“barker13:The rule is 3 strikes and your out.”

I’m a conservative – two is plenty!

(*GRIN*)

Seriously… we’re not that far apart.

BILL

Romney and guiliani were in positions where they had to act like social conservatives to win the primary and it should not be like that.

i feel like the conservative christian fundamentalists want to vote for jesus instead of a smart,problem solving patriot.

George bush was the christian fundamentalist golden boy.Strong family values,prayed…spoke like a christian.he is a good man…i do not doubt that ,but he was a HORRIBLE president.Guiliani is a very flawed man but he would be a great president.Why….cause he makes tough decisions that are smart and thought out.He is a born leader where as bush is not.

Guiliani is my vote for president.Him or newt gingrich.The fact that people want sarah palin…is the reason alone there can no longer be a christian fundamentalist candidate.

I love sarah palin,I think she’s a smart,tough,devoted woman.But i saw the couric interview,i saw the charlie gibson interview.How can anyone not know what the bush doctrine is??

I mean she’s so uninformed it’s silly.Put guiliani in that role and watch him knock it out the party.WE NEED TO VOTE IDEAS and NOT PERSONALITIES.

Choc. I too was a Giuliani supporter. The thing is… he’s let us down TWICE now.

(*SHRUG*)

Sure… I’m willing to cut him a bit of slack on the whole cancer deal… but let’s keep in mind, Imus hasn’t quit his radio show and many people carry on working through cancer.

(*SHRUG*)

As to Romney…

Do you trust him? Do you TRUST him…???

Sure… by the end of the campaign he was talking the talk. No doubt about it… I cheered his honesty during that last month or so of his campaign. But I fear that honesty was more a product of desperation and setting the stage for future election opportunities than simply honesty for the sake of being honest… of being who he is.

Anyway… I’ll keep an open mind on Romney. As to Giuliani… as I’ve noted… two strikes so far…

(*SHRUG*)

BILL

Great post. I agree with pretty much everything you said here. Which is funny because on specific points I often get mad at your posts.

I think the big fight in store for the GOP is the libertarians vs the faux conservatives — “conservative family values”, “neo-conservative nation building”, and of course the conservatives in name only who borrow and spend every bit as recklessly as the dems (at least until this admin), and cut taxes on their rich friends to boot.

The party needs purification, but not the kind Rush Limbaugh is talking about. The kind that highlights that Rush is — I’m going to say it — a big fat idiot. (and I’m no fan of Franken!)

I am a christian,I am against abortion 100%,and i support pro choice conservatives.

you know why?ABORTION IS NOT ILLEGAL.I don’t know if any in the religios right has noticed that.guiliani…would have made a great candidate against obama.If any one lived in NYC and saw what he did to change NYC after dinkins,i mean it was like night and day.They elected john mccain instead.Mitt romney…a superb buisnessman,with incredible problem solving skills……How would he have handled the auto industry??The financial problems…..they elected mccain.

Imagine if we had a ROMNEY/GULIANI TICKET!!!governor,mayor,proven results in buisness,crime fighting,governemnt,foreign policies,auto industry…..problem solvers!!!

oh wait….we can’t cause thier pro abortion,or they are pro gay rights(against gay marriage)but pro gay rights.oh and guiliani has been married a few times,oh and romney is a mormon.So exclude that ticket.

Tell me are we voting for a president or are we voting for a POPE!!!

“…the universally respected Gen. Colin Powell…”

Hardly.

Re: Realist; wrote 52 minutes ago –

Thanks for the head’s up!

Figures. (*FROWN*)

BILL

* Continuing…

“I am absolutely opposed to Obama using this economic crisis to push Great Society II under the false label of “stimulus.”"

We’re in agreement.

“That the Federal Government has insisted that it will send drug-enforcement agents to arrest cancer patients for smoking marijuana is…”

Frigg’n nuts. Yeah. I’m with you. On the other hand, the California experiment is clearly a failure – IMHO. If we disagree on that then we disagree. (*SHRUG*)

“Finally: I am *NOT* anti-Christian!!!”

You come across as anti-Christian Right. To me. (*SHRUG*) I’m not trying to insult you… I’m just telling you how you come across to me on this point.

“Christianity has never lived down the Crusades or the witch-burnings or the pogroms or the ethnic cleansings.”

See… there ya go! (*SHRUG*)

Christianity was at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement, of the modern civil rights movement. Protestantism was the starting point for Western freedoms as we know them. You only see what you want to see, Sinz. (*SHRUG*)

Anyway… AGAIN… thanks for taking the time to post. And yes… it did help.

BILL

Thanks for the post, Sinz. You and I seem to have far more in common as compared to what we differ on.

“What has kept me from being a Republican in recent years is the GOP’s staunch social conservatism.”

Yeah. You just don’t like the “Christian Right.” That comes across loud and clear.

Me… I’m not all that found of the Christian Left. (*WINK*) (Or the Jewish Left for that matter!) (*GRIN*)

In all seriousness, even as I differ with the Christian Right fairly often, I respect their views and where they’re coming from. You come across as less… er… tolerant.

I’m not saying that to make a judgment as much as to simply make a statement outlining my perspective… how you come across to me.

On the individual social issues – gay marriage in particular – you and I seem to be pretty much on the same page. On abortion… you seem to share my general position on what “should be” or at least what’s “reasonable.” We differ on how the abortion issue plays for or against a conservative GOP. (*SHRUG*)

“On foreign policy, I am quite hawkish. I would have razed Fallujah to the ground before giving it back to the enemy. But I don’t believe in pre-emptive war, at least not until our HUMINT capabilities have been built up to the point that we can know our enemies’ intentions as well as their capabilities.”

I’m a nationalist not an imperialist. In other words, I’m far closer to Buchanan and Ron Paul than to the neocons and Wilsonians. I’m certainly not an isolationist, but nor am I comfortable with the world policeman role unless it’s a direct need of vital U.S. policy interests OR an easy fix for a clear moral and ethical disaster.

“…free trade…”

That’s one area we probably disagree on – to extent at least. Again… I’m a nationalist.

“…economic emergencies may require temporary emergency actions that are inconsistent with this principle…”

TARP was a mistake. The bailouts were mistakes. The various stimulus packages were mistakes. We’ll have to agree to disagree.

* To be continued…

BILL

Political Wire has learned that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R) listed his residence as Chevy Chase, MD on a recent foreign agents registration filing with the U. S. Department of Justice. He reported he was representing the Government of Albania.

If Ridge chooses to run for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania, expect this to be a big issue in the Republican primary.

The latest reports suggested he would make a decision in two weeks.

Good luck.

Political Wire has learned that former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R) listed his residence as Chevy Chase, MD on a recent foreign agents registration filing with the U. S. Department of Justice. He reported he was representing the Government of Albania.

If Ridge chooses to run for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania, expect this to be a big issue in the Republican primary.

The latest reports suggested he would make a decision in two weeks.

Good luck.