his campaign's near collapse over the summer, and he now highlights rather than hides the many times he has broken ranks with his party. Mr. Bloomberg displayed a similar streak before he took the more dramatic step of leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent earlier this year."
After the debate, making his first appearance in Iowa in more than a month, McCain faced reality before caucus voters at the home of Fred and Barb Taylor, NBC’s Bethany Thomas notes. “We just have a lot to do in this state. I gotta give you some straight talk. But I still think we have a very good opportunity to do well.” He then went on to tell the supporters that the campaign has good momentum in New Hampshire and South Carolina -- two states he considers essential to winning the nomination.
PAUL: “Republican Ron Paul, whose TV ads have been mostly biographical, turns to the issue of healthcare in his new spot . The ad, which will air in Iowa and New Hampshire, shows a narrator talking about a ‘big tug of war’ on healthcare.”
