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Rudy Giuliani in Pompano Beach, Florida today

Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is accompanied by his wife Cindy as they greet supporters at a campaign rally at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008.

Wonder if the Michigan and South Carolina GOP voters know about this McCain secret: McCain favors a broad-based energy tax to fight what?

Global Warming?

The real surprise is that in a Republican primary in which Senator McCain’s anti-tax credentials are in question, none of his opponents have even mentioned his advocacy of this new broad-based energy tax. I will leave it to political pundits to speculate on the reasons why. But if it is thought that the climate change benefits will be worth these significant new costs on consumers and producers — think again. Over the next 100 years, the CO2 reductions from the tax will result in a temperature change that even its proponents concede, is so small as to be virtually undetectable by current technologies.

And, what would the tax increase entail?

• The EPA estimated that the tax will be about $.26 cents in current dollars per gallon of gasoline by 2030 and $.68 cents per gallon by 2050.

• For electricity, the EPA estimates that the McCain energy tax would increase individual’s electric bills by 22 percent in 2030 and 25 percent in 2050.

And what would these new taxes mean for the economy?

The present value of the cumulative reduction in real GDP for the 2012-2030 period ranges from $660 billion to $2.1 trillion…the cumulative reduction in the present value of real GDP for the 2012-2050 period ranges from about $1.6 trillion to $5.2 trillion.

Flap wonders if Michigan voters know that John McCain proposes even higher taxes for them? Taxes that do NOTHING.

I bet not.

A Florida voter discusses why she will be voting for Rudy Giuliani for President

But, you will never hear this from the MSM because Rudy is either fading, has money problems or cannot win for a myriad of other reasons.

This sentiment was the same when Giuliani was running as a Republican for New York City Mayor against a city full of Democrats.

Flap would not underestimate the Mayor’s strength in Florida and in the February 5 Super Duper Tuesday states, including California.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (C) waves to supporters during a campaign rally at the Three Kings Day Parade in Miami’s Little Havana, January 13, 2008.

Rudy Giuliani is in South Florida today and spoke this morning in front of a Hispanic Evangelical Mega-Church, God at El Rey Jesus, where former Florida (remember the CHADS) Secretary of State, US Representative Katharine Harris attended.

Harris was not the best United States Senate candidate in 2006 (in fact, her campaign was a disaster) but she continues a high GOP profile in Florida.

Key Quotes from the Mayor:

• “I have deep respect for the power of faith,’’ Mr. Giuliani said at the church. “I received a religious education for most of my life, until the time I attended law school. And as you realize, law school is not a religious education.’’

• “But up until then I started every day of class making the sign of the cross, praying to Jesus, praying to Mary and asking for help, asking for assistance, and it built into my very being an understanding that we have to pray for help, that we have to pray for guidance, we have to pray to seek God’s will, and we have to pray to make us better people, to live the life that God wants for us,’’ he said.

• ….“how faith can transform lives, making families stronger, making communities better, giving people of despair, hope, and giving people a much better understanding of what life is really all about: service to God, and service to others.’’

• “I’m running for president of the United States,’’ he said. “It is marathon, not a sprint. And in many ways it’s a test of strength, and it’s a test of faith. The Bible reminds us, Joshua 10:25, fear not, be strong and of good courage. That’s the way to face the future. Whatever is ahead, we don’t know. Anything can be challenging us. Good, bad, difficult. But if we believe in God, fear not, be strong, and of good courage, that is the way to provide real leadership.”

• “That’s what I’ve strived to do all of my life,’’ he said. “I’ve faced odds that were at times seemingly impossible. Situations where people had given up hope. But we didn’t listen to the doubters. We didn’t listen to the naysayers. You know how many of them there are: it can’t be done, it hasn’t been done before, we can’t handle this, we can’t accomplish this, no one’s ever done it before. Oh, there are so many that are naysayers. But don’t listen to them. Don’t pay attention to them. Fear not, be strong, and of good courage.’’

It is an understatement that Rudy’s uncoventional campaign is a test of faith – particularly for the Washington DC and New York pundits who have been writing his obituary for weeks. For many of them it is wishful thinking since many have whored themselves out by shilling for other candidates and those candidates are now in a make or break primary elections before Florida.

Giuliani is an Italian Catholic and I have wondered when he was going to play the Catholic Faith card. Certainly, it was not going to be in Protestant Evangelical land of Iowa or South Carolina and definitley not New Hampshire. But, his comments above reflect his Catholic heritage and education.

Catholic voters WILL be reminded he is one of them – especially in states where there are more Catholic voters.

Florida is one of them.

Day By Day by Chris Muir

Chris, are you insinuating that Huckabee is from a “trailer park” where they only have AOL? Flap won’t go there playing the regional border state HICK Huck card.

Folks treat this post as an open comment thread. Flap is watching the Colts-Chargers game and has the Mayor’s interview on TIVO. Then, there is my 5K.

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