Republican presidential hopeful and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani signs his declaration of candidacy paper, filing to have his name on the ballot for New Hampshire’s presidential primary at the State House in Concord, N.H., Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007.

Rudy files for President in New Hampshire. With the Mayor today is former Massachusett’s Governor Paul Cellucci and former Massachusetts Treasurer Joseph D. Malone who has endorsed the Mayor today.

Republican presidential hopeful, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, center, speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, in Boston during which he received the endorsement of former Massachusetts treasurer Joseph Malone, right. Former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Celluci, left, had previously endorsed Giuliani.

Other Massachusetts pols who have endorsed Giuliani are:

• State Senate Minority Leader Richard R. Tisei
• State Senators Michael R. Knapik and Bruce E. Tarr
• Former Senate leader Brian P. Lees
• Former state GOP chairman Brian Cresta

The Money quote:

Rudy has a record of results he can point to when it comes to cutting taxes and controlling spending. He is without question the fiscal conservative in the race,” said Malone. “I am endorsing Rudy because he will keep his eye on the bottom line when he becomes President – just as he did when he was Mayor.”

The fight for New Hampshire continues with a jab at former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney who was preceded as Governor by Paul Cellucci.
Stay tuned……….

Previous:

Giuliani Poll Watch: Rudy 24% Thompson 19% Romney 16% McCain 12% Huckabee 8%

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Californians for Rudy

Rudy Giuliani Wins GOP Debate According to Florida Focus Group

Rudy Giuliani Watch: “You Have Nothing to Fear from Me”

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Competitive in Iowa?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy’s Northeast GOP Delegate Advantage

Giuliani CNN Poll Watch: Rudy Up By 8 Points Over Thompson

Texas Governor Rick Perry Endorses Rudy Giuliani for President

Rudy to Hillary - What is Your Experience to be President?

Former New York Mayor and Presidential candidate and Mrs. Rudy Giuliani in Simi Valley, California, May 3, 2007. Standing next to the Mayor is Anaheim, California Mayor Curt Pringle.

Robert Novak has an excellent piece outlining the broad base of support Rudy Giuliani demonstrates in California.

Curt Pringle, the conservative mayor of Anaheim and onetime speaker of the California Assembly, is a pro-life Republican who endorsed pro-choice Rudy Giuliani for president last March and since then has been actively engaged in his campaign. After conversations with Giuliani, Pringle takes at face value the former New York mayor’s pledge to nominate Supreme Court justices in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. That reassurance on abortion makes it possible for Pringle and many other prominent California Republicans to pursue an ambitious political design.

Pringle and the state’s other Giuliani supporters want to bring California back to relevance in selecting the Republican nominee and electing the president. They resent that the nation’s most populous state is presumed to follow Iowa’s and New Hampshire’s lead in picking presidents. They resent California being consigned as a general election backwater, conceded to the Democrats. Giuliani is seen by Pringle resurrecting California as a significant player for both the nomination and election.

A solid win for Giuliani on February 5th will put Rudy over the top for the GOP nomination.

Flap continues to wonder when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger endorses Rudy. Before Christmas or after the first of the year when mail in ballots become available for California voters?

Stay tuned…….

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Wins GOP Debate According to Florida Focus Group

Rudy Giuliani Watch: “You Have Nothing to Fear from Me”

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Competitive in Iowa?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy’s Northeast GOP Delegate Advantage

Giuliani CNN Poll Watch: Rudy Up By 8 Points Over Thompson

Texas Governor Rick Perry Endorses Rudy Giuliani for President

Rudy to Hillary - What is Your Experience to be President?

Republican Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani speaks at Family Research Council’s Washington Values Voter Summit Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007, in Washington.

Giuliani tries to assure conservatives

Rudy Giuliani tried to find peace with a restless bloc of the Republican Party Saturday, telling religious conservatives not to fear him for his stand on issues such as abortion or expect he would change purely for political advantage.

The GOP presidential candidate sought common ground with his audience by casting himself as an imperfect man who has asked for guidance through prayer.

He offered assurances that despite his support for abortion rights, he would seek to lower the number of abortions. He pledged that if elected, he would appoint conservative judges, support school choice and insist on victory in Iraq — all issues important to the audience at the Value Voters Summit.

The MONEY QUOTES:

• “My belief in God and reliance on his guidance is at the core of who I am, I can assure you of that,” Giuliani said. “But isn’t it better for me to tell you what I believe rather than change my positions to fit the prevailing wind?”

• “People of good conscience reach different conclusions about whether abortions should be legal in certain circumstances,” he said while vowing to increase adoptions.

• “We may not always agree,” he said. “I don’t always agree with myself. But I will give you reason to trust me.”

• Religion is about love, inclusion and forgiveness. It is about salvation. … If we expect perfection from our political leaders, we will be disappointed.

• “You have nothing to fear from me.” Some make me out to be an activist for liberal causes. If you believe that, just check any New York Times editorial while I was mayor.

• “We’ve got to find a way to be more inclusive,” Giuliani said. “Christianity is all about inclusiveness. It’s built around the most profound act of love in human history, isn’t it? … I’m running for president of the United States because I believe I can bring us together. Strong leadership can help us find common solutions to our problems.”

• “I’ll continue to extend my hand to you,” he concluded, “and I hope you’ll take it.”

Rudy on abortion:

• Veto any reductions of the Hyde amendment.

• Support any reasonable suggestion that reduces the number of abortions. Mentions parental notification and PBA ban.

• Make the 10k adoption tax credit permanent.

• Mentions faith-based initiatives.

• Judges.

The Reaction:

• “He comforted a lot of conservatives,” said Bob Kilbanks, an anti-abortion Republican and former congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. “It would be against my conscience to vote for him, but I think he would get a lot of conservative votes and he would come as near to protect life without changing his views and values.”

• Soren Dayton: “His closing applause was much, much stronger than the opening. A lot of the people sitting when he came in were standing. That’s a difference. He may not win the crowd, but he doesn’t need to. He needs to neutralize it.I think he did that. Rudy couldn’t hit a home run, but he could hit a double. And he did.”

• David Brody of CBN: “Here’s the way I see it. The speech was very good and had a lot of issue oriented meat in it. Giuliani was greeted with polite applause but left the room to an even friendlier crowd. To use a football analogy, he may not have gotten in the end zone with this crowd, but he “moved the chains” with this speech. The ball is marching down the field. No fumble.”

• There were signs that Mr. Giuliani might have succeeded in drawing some Christian conservatives to him.David and Merrily Crowe of Tennessee, who run an evangelical group called Restore America, arrived at the convention hall this morning skeptical but curious about Mr. Giuliani. They came away moved by what they described as his “honesty” and “transparency.”“My wife leaned over to me afterward and said, ‘I’m going to vote for him,’” Mr. Crowe said. “And I probably will, too.”

Rudy went into the Lions Den today and stood up for his own beliefs and conscience - respectful but firm.

Isn’t that what America needs as a President? A LEADER

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Competitive in Iowa?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy’s Northeast GOP Delegate Advantage

Giuliani CNN Poll Watch: Rudy Up By 8 Points Over Thompson

Texas Governor Rick Perry Endorses Rudy Giuliani for President

Rudy to Hillary - What is Your Experience to be President?

Rudy to Obama - You are NO Ronald Reagan

Giuliani California Poll Watch: Rudy Leads Thompson by 21 Points

The Rudy Giuliani and James Dobson Flap Part Two

Giuliani Poll Watch: Nevada - Rudy Leads Latest Poll

Giuliani Poll Watch: Contending New Hampshire

Giuliani Poll Watch: California Lead Grows for Rudy

Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani

Texas governor Rick Perry endorses Giuliani

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday won the endorsement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, despite their differences on abortion rights.

Perry, an abortion opponent, said his biggest concern had been Giuliani’s support for abortion rights but that he was satisfied Giuliani would appoint judges who view the issue conservatively.

“The one (issue) that I wanted to hear him give me an answer and look me right in my eyes was that issue of who can I expect, what type of individual can I expect on the Supreme Court,” Perry said at a news conference with Giuliani.

“He clearly said … you can look for people like Scalia and Roberts and Alito. Let me tell you, I can live with that,” Perry said, referring to conservative Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Perry said when he buys a pickup truck, he doesn’t rule it out simply because it has one option he doesn’t like.

Giuliani, who is addressing social conservative voters this weekend in Washington, said he wants conservatives to focus on areas where he agrees with them.

“I’m not going to get every vote,” he said. “The idea is going to be that there’s enough we agree about and enough we’re facing — foreign threats and domestic problems — that it may just be if they think about it, that I’m the best candidate.”

“What I really want is a relationship in which we respect each other, even if we disagree,” Giuliani said.

An important endorsement for the Mayor from a social conservative Governor in a very red state.

Perry has drawn the conclusion that the Mayor is not a one issue candidate and nor should the GOP nominee be.

Will California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who agrees with Rudy on abortion be the next endorser?

Stay tuned……

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Rudy to Hillary - What is Your Experience to be President?

Rudy to Obama - You are NO Ronald Reagan

Giuliani California Poll Watch: Rudy Leads Thompson by 21 Points

The Rudy Giuliani and James Dobson Flap Part Two

Giuliani Poll Watch: Nevada - Rudy Leads Latest Poll

Giuliani Poll Watch: Contending New Hampshire

Giuliani Poll Watch: California Lead Grows for Rudy

Rudy attacks Hillary Clinton during an interview on the Fox News Hannity and Combes Show which will air at 6PM PDT.

From Matt Drudge:

R. GIULIANI: “Honestly, in most respects, I don’t know Hillary’s experience. She’s never run a city, she’s never run a state. She’s never run a business. She has never met a payroll. She has never been responsible for the safety and security of millions of people, much less even hundreds of people.

“So I’m trying to figure out where the experience is here. It would seem to me that in a time of difficult problems and war we don’t want on the job training for an executive. The reality is that these areas in which - maybe there are some areas in which she has experience but the areas of having the responsibility of the safety and security of millions of people on your shoulders is not something Hillary has ever had any experience with.”

Honest questions.

How will Hillary respond?

Flap will have the video when it is available.

Previous:

Rudy to Obama - You are NO Ronald Reagan

Giuliani California Poll Watch: Rudy Leads Thompson by 21 Points

The Rudy Giuliani and James Dobson Flap Part Two

Giuliani Poll Watch: Nevada - Rudy Leads Latest Poll

Giuliani Poll Watch: Contending New Hampshire

Giuliani Poll Watch: California Lead Grows for Rudy

Mayor Rudy Giuliani endorsed by former California Governor Pete Wilson

AMERICA NEEDS AMERICA’S MAYOR by Pete Wilson

After recent travel to London to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his tenth swing through California, Rudy Giuliani is clearly showing the leadership skills of a President. The reception he has enjoyed here during the campaign has shown that Rudy is not only well-respected and admired around the world, but that he is as popular here in California as any Republican candidate since Ronald Reagan.

And I am one of the many in California and throughout the country who are greatly impressed by him …

The candidate who has the most impressive and relevant experience and record of performance as a public chief executive is clearly Rudy Giuliani. The city he inherited from his predecessor was not only the largest in the nation but one of the most dysfunctional. …

[R]udy took charge of a city crippled by tax-and-spend policies that had created a billion-dollar deficit. The city was in economic crisis and had lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. In addition, New York City saw nearly 2,000 people murdered per year and had more than 11,000 major crimes committed every week

As a former Mayor and Governor myself, I know full well how difficult it is to reduce crime, cut welfare rolls, and revitalize a city. But that is exactly what Rudy did, contradicting the conventional wisdom of all the nay-sayers who said it could never be done.

Rudy immediately controlled spending and cut wasteful programs. He cut the size of the city-funded government bureaucracy by nearly 20%—excluding the number of cops on the street and teachers in the classroom.

By the end of Mayor Giuliani’s second term, New York City was known as the safest large city in America, in sharp contrast to its previous reputation as the crime capital of the country …

The next President of the United States will face what may well prove to be the most severe tests of leadership put to any in our history …

We must nominate a candidate with the appeal to compete and win throughout the country, as Ronald Reagan did in leading his party and the nation to victory …

[Rudy’s] confident message resonates throughout the country. Conservatives are uniting behind him because they know that to win the White House, we must nominate Rudy Giuliani.

The optimism and steely resolve of Rudy Giuliani has equipped him to step into the Oval Office and lead this country on day one. America needs America’s Mayor to lead us as America’s President.

******

Read it all over at Jon’s

With California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting with the California Republican Party, Pete Wilson has stepped up as Mr. California Republican. Will this translate into support for the Mayor?

You bet and Governor Wilson is actively fundraising for Rudy as well.

Stay tuned……..

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Tommy Thompson to Endorse Rudy

Giuliani Poll Watch: 11 Point Lead for Rudy in the Latest Rasmussen Daily Presidential Poll

California Community Leaders Endorse Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani Strikes at Romney Consult the Attorneys GAFFE

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Leads in Michigan

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy and Mitt Duke It Out On Taxes

Rudy Giuliani Confirmed for Values Voter Summit

Technorati Tags: Rudy Giuliani

From the Wall Street Journal (Subscription required):

Egad. Call in the attorneys? Perhaps it is Mr. Romney’s experience in business that taught him to want lawyers at his elbow, given that no CEO can survive without them these days. Or perhaps it is our hyper-legalized politics, with Mr. Bush accused daily of “breaking the law” over mere policy disagreements. But deferring to lawyers to tell a President when he can and cannot use force to defend the country is not the proper understanding of executive power under the Constitution, and it is dangerous if it is the first instinct of a Commander in Chief.

Mr. Romney should have said that a President’s first duty is to do whatever it takes to protect the United States, and that he’d have the Constitutional authority to use military force to do so — as Presidents from Washington to Teddy Roosevelt to Reagan have done — but that of course he would want to consult with Congress and win its support as time and circumstances allowed. Mr. Romney doesn’t need a lawyer; he needs to reread the Federalist Papers.

In other words, America needs a LEADER like Rudy Giuliani as President and not an indecisive -BRING IN THE LAWYERS TYPE CEO type like Mitt Romney.

America’s choice but Flap will take the LEADER any day.

Previous:

Mitt Romney Watch:LAWYERS TEST For National Security Part Two

Rudy Giuliani Strikes at Romney Consult the Attorneys GAFFE

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy and Mitt Duke It Out On Taxes

Hillary Health Care 2.0 Similar to Romney’s Health Care Plan Part Two

Mitt Romney FLIP Watch: Hillary Health Care 2.0 Similar to Romney’s Health Care Plan

The Mitt Romney Posts

Republican presidential hopefuls former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talk to each other after the GOP Presidential candidates debate at Ford Community and Performing Arts Center Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007, in Dearborn, Mich.

Romney, Giuliani Spar on Taxes, Spending

Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani quarreled over tax and spending cuts Tuesday, each claiming greater commitment than the other in a debate in the nation’s struggling manufacturing heartland.

The government “is spending money of future generations and those yet to be born,” added Fred Thompson, making his debut on a debate stage after a late entry into the race. He said future retirees should receive smaller Social Security benefits than they have been promised.

Well, Fred Thompson lost many Baby Boom Generation voters with this BIG revelation. Voters of Flap’s generation have always been skeptical of whether they would ever get ANY of the money that for years they have been paying into the Social Security system.

In the meantime, Rudy and Mitt DUKE IT OUT with a TIT for TAT that shows Romney’s desperation and means nothing for Rudy.

Americans know that Rudy cleaned up New York City and was a LEADER on 9/11.

So, does this heated discourse on taxes matter?

“I cut taxes 23 times. I believe in tax cuts,” said Giuliani, former mayor of New York and leader in national Republican polls.

Romney initially conceded that, but quickly criticized his rival for once filing a court challenge to a law that gave President Clinton the right to veto spending items line by line. “I’m in favor of the line-item veto,” he said, adding he exercised it 844 times while governor of Massachusetts.
Romney also said that while mayor, Giuliani “fought to keep the commuter tax, which is a very substantial tax … on consumers coming into New York.”

The former governor leads his rivals in the polls in Iowa, where caucuses will be the first contest of the campaign, and he and Giuliani are in a close race in surveys in New Hampshire, the leadoff primary state.

Giuliani responded that spending fell in New York while he was mayor, and rose in Massachusetts while Romney was governor.

“The point is that you’ve got to control taxes. I did it, he didn’t. … I led, he lagged.”

“It’s baloney,” retorted Romney. “I did not increase taxes in Massachusetts. I lowered taxes.”

The exchange was among the most heated of the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, reflecting a quickening pace as the 2008 caucuses and primaries draw close.

It also left Thompson, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and the other contenders as something of bystanders for the several moments that Romney and Giuliani went at one another.

Not one iota. Rudy shrugged off Romney’s attacks and looked the better for the exchange.

Here is Rudy being interviewed after the GOP debate by Larry Kudlow:

Stay tuned…….

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Confirmed for Values Voter Summit

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Southwest Florida Today

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy at Americans for Prosperity Foundation

Rudy Giuliani on the Rush Limbaugh Phony Soldier Attack

Rudy Giuliani Leads in 3Q GOP Presidential Fundraising

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Is a Clinton Presidency Inevitable Like 1992?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Assails Hillary Clinton for Southern Accent Pander

Giuliani Poll Watch: New Hampshire - Rudy Gains as Romney Declines

Mitt Romney Lead in New Hampshire Collapses

The B-52’s - Tell It Like It T-I-IS

Giuliani Now Confirmed for Value Voters Event

And with those words, all eyes will now be on this event. I am told Giuliani will speak Saturday morning. There will be a straw poll at the event and the results will be announced sometime Saturday afternoon.

You can say whatever you want about Giuliani but give him this much: he’s not backing down. This is typical of him and his campaign. They will not concede the social conservative vote. They believe (as documented in this space before) that they can win over quite a few social conservatives. They are not rolling over.

And most of the voters, although they may not agree with Rudy on all issues, will I am positive WILL with him on 90% of them. Rudy will tell it like it is.

Rudy will NOT win the straw poll, but so what?

Both will need each other in order to beat Hillary Clinton.

Previous:

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Southwest Florida Today

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy at Americans for Prosperity Foundation

Rudy Giuliani on the Rush Limbaugh Phony Soldier Attack

Rudy Giuliani Leads in 3Q GOP Presidential Fundraising

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Is a Clinton Presidency Inevitable Like 1992?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Assails Hillary Clinton for Southern Accent Pander

Giuliani Poll Watch: New Hampshire - Rudy Gains as Romney Declines

Mitt Romney Lead in New Hampshire Collapses

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani speaks at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, October 5, 2007.

Giuliani criticizes GOP on spending - Shame on Us

Republican presidential contenders on Friday scolded Congress for extravagant spending of taxpayer dollars, and Rudy Giuliani blamed the issue for GOP losses in last year’s elections.

“We lost control of Congress because we were just like the Democrats as far as spending is concerned — shame on us,” Giuliani told the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity.

But the former New York mayor spent most of his 25-minute speech ridiculing Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Democratic candidates, saying, “Republicans are amateur spenders, and Democrats are professional spenders.”

Giuliani addresses more than 1,700 grassroots activists at the first annual Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit in the Mayflower Hotel Ballroom, Oct. 5, 2007:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The transcript of the Mayor’s remarks is here.

The Giuliani campaign’s video is here.

And here is the Hillary Clinton Baby Bond the Mayor references in his speech:

Rudy Giuliani on the Rush Limbaugh Phony Soldier Attack

Rudy Giuliani Leads in 3Q GOP Presidential Fundraising

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Is a Clinton Presidency Inevitable Like 1992?

Rudy Giuliani Watch: Rudy Assails Hillary Clinton for Southern Accent Pander

Giuliani Poll Watch: New Hampshire - Rudy Gains as Romney Declines

Mitt Romney Lead in New Hampshire Collapses