There's a strong distinction between opportunistic moderates and conservatives who have moderate stances on some issues. Rudy is the latter -- he is conservative on issues that matter to those in the northeast -- law and order, foreign policy, taxes. You're not going to get a candidate who's a single-issue pro-life anti-gay marriage candidate in the northeast and expect him to be a winner. It's not because they're moderates up there. It's because they just don't much care about those issues.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/04/an-alternative-view-still-room-for-moderate-gop-views-in-the-northeast/16807/
