Bloomberg Snubs Republican Party; New York’s Republican Party Snubs Giuliani

New York State’s Republican Party isn’t just in financial trouble, they’re in a bit of political trouble too.

The state party has scheduled a significant fundraising dinner for May 17, 2007.  The dinner is an opportunity for prospective candidates to present themselves, while racking in big bucks for the cash strapped party.  Shockingly, John McCain will deliver the Keynote Speech at this New York Republican Party event, while Rudy Giuliani has been relegated to a “Featured Speaker.”  Needless to say, this assignment has cost the party money, while drawing the ire of Rudy…

Making matters worse is Giuliani’s anger at being relegated to second fiddle to McCain at his hometown party’s annual dinner - the result of his staff’s failure to quickly respond to Mondello’s early and repeated offers that he serve as the keynote speaker.

Giuliani and his political allies are expected to account for about $500,000 of the money raised at the affair, far less than he would have helped the party generate if he had been the featured speaker, GOP insiders agreed.

As for McCain, “He’s bringing in hardly anything,” largely because he sees no percentage in raising money for the New York GOP, which is certain to line up strongly for favorite son Giuliani, GOP sources said.

Additionally, Mayor Bloomberg, who is considering running for president as an independent, curiously withdrew from the dinner citing “scheduling conflicts.”  I imagine that his decision not to attend the event has more to do with a potential run and less to do with his schedule, but only time will tell…