Giuliani Tells Exeter Voters He's A Small Government Conservative

By Dan Trudeau on Monday, October 15, 2007.

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Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani was in New Hampshire Sunday, speaking at Exeter Town Hall.

NHPR’s Dan Trudeau has more.

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NHPR Primary 2008 coverage

Rudy Giuliani told the crowded town hall that he was the only candidate from either party with a consistent record of cutting taxes and reducing government. As mayor of New York, Giuliani said he lowered city income taxes and shrank most city departments.

Kingston Republican Joe Santonello listened to the speech… and afterward said he was persuaded to vote for Giuliani.

"He has a record, he’s done that. He’s run a city that, like he said, is the seventeenth largest economy in the world… in the world. So he has a record. Fred Thompson, God bless him, he’s a good guy, but he’s an attorney. Mitt Romney, he’s done some of those things too, but I don’t think he has the conviction that Rudy has."

One promise Giuliani made was to reduce the federal government’s civilian workforce by about 20 percent.

Most polls show Giuliani leading the Republican primary nationally, but he still trails Romney in New Hampshire.

For NHPR News, I’m Dan Trudeau.