Hey, this is the Rudy thread, so where's Rudy?
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Giuliani works to catch up in Michigan By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, AP Political Writer
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - Rudy Giuliani, leading in national polls but trailing his opponents' organizations in Michigan, spent Friday picking up endorsements and some criticism in Macomb County north of Detroit.
James Tignanelli, president of the 14,000-member Police Officers Association of Michigan, announced he was giving the prominent group's backing to the former New York mayor because of the leadership he showed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"It seemed only hours after the planes had hit, Americans found a leader. ... Rudy Giuliani had arrived at the scene," Tignanelli said during a news conference with Giuliani and other police officers. "We need someone who will finish the job, not turn and run."
Giuliani said winning the police officers' endorsement was an important step in a swing state that could affect his chances in the GOP primaries and the general election.
"Having the support of an organization that represents more than 14,000 police officers in Michigan means more to me than just a political endorsement," he said. "They are my heroes."
Although Giuliani generally leads other GOP presidential hopefuls in national polls, he acknowledged Friday that he is behind fellow Republicans John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and Mitt Romney in organizing in Michigan. But he said he's taking steps to change that.
"I think we're catching up," he said, standing beside U.S. Rep. Candice Miller (news, bio, voting record), a popular former secretary of state who co-chaired President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign in Michigan and is chairing Giuliani's Michigan campaign.
"We will spend a lot of time here and compete here very, very effectively," he added.
Heavily populated Macomb County is known for its conservative Republicans and "Reagan Democrats," although voters there backed moderate Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm in November.
Giuliani didn't directly address abortion choice, gun control and letting at least some illegal immigrants gain legal status — issues where his stands clash with those of GOP conservatives.
But he did tell the 1,000 activists who paid $50 a plate to attend the Macomb County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner that he would bring the discipline needed to the presidency to cut federal spending, improve K-12 education, stand up to terrorists and move toward energy independence.
Referring to himself as impatient and obsessive, Giuliani got loud applause when he said, "I am good at getting things done."
Brenda Marriott, 54, of Macomb County's Clinton Township, said that's what she wanted to hear, even if she didn't agree with him on every issue.
"I like the way he handled 9-11 and I feel comfortable with him. There's always going to be differences on issues, and you're never going to find a candidate who thinks the way that you do," she said.
Joseph Saker, 45, of Bloomfield Hills in nearby Oakland County, also liked what the former New York City mayor had to say.
"His message was balanced," Saker said. "He made sense."
But Giuliani's stance on some issues doesn't sit well with Tom McMillin, the Michigan Republican Party's Issues Committee chairman. He was among those who formed a group Friday called the Conservative Declaration of Independence, which vowed to withhold its support from the former New York mayor even if he wins the GOP presidential nomination.
"We are conservatives first and Republicans second, and we will not stand by as the Republican Party considers nominating a pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-homosexual rights liberal as the nominee of our party," McMillin said in a news release.
Asked about the conservatives who oppose him, Giuliani pointed to his accomplishments as mayor in cutting taxes, lowering the crime rate, moving welfare recipients into the work force and balancing the budget. "All I ask is for them to give me a fair hearing," he said.
Pat Montella, owner of Manhattan Marketplace in Shelby Township, said after Giuliani visited his upscale grocery store Friday afternoon that the former mayor would be a great president. "The country needs somebody like him to get the country going again," said Montella, a 55-year-old former Brooklynite who moved to Michigan 17 years ago and now lives in Macomb Township. "He was a no-nonsense mayor. He knew what needed to get done and got it done." |
