Rudy for president?
By Robert Novak
Sunday, July 9, 2006
WASHINGTON
Well-connected public figures report that they have been told recently by Rudolph Giuliani that, as of now, he intends to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
The former mayor of New York was on top of last month's national Gallup Poll measuring presidential preferences by registered Republicans, with 29 percent. Sen. John McCain's 24 percent was second, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich third at 8 percent. National polls all year have shown Giuliani running either first or second to McCain, with the rest of the presidential possibilities far behind.
Republican insiders respond to these numbers by saying rank-and-file GOP voters will abandon Giuliani once they realize his positions on abortion, gay rights and gun control. Party strategists calculate that if he actually runs, he must change on at least one of these issues.
Democrat Lieberman
Supporters of Sen. Joseph Lieberman promise he will continue as a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus even if he loses the Democrat primary in Connecticut Aug. 8 and is elected as an independent.
Lieberman's decision announced last week to seek petitions to give him an independent ballot position probably helped Democrat businessman Ned Lamont's anti-war primary campaign. Although Lieberman's support of President Bush on the Iraq war is not popular in Connecticut, he would be heavily favored in a three-way race against Lamont and Republican former state Rep. Alan Schlesinger.
Wooing Hispanics
Presidential adviser Karl Rove and Sen. Sam Brownback, two conservative Republicans who favor a guest-worker program for immigrants, will address the left-wing Hispanic advocacy group La Raza in Los Angeles this week.
La Raza was active in increasing participation in nationwide work stoppages and demonstrations April 10 after the House passed a tough border-enforcement bill. La Raza in Spanish means "The Race."
Trial lawyer politics
Although it attracted no news media attention, a subcommittee hearing of the normally bipartisan House Financial Services Committee erupted in partisan furor June 28 when Republican Rep. Richard Baker of Louisiana proposed controls on lawyers engaged in securities litigation.
Baker's subcommittee focused on the recent federal indictment of the Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman law firm in connection with class-action lawsuits. The firm in recent years has contributed $2.78 million to Democrat candidates and $22,000 to Republicans.
The Financial Services Committee's top two Democrats -- Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania -- vigorously objected to a federal judge testifying about current defendants in a federal prosecution. Vaughn R. Walker, chief district judge for Northern California, gave the subcommittee his views on the indictments and Baker's legislation.
No dirty tricks
Independent, pro-labor candidate Bill Scheurer remained on the ballot after last Monday's deadline without challenge in the Chicago suburban congressional district where freshman Democrat Rep. Melissa Bean is a priority Republican target for 2006.
It had been widely expected that state House Speaker Mike Madigan, the Illinois Democrat chairman, would challenge Scheurer's collection of the necessary 14,000 petition signatures for ballot access. Scheurer had filed a lawsuit alleging dirty tricks by Madigan and other Democrat leaders.
Bean was the most spectacular Democrat winner in the 2004 elections with a victory over Phil Crane, the senior Republican member of the House.
c&p
