[media-credit name=’Derek Montgomery’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Rudy Giuliani stumped for President Bush Friday outside the Dane County Victory Center in a last-minute push to tilt polls in Bush’s favor.
A mostly Republican crowd huddled around the former New York City mayor, many holding posters touting the Bush/Cheney campaign.
The Republican National Convention Victory 2004 Rally also featured Dave Magnum, Republican candidate for Congress; Scott Klug, Wisconsin’s former 2nd District Congressman; Eric Peterson, Republican candidate for state Senate; and Tim Michels, U.S. Senate candidate.
Magnum introduced Giuliani with a famous quote from E.B. White.
“New York is to the nation what the white church steeple is to the village — the visible symbol of aspiration and faith, the white plume saying the way is up,” Magnum said, praising Giuliani’s leadership skills he put toward the city.
After a short speech from Michels, the energized crowd chanted “four more years” for the Bush administration. Following a second chant for “Rudy” to come out, Klug welcomed “the mayor of America.”
Giuliani offered an indictment of what he labeled Senator John Kerry’s inconsistent stance on major issues concerning voters, prompting cheers from the audience.
Several women yelled “Kerry, wake up!” when Giuliani said Kerry wanted to “return to the days when terrorism was just a nuisance.”
The former mayor drew a parallel between Bush and 16th U.S. president Abraham Lincoln by saying Lincoln was also unpopular during the Civil War.
“We can’t be dissuaded by temporary changes in public opinion,” Giuliani said.
He outlined Bush’s goals for the second term to decrease taxes, pump more money into the private sector and reform the practice of suing doctors.
In what has become a staple of the 2004 presidential election campaigns, Giuliani humored his audience with a satirical jab at his party’s opponent.
“Bush is on the side of doctors, while Senator John Kerry is on the side of John Edwards,” Giuliani said.
Giuliani concluded his speech by telling people the most important thing they can do in this election is to vote.
While the majority of those in the audience applauded the New York politician, a few dissenters gathered around the crowd and made their presence known.
Nineteen-year-old Blake Trimbell repeatedly crossed the Victory Center lawn with a sign raised above her head endorsing Sally Stix, Green Party District Attorney candidate. The rally’s staff escorted her off the grass each time.
Dan Goldstein vocalized his opposition toward the current administration. He advocated abortion as a woman’s right with occasional jeers and a sign of a crossed-off cutout of Bush’s head.
“These are highly scripted and controlled affairs which are open to a select portion of the public, as long as the people are diehard cheerleaders for Bush or Kerry,” Goldstein said of the event.