Updated - Giulani Hopes Dashed - Granite Grok

Updated – Giulani Hopes Dashed

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Steve Breen Cartoon, H/T Townhall.com

Update 2: My activist friend with a good ear was right. AP reported today that Giuliani was definitely not running. That leaves the establishment, of which Christie is now a part, with no choice but to promote the narrative that Romney is their inevitable standard-bearer, because for these people, the prospect of a real outsider, a man of the people like Cain, getting the nomination is the truly scary prospect.

Meanwhile Chris Christie first allowed himself to be seduced by the establishment into (almost) running, and then decided to join the establishment movement toward the coronation of Romney. For me, and I suspect many others, Christie’s street cred as an outsider is as shot at as the average NJ downtown. Indeed, Allahpundit over at HotAir blog nails Christie for his hypocrisy.

Update 1: The big government elephants may still be singing forlornly for their prince, but I got other feedback later today that says: “Rudy, not so much”. The tip came from an NH activist with a good ear to the ground, and his reasoning checks out. Between the visit of his emissary last week, and today, hizzonner has signed up to be the chief spokesman for the aging nuclear plant at Indian Point in NY. The story and quotes below are still fun, though because they reveal the desperation of the Ruling Class.

You can’t make this stuff up – the establishment is desperate – they know Romney’s likeability rating is in the basement, with savvy NH voters frequently referring to him as "Mittens" for playing it soft with the MA legislature, and nobody trusting his positions on healthcare, climate change, right to life, and more. Furthermore, they can’t stand the thought of an actual conservative or TEA Party candidate getting the nomination, soooo…

Today, Friday, Grokster Mike chatted with a conservative local businessman about recent developments, including Ovide LaMontagne’s run for governor (Yeah! High Five!), and Herman Cain’s recent surge. To my surprise, our local hero pointed to a photo on the wall, and said "I love Herman Cain, but I can’t endorse at this point – my favorite is getting into the race!" Mike peers at back wall of store – "Rudy???" "Yes." "It’s getting late to jump in, are you sure?" "Yes, I’m sure."

So, all the while the Christie drama was playing out and distracting us, the establishment was furiously beavering away to exhume yet another candidate from their "grooveyard". Is this the night of the living dead, or what?!? To my surprise, there were two credible stories last week – one from WMUR/CNN, and one from AP, describing how Rudy was putting out feelers in NH for a possible run. As Glenn Beck always says – whenever the establishment is doing something obvious, check what the other hand is up to: All last week, we were watching the bouncing beachball, when we should have been looking at the golfball!

Regardless of the merits of Rudy Giulani, and he certainly has them, jumping in this late to split the vote and keep the outsiders outside diminishes both the party apparatus and the man.

Here are the pull quotes from the CNN/WMUR piece on Sept 28th:

In a Sept. 7 interview, Giuliani told CNN’s Piers Morgan, "If Barack Obama remained roughly where he is now, sure I think I could beat him."…… Earlier that week at the National Press Club in Washington, Giuliani told the audience he would only run again if the GOP became "desperate."    So, folks, is the GOP desperate???

 

And here, are the pull quotes from the AP piece on Sept 29th:

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani dispatched a key emissary to New Hampshire on Wednesday to gauge their interest in his possible presidential bid……  One of the mayor’s closest political advisers, Jake Menges, hosted private meetings with a host of key Republicans in the state…….  "Jake said to me, ‘Just keep your powder dry for another few weeks,’" [Stephen] Talarico told The Associated Press……  [Kevin] Smith said. "I told them that my sense, based on the calls for (New Jersey Gov.) Chris Christie to get in, is there’s still some discontentment among Republicans and there could be a spot for another candidate."     Yes, folks, the establishment GOP IS desperate!!!

Finally, here is video of Hizzonner during an event in Dover this past June – you can see he was not willing to rule out a run back then, either…

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