Flap’s Links and Comments for July 16th through July 17th

These are my links for July 16th through July 17th:

• Rudy Giuliani eyes New Hampshire path – The 2012 Republican primary is already well under way. His old campaign staff is mostly scattered to the winds. He still owes nearly $3 million from his 2008 presidential bid.

  Despite those obstacles, Rudy Giuliani says he’s seriously considering another White House run — a bid that would look dramatically different than his campaign four years ago.

  “My thinking is that I still have time to decide. So I’m going to take it … the race is developing very slowly compared to, maybe not necessarily historical races, but compared to 2007, which is what I’m used to,” he told POLITICO. “My focus when I sit down to decide will be, do I think any of the people running, or a few of them, have a good chance of beating President Obama or not?”

  This time around, Giuliani’s fiscal record as New York City mayor would be the centerpiece. New Hampshire would be the key state in his strategy — as opposed to Florida, where he placed his big bet last time. The focus would be on winning over fiscally minded Republicans and a chunk of the independents who can vote in the state’s open Republican primary, an approach resembling John McCain’s in 2008. The expectation is that without a contested Democratic primary, there will be more independent voters who cast votes in the GOP contest.

  “I think John had exactly the right strategy,” he said, referring to his win-New Hampshire approach.

  The newest piece of evidence that Giuliani is looking seriously at New Hampshire: for the first time in two years, he now has a designated spokeswoman — and she’s based in the first-in-the-nation state.

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  If both Rick Perry and Sarah Palin enter the race, Rudy has a shot at determining who will be the 2012 GOP nominee.

• Rudy Giuliani to GOP: Stay out of gay marriage – He may not agree with the vote in New York to legalize gay marriage, but former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the Republican Party should butt out of the bedroom and stick to fiscal policy.
  "I think the Republican Party would be well advised to get the heck out of people's bedrooms and let these things get decided by states," Giuliani said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "We'd be a much more successful political party if we stuck to our economic, conservative roots."

  New York became the sixth state to legalize same sex marriage in June when a bill passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature was signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
  Giuliani, who is considering a run for president in 2012, has long supported civil unions. Although he said he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, he can "live with" the legalization in New York.
  "I think it's wrong, but there are other things that I think are wrong that get decided by democratic vote," Giuliani told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley. "I see more harm, however, by dwelling so much on this subject of gays and lesbians and whether it's right or wrong in politics."

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