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Philip Klein noticed my short piece at Redstate declaring the end of Rudy's chances based on the revelation that he gave money to Planned Parenthood. Phil is skeptical of my prognosis.

That's understandable. I, too, once thought Rudy (like the lady) was a champ. I knew he was pro-choice, but bought the campaign's assertion that he would appoint justices I'd appreciate. It was possible to hang with that for a while.

But then I saw the text of his speech to the National Abortion Rights Action League. That was a killer. Still, I was like a lovestruck girl and wanted to overlook it. I held out hope he might be the one for me. Then, there was Rudy's noticeable churning on the abortion issue during the first debate. Finally, we find out he gave money to Planned Parenthood personally.

An astute commenter at Redstate pointed out that it could have been the former Ms. Giuliani who made the contributions. If that is true, America's Mayor has so far declined the use of that defense. I suspect the fact is that he is pro-choice, he's a tough SOB, and he's just not willing to play ball with the pro-lifers enough to get the nomination.

Former Rudy supporters are going through the Rudy stages of grief. Rudy regurgitations are on the way.

At this point, nothing less than a conversion of sorts will save him. I'm sticking the neck out (not too far, I think) and am declaring Rudy's chances are only getting worse. It takes time for this kind of information to be fully realized in personal networks. The more Rudy gets painted as the pro-choicer in the field, the further his numbers will drop.

In my Redstate post, I said conservatives look only slightly less askance at money given to Planned Parenthood than they do the KKK. We'll see if the blowback is enough to take Rudy out of serious contention. Unless he pulls a rabbit out of a hat or Al Qaeda strikes again successfully in the homeland, he's done.

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Abortion