...than any other Republican presidential candidate in the last fund-raising quarter. Details here. This shouldn't surprise anyone. The guy's a good candidate, with a lot to offer. Yes, he differs with some--many--Republicans on some social issues. I differ with him on some social issues. So what? I'm amazed, flabbergasted even, that so many national political pundits and so-called experts have been roaring with certitude for months now that there is no way Rudy can win the Republican nomination. This is wrong. It rests on a misguided analysis of Republican primary voters as one-issue extremists (they never have been such); it's wrong historically (Ronald Reagan for example became the darling of the GOP only marginally because of his stands on social issues--far more important were his tax-cutting, increase-defense-spending, anti-communist, peace-through-strength ideals); and it would be wrong on principle. American conservatism, properly understood, has never been about one-issue voting. It most certainly does rest on certain principles--tradition, order, liberty, limited government, etc. Russell Kirk so long ago called them the "canons" of conservatism. But always remember this fundamental: there was more than one canon. Seems to me that, in leading New York City for 8 years, Mayor Giuliani did a number of things for which conservatives can have respect.
The other top-tier Republican candidates deserve respect in different ways, too. Let the GOP debate continue.
