RUDY DOES THE RIGHT THING – AT 2:38 P.M. ET:  There is growing concern in sane circles about the Kentucky GOP primary for the U.S. Senate.  It features a responsible guy against a guy who, well, may need some help with reality.  From The Politico:

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is the latest national Republican to weigh in on the Kentucky Senate race, endorsing Secretary of State Trey Grayson in the GOP primary as the candidate who "understands the great threat posed by our enemies abroad."

"Trey Grayson is the candidate in this race who will make the right decisions necessary to keep America safe and prevent more attacks on our homeland. He is not part of the 'blame America first' crowd that wants to bestow the rights of U.S. citizens on terrorists and point fingers at America for somehow causing 9/11," Giuliani said, in a clear swipe at Grayson's primary opponent, Rand Paul.

Rand Paul is the son of the certifiable Congressman Ron Paul of Texas.  Ron Paul, who runs as a Republican, really isn't.  He's a hopeless reactionary who would drag the GOP back to its dark, isolationist days.  True conservatives run from him, and are now running from his son. 

Giuliani's backing could help Grayson amplify his message on national security. The secretary of state has attacked Paul for "wonder[ing] whether 9/11 was our fault" and picked up the support of former Vice President Dick Cheney earlier in the campaign.

On Friday, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum also endorsed Grayson, calling him a strong opponent of abortion.

Santorum's endorsement should ease any conservative concerns.  He doesn't give endorsements freely.

Still, Grayson appears to have a challenging task ahead of him in the final weeks of the race: a SurveyUSA poll released last week showed him trailing Paul by 15 points, and his opponent won the support of retiring Sen. Jim Bunning.

That is the sad part.  Either there's a pretty hopeless faction of the GOP at work here, or voters just haven't concentrated yet on the campaign.  Also, in a rare but major political blunder, Sarah Palin endorsed Rand Paul early, apparently unaware of his national-security views, which are much more consistent with the far left than with the Republican Party.  Sarah should withdraw her endorsement.  As for Bunning's endorsement of Paul, it's meaningless.  Bunning was pressured by the GOP establishment to vacate his Senate seat, and this is retaliation.

We cannot blindly support anyone with the Republican label, and we will not.  Rand Paul, because of his national-security views, does not belong in the Senate, and the people of Kentucky should not send him there.  There are other Republicans who worry us as well.

There is a small, but influential faction within the conservative movement that rejects Ronald Reagan's world view.  Be careful of them.

April 20, 2010