Bloggers, Gray Areas And Rudy Giuliani

Ken McCracken  •  November 23, 2007

I’m quoted in the Bismarck Tribune today in an article by Jon Rivoli about bloggers and access to presidential campaigns. Jon called me and asked me a few questions about a request I made to have a brief one-on-one interview with Rudy Giuliani while he was in the state recently for a fund raiser.
In the article, Rivoli makes it sound like the Giuliani campaign told me I couldn’t come to the entire event. He quotes me as saying “I would definitely have taken a day off to go down there.” And that’s true, I would have taken a day off to go to the event if I’d landed an interview with Giuliani. But that didn’t work out (the campaign told me they couldn’t do it, which I took to mean that they didn’t have enough time for it), so I decided just going to the event itself wasn’t worth a trip all the way down to Fargo and back.
Which, frankly, is like eight hours of driving for me.
I didn’t find Giuliani’s decision not to do an interview with me all that surprising. He’s the Republican Presidential front-runner. I’m a blogger who, to be perfectly honest, isn’t all that thrilled at the idea of a Giuliani presidency. If I were him, I’m not sure I’d have done the interview either. Being me, I of course think he should have absolutely done it. But then I’m not blind to the practical realities of the situation either.

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  • http://Array pparets

    So, ROB “isn’t all that thrilled” with Rudy Guiliani for President. Well, folks, there it is in a nutshell [apt pun, I might add]. We Republicans have never been a unified party. Historically, we are a very loose coalition of splinter-groups each of which has its own special criteria for selecting a front-runner. The Democrats, on the other hand, are monolithic. Once a front-runner emerges, they all unite behind that person regardless of their personal priorities. They recognize what Republicans refuse to acknowledge: If you don’t win the election, it doesn’t matter what your SACRED IDEOLOGY is. So, RON, be as picky as you want, even though every national poll shows Rudy beating ANY democratic opponent. Lord knows… YOUR special little political ideology is so much more important than winning. Well, your preference, my preference, and every individual republican’s sacred little preference…

  • http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

    You better be thrilled about having Giuliani as President over Hillary :)

  • http://www.mattsconservativecorner.blogspot.com/ Matt

    His daughter is entitled to her opinion. Would you really rather be stuck with Hillary??

  • paul supporter

    I would rather see Romney or paul than Hillary. I just hope it does not come down to Giuliani and Hillary. I will have to write in a candidate, lol. The only thing worse than Giuliani and Hillary would be Giuliani and Obama, imo.

  • paul supporter

    I dunno, he may pass a law that on wednesdays we have to dress like this.

    http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7686/patheticvg9.jpg

    What was going through his head when he dressed in drag and kissed Donald Trump? Letting Donald Trump stick his head into his fake breasts and smell him.

    Will he do things like that as president?

    His own daughter is campaingning against him.

    The guy gives me the creeps.

  • paul supporter

    whoever gets the nomination on the Rebublican side will win here in North Dakota anyhow, I wouldn’t worry about it. Unless you know something we don’t, lol.

  • pparets

    Rod: “Shut up and support someone whose policies I don’t like?” Well, if I had said that, it would be the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard and that I’ve ever written. Democrats put their personal priorities aside and unite behind a winner. Republicans, on the other hand, nitpick every candidate to determine whether that person’s views match their own in every detail. We have hurdles for social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, neo-conservatives, religious conservatives, moderate-conservatives, and those sacrosanct “gray areas” which must be satisfied; forgetting that ANY Republican candidate for the White House MUST have at least 25% of the Democratic base to win! In this open-election year, we need to forget our individual little litmus tests and pick a WINNER, or you will have four long years to grouse about why we didn’t. I can guarantee that you will disagree with the policies of Clinton, Obama, Edwards or Gore far more than you do Rudy Guiliani’s. The dilemma is simple: We can each stand firmly on our individual, unwavering, uncompromised conservative convictions OR we can win the election.

  • pparets

    Rob: “If they don’t govern like Republicans.” When, of course, what you meant was.. ‘Don’t govern like MY VERSION of how a Republican should govern.” I rest my case. Paul will not get close to the nomination, Romney cannot beat the Democrats, and meanwhile we all nit-pick over Guiliani’s credentials.

  • MikeAdamson

    Fargo is so lovely this time of year but I can understand not wanting the eight hour trip. If it had been in Williston then even I might have made the trek…now that is a fun town.

    Happy Thanksgiving. :)

  • paul supporter

    Don’t feel bad Rob, Your site is not the only site that is not getting answers from Candidates.

    Here is another.

    http://www.nhasks.org/

  • pparets

    ROB:”Are you really urging Republicans to be more like democrats?” Now, you’re just being silly.
    Know what Liberal and Conservative bloggers have in common? They both spend all their time attacking Republican candidates! However, if it makes you feel better, continue to torpedo Guiliani’s campaign. But you and I and the whole nation will have to live with the consequences if Clinton, Obama, Edwards or Gore win. Like I said, the dilemma is simple: Either we all give up some of our sacrosanct little litmus tests or the democrats win.

  • paul supporter

    I would rather see Romney or paul than Hillary. I ment Romney or Paul than Giuliani.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Pparets, I just call things as I see them. I’m a conservative before I’m a Republican, and I’m not going to be silent on a candidate’s flaws simply because he is supposedly a Republican.

    If the GOP had less “just vote for us because we’re Republicans” and more “vote for us because we’re conservative” they wouldn’t be in the minority right now.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    If a gun was to my head and I had to choose, I’d actually take Obama before Hillary.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    So, RON, be as picky as you want, even though every national poll shows Rudy beating ANY democratic opponent

    First, it’s Rob.

    Second, I don’t see the point in electing Republicans if they don’t govern like Republicans.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Rob: “If they don’t govern like Republicans.” When, of course, what you meant was.. ‘Don’t govern like MY VERSION of how a Republican should govern.” I rest my case.

    So you’re telling me I should just shut up and support somebody whose policies I don’t like just because he has an “R” behind his name.

    That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Democrats put their personal priorities aside and unite behind a winner. Republicans, on the other hand, nitpick every candidate to determine whether that person’s views match their own in every detail.

    I guess I’ve always thought that not being lock-step idealogues was a good thing.

    Are you really urging Republicans to be more like Democrats? Because that’s the problem, pal, not the solution.

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