The presidential campaigns of Republicans Fred Thompson and Rudy Giuliani would not appear to have a lot in common – one stressing the security threat, the other conservative values. One hard pushing New Yorker, one laid back Tennessean. But there are a couple of things. Rudy was a prominent bastard-busting New York D.A.; Fred played one on TV. Both campaigns tanked in the South (well, OK, let’s wait a bit before going there).
In any case, there is now a substantial connection following Thompson’s exit from the race: His principal Jewish funder, Mark Lezell, has gone over to Giuliani. (Might that presage an endorsement just in time for Rudy’s make-or-break bid in Florida, next Tuesday?) Lezell, a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board of directors, is a major corporate lawyer in Washington.
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