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Giuliani concentrates efforts in Florida

BY MARK HARRINGTON.mark.harrington@newsday.com

January 16, 2008

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YULEE, Fla. - An embattled but comfortable Rudy Giuliani turned up the anti-terror rhetoric yesterday to receptive crowds across the state in a last fierce dash to lock in votes before Republican rivals converge on Florida next week.

He was greeted warmly by a carefully choreographed schedule of groups he has courted, including law enforcement and the military. He also drew applause from a hunting club, and from conservative seniors receptive to his plan to cut taxes and crack down on illegal immigration.

One of his most unscripted moments came when he sought to recognize several family members of soldiers recently killed in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Duval County Veterans Memorial Wall.

After initially confusing where the son of one couple was killed, Giuliani invited the parents to the podium to name their sons and describe their deaths.

The moment was nearly torpedoed by a group of anti-abortion hecklers. They disrupted one tearful mother with bullhorns, accusing Giuliani of being a child killer. Amid stunned gasps from the crowd of 200, Giuliani salvaged the moment by embracing the woman and telling the parents to ignore the hecklers.

He navigated through tricky waters at a meeting with a local hunting group at their lodge in the Yulee woods. Portraying himself as tough on crime and gun-toting criminals, the candidate who as mayor supported gun control measures said he also believed in the right of citizens to bear arms. "The constitution protects your rights," he told them, to applause.

At every stop, Giuliani sought to lock in as many votes as possible by urging supporters to cast mail-in ballots for him now. "I'd just get it over with and vote now," he told Republicans in New Smyrna Beach.

But while most seemed supportive, not everyone was convinced. "I need a little more time to make up my mind," said Mike Hanna. His concern was that Giuliani wasn't conservative enough. "If I had my druthers, Newt Gingrich would be president," Hanna said.

Giuliani's get-tough stances on crime and immigration hit responsive if predictable chords before a gathering of the National Troopers Coalition inside the Disney compound in Lake Buena Vista, in a presentation that invoked the 9/11 and other terror attacks and threats with frequency.

He drew applause when he said he'd require immigrants who become citizens to learn English. "You can become a citizen if you can read English, write English and speak English," he said, re-inserting a demand he'd omitted when meeting with Cuban communities.

Whether his get-tough message resonates beyond Disney World as the state nears the Jan. 29 GOP primary is another matter. Polls show him more or less tied with his rivals here where he once led by a large margin, as his one-time national lead slips.