Former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani campaigned in Tampa today at Mitt Romney's state headquarters on Harbour Island. This is the same Mitt Romney he ran against four years ago for the GOP nomination for president. But times change.
Guiliani repeatedly ripped into Barack Obama as anti-business - expecially since the president's comment that small businesses have to rely on government to succeed.
"That's a guy who is anti-business, anti-profit. He is against for-profit anything," he told the crowd. "He's against for-profit in medicine, he's against for-profit in education, he's against for-profit in business. This is a man who wants a European-model - I'm not supposed to say 'socialist'."
(To hear Guiliani's complete speech on Harbour Island, click the "Listen" icon above.)
Guiliani is only the first in what is expected to be a long list of politicians coming to Tampa in advance of the Republican National Convention. Next up Monday: Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. They're launching their "Preserving America's Strength" series of town hall-style meetings in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire.
Here's what they'll discuss, according to their press release:
"President Obama's own Secretary of Defense called the looming defense cuts under budget sequestration `devastating,' likening them to `shooting ourselves in the head,' and yet to date, Congress and the Obama Administration have done nothing to stop them from going into effect," said Senators McCain, Graham and Ayotte. "We look forward to visiting communities in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire to sound the alarm about the profound negative consequences of these cuts to our national security and economy. These communities - which provide our troops the equipment and support they need to defend our country - will bear the brunt of the defense sequestration cuts. Their voices must be heard in Washington."
Their "town hall" meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, July 30 at the USF Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, 124 South Franklin St. in downtown Tampa.
