Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....
Senator Fred Thompson responds to Michael Moore....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoAB6fz8ENc&mode=related&search=
Monday, May 21, 2007
NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president
NY state Republican Party endorses native son Rudy Giuliani for president
The Associated Press
Published: May 21, 2007
NEW YORK: With frequent references to the leadership Rudy Giuliani showed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the state Republican Party on Monday endorsed its native son for president.
Published: May 21, 2007
NEW YORK: With frequent references to the leadership Rudy Giuliani showed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the state Republican Party on Monday endorsed its native son for president.
"Only Rudy Giuliani has stood at the abyss of terror and destruction and shown a city, state, nation and, yes, the world the true meaning of leadership," state Republican chairman Joseph Mondello said at the event at a midtown Manhattan hotel.
He said that on Sept. 11, 2001, "this city's mayor became America's mayor, and Rudy Giuliani became a man destined for greatness."
Giuliani said he was pleased with the support.
"I can't tell you how much this means to me both personally and of course for our campaign to have the support of my home state," he said.
He said fighting terrorism and dealing with the economy would be the top two priorities for an incoming administration, and he said he had learned from the events of Sept. 11 and other attacks.
"The lessons of the 20th century, to me, are that you never ever back down in the face of bullies, dictators, tyrants and terrorists," he said.
He also told the supportive crowd that the Republican Party needed to compete even in traditional liberal strongholds such as New York.
"My view of this race for president is that the Republican Party should not go into this election, as we have in the past, having to write off New York, Connecticut, New Jersey," he said. "We've got to make this a 50-state election."
Giuliani was scheduled to be in Albany on Tuesday to be endorsed by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, state Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco and other Republican state lawmakers.
National polls have shown Giuliani in front-runner position, as is New York Sen. Hillary Clinton for the Democrats. Clinton was endorsed by the state's Democrats last week.
Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'
Young: Mitt's chances improve with 'immigration'
By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS
Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.
He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."
But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.
What's not to like?
Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.
In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.
Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.
Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.
But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.
However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.
This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.
Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.
By Peter B. Young/Local columnist
GHS
Far be it from me to downplay or downgrade in any way Mitt Romney's chances in next year's quadrennial Presidential Derby. That said, most Massachusetts Democrats will tell you that regardless of their own personal views on the man, our former Republican governor is always a formidable candidate. And he is never more formidable than when he finds a critical issue that he is uniquely equipped to exploit.
He may have found that issue in the current free-for-all over so-called "comprehensive immigration reform."
But before we get to that, tick off these obvious Romney assets: He is (1) rich, (2) free of scandal, (3) articulate, (4) disciplined, (5) leader of a splendid family, (6) movie star handsome, and the list goes on.
What's not to like?
Well, perhaps we can leave that question for another column on another day.
But today's column will deal with candidate Romney's continuing, dogged fight to win the hearts and minds of Republican conservatives across the country, especially in such early primary states as Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
He is just now beginning to show some modest signs of success in this quixotic endeavor, and he may even be positioned for more success on the gut issue of our time, immigration reform.
While pursuing these influential conservatives, who dominate most Republican primary elections, Romney has not hesitated to go with the flow and adjust his previous positions notably on such social issues as abortion. All politicians, Democrats as well as Republican, do this sort of thing all the time. But it can be argued that Romney takes this standard political practice into a new dimension as he continues his transition from blue state Massachusetts into the red states of conservative-dominated Republican primaries.
In most national polls of Republican voters, our former governor is still mired in single digits - significantly behind such political mischief-makers as Rudy Giuliani of New York, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, and also the undeclared, but prospectively potent candidacies of Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson.
Yet, when the pollsters narrow their samples to a single state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina, Mitt Romney does much better, and is still very much within striking distance of leaders like Giuliani and the increasingly irascible McCain, both of whom have serious problems with the GOP base of conservatives.
Indeed, Giuliani and McCain may have problems even more serious than Romney's with that GOP base. In fact, the latest state-wide poll out of Iowa shows Romney now running comfortably ahead of the aforementioned Giuliani and McCain.
But until now, what Romney has been missing is a critical issue or message that he can stake out and claim for his own. Rudy Giuliani can recall his role as America's mayor in the immediate wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. John McCain can continue as perhaps the one and only cheerleader for the misbegotten war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has left Mr. Romney bringing up the rear with lame jokes about the agonies of dealing with liberal Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature.
However, with details finally emerging on the widely criticized "deal" for immigration reform, Romney is at last positioned to further improve his standing in those critical polls. That is because the horrendous, bipartisan mess we have made with immigration reform and regulation during the last 20 years has left this beleaguered country caught between a rock and a hard place. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other such facilities are all staggering under a continuing tidal wave of illegal immigrants.
This is a situation that just may cry out for the kind of crisp, diligent, systematic, corporate-style leadership that has always been part of Romney's tool kit.
Democrats, here and elsewhere, had better believe that Mitt Romney now sees his opening and, in the words of the late Coach Vince Lombardi, will attempt an historic "run to daylight."
Peter Young's column appears every other Tuesday.
Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment
Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton toured Mormon facilities Monday and dined privately with a church elder after drawing criticism two weeks ago for remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"He's simply here to learn more about us," church spokesman Mike Otterson said of Sharpton's visit. "We want him to know what the church does, what its work is."
Sharpton made the trip after generating criticism during a debate with an atheist author when he said: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."
Sharpton, a Pentecostal minister who urged the firing of Don Imus after the radio host's racially insensitive remarks, said his words were taken out of context. But he immediately called elders of the 12.5 million-member church to apologize.
Monday, on a live broadcast of his radio show from a church-owned broadcast center in Salt Lake City, Sharpton said he respects Mormons as Christians and believers. He called any perceived friction between himself and the church a "fabricated controversy."
"Whatever differences I have with their denomination or religion had nothing to do with my respect of their faith," Sharpton said.
He has not apologized to Romney but called for a "dialogue of reconciliation." Romney has said Sharpton's comment could be construed as bigoted. Officially, the church will not comment on Romney's campaign and maintains a position of political neutrality.
On the air, Sharpton said he and Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the church's governing board of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met over dinner Sunday night and "talked very little, if at all" about the comments. Instead, Sharpton said, they discussed shared concerns and places where their faiths can work together.
"This is not politics," Sharpton said. "This is about what you fundamentally, firmly believe. I did not want to leave it as 'we got past an issue."'
The dinner was followed by a tour Monday morning of church facilities, including a humanitarian aid center from which the church distributes clothes, food and medical supplies around the world.
Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a temple and other properties covering several downtown blocks.
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