Seen over at redstate:

Rudy especially seems ready and willing to mix it up with the Dems, particularly Hillary. That is something I do really like about Rudy. I want a nominee who can go toe to toe with the "always at war" Dems. Rudy has a bit of that "junkyard dog" thing that is refreshing after almost 7 years of Bush (whom I like) being Mr. Nice guy.

I wouldn't exactly bet the farm about Giuliani being ready and willing to mix it up with Democrats. The last time he was in the field against nationally-known Democrats, he sat the bench. I'm not really interested in placing all our hopes on a guy who has a history of bailing out against Hillary Clinton, prostate cancer or no.

I doubt Jack sees it that way, but go figure.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 08:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oops, looks like someone forgot to tell Mike Huckabee that thou shalt not do anything that challenges GROWTH for it is a jealous and demanding god.

That's right, kids! That nuisance PAC we all know and loathe, the Club for Growth has decided that Mike Huckabee is guilty of---wait for it---speaking to unions. Their bill of indictment reads thusly:

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has taken to calling himself a “fiscal conservative,” but who ever heard of a fiscal conservative who raised taxes and spending through the roof while governor of Arkansas? Mike Huckabee is also calling himself “a different kind of Republican,” but that’s just a codeword for a big-government Republican who wants to cover up his tax-and-spend record with folksy talking points and one-liners. Sorry Tax Hike Mike. No dice.

Their full website on the issue is located at Tax Hike Mike!.

Enh, whatever. The CfG usually seems to get involved when a candidate fails or has failed to genuflect towards its hat-on-the-pole of GROWTH and whatnot. I don't have time for Huckabee---one President from Arkansas is enough, thank you---so it's not really my concern, but it's nice to see that the CfG can get back to its usual fratricide now that the FEC's suit against it may be over soon.

Tip of the Wisconsin hat to David Freddoso over at the NROC.

And yes, the layout is still very strange-looking. I'm trying to figure out the system I've implemented.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 10:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Normally, I like Rick Brookhiser. He does, granted, usually come across as a jaded urbanite who's good for historical data on the Founding Fathers, but sometimes he delivers other interesting gems once you take into consideration his limitations. Not last night, though. He gives us a summation of the Republican candidates so far, and dubs Thompson "by far the weakest potential president of the top tier Republicans".

Mr. Brookhiser's snide analysis of the top tier (Giuliani, McCain, Romney, Thompson) says of the ex-NYC mayor, "Strongest is Giuliani who, alone of all the candidates in both parties, has done something. Two things—saved New York City; and led America for two days six years ago."

Blah blah, saved New York City. To someone outside of the Five Boroughs (and therefore the irredeemable hinterland), saving that cesspool is of dubious value. Sure, hizzoner may have cleaned out the Augean Stables, but they're still the Augean Stables at the end of the day.

Furthermore, what's this "led America for two days" stuff? I don't remember the Mayor of the City of New York being in the line of Constitutional succession to the Presidency under the 25th Amendment (or any other law, for that matter). From what I understand, the National Command Authority was never really out of position and since all Cabinet officers and members of Congress and various others in the coordinate branches of government survived, there isn't any cognizable claim to a city mayor in New York State being the "leader".

By Mr. Brookhiser's logic, I could perhaps argue that the Chairman of the County Board for Arlington, Virginia "led the nation", because last time I checked, the 11 September attacks hit other targets than Manhattan. Oh, wait, it's the City Desk guy for National Review; only New York matters to them.

Bah. I don't want that Yankee as our nominee.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 01:49 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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