The last two years have been difficult ones for the GOP. An unpopular president, presiding over an unpopular war lead to Republicans losing congress, and conventional wisdom, until recently, suggested that the same was likely to happen in their quest to maintain control over the executive branch.
However, without the mainstream media noticing, sometime around mid-September the GOP bottomed out and since then, the party has begun a slow recovery, which although not evident in measurements of public approval, has GOP regulars hopeful that the return of the Democrats to the White House may not be such a sure thing.
Iraq appears to have turned around and if success in that nation continues it will leave the Democrats without the one issue that has provided them with any electoral success over the last eight years.
The Democratic congress has politicized every issue that they could get their hands on from the funding of our troops to an unnecessary expansion of the SCHIP program. While you would think that these would be easy issues to bludgeon the administration with, President Bush has outwitted the hapless Democrats at every turn.
In the Democratic presidential contest, aka. the Tattle of The One Term Senators, frontrunner Hillary Clinton was finally called out last week for her pattern of evasive answers and doublespeak. Unless these habits can be reversed it should be easy for the GOP to rightfully paint the Senator as waffling and unable to answer simple questions in a straightforward manner. As we saw with John Kerry, this can mean death for a presidential candidate.
So with things finally looking up for the GOP, party regulars face the decision as to who will be the standard bearer. While early grumblings among the party faithfu, that none of the major candidates were Reagan-esque enough to lead the party, the near certainty of a Hillary candidacy seems to have focused the candidates and has forced primary voters to weigh the candidate's negatives against the possibility of a second Clinton presidency.
Two questions must be answered.
First, who has the best chance of beating Hillary? All Republicans can agree that any of the GOP candidates and perhaps half of the Democratic hopefuls would be preferable to Clinton as an occupant of the Oval Office.
In addition to this we must be sure that whoever is nominated will espouse the basic principles of the party, and not waver on the core issues such as tax cuts and an aggressive foreign policy and will work to reestablish the GOP’s small government credentials.
Rudy Giuliani is the one who can meet both of these criteria He is also the most qualified of all of the candidates in either party despite Joe Biden’s silly comments at the last Dem debate. Comments such as Bidens are made out of fear of a Giuliani candidacy, rather than as serious commentary on Rudy’s accomplishments. One needs only look at what Rudy would bring to the table as a candidate in order to understand the fear that the Democrats understandably have of him being the Republican nominee.
Rudy will be able to attract moderate Democrats and independents into the party, especially those who have been turned off by 16 years of Bill and Hillary in the news every day.
The issue of abortion will be less salient since both he and Hillary are pro-choice, and yet Christian Conservatives would certainly much rather have new Supreme Court justices placed by Giuliani than by Hillary.
He comes across as straightforward, unscripted and imperfect, as opposed to Mitt Romney, whom for all of his positives, is still far too polished and untested to stand up to the coming Clinton onslaught without loosing his cool and losing his focus.
Rudy is a proven leader. He took a city, which had been crippled by years of Democratic bureaucracy, corruption and a lack of new ideas and used basic conservative principles such as tax cuts, lower spending and law and order to restore the city’s economy, reduce crime, make the city tourist friendly and restore the worldly reputation which New York had lost throughout the 70’s and 80’s. He was the chief executive in a city equal in size to many states. This is tantamount to being a governor, only with a much higher profile.
On 9/11, Rudy provided hope and unwavering leadership to America’s largest city during its darkest hours. We all witnessed it first hand, and while some have chosen to second guess some of his actions in the days following the attacks, these criticisms are mostly partisan in nature and nit-picky in substance.
On that day, Rudy guided a terrified city out of chaos. These actions alone, make him far more qualified than anyone else in terms of dealing with the type of threat we face from Islamo-facism in the 21st century.
Rudy, has never wavered in his support for the war in Iraq. Even though he has no vote directly connecting him to the war as Hillary Clinton does, unlike Hillary he never stuck his finger in the wind and altered his position and rhetoric on the war in order to maximize his political gains. Rudy has a history of doing the things he does because he believes in them, not because they will lead him to electoral success.
He is strong on tax cuts and we have no reason to believe that he would be any less hawkish than George W. Bush when it comes to Middle–East policy.
If one needs proof that Rudy is electable, they only need look at the current polls measuring head-to-head match-ups between Rudy and Hillary. Despite the anti-GOP mood in the country and Rudy’s relatively low profile as of late, especially when compared to Hillary, he still polls even with the Senator. If things start going the GOP’s way, Rudy could potentially run the table in the Electoral College with the ironic exception of his home state, where a large portion of the folks wouldn’t vote for Jesus Christ if he ran as a Republican against Satan himself.
The other GOP candidates in the race all have good qualities, but Rudy is the one who is the most like Reagan and the most likely to win in a general election.
Mitt Romney has brains, cash and charisma but is lacking in the substance department. While Rudy is guilty of finessing some of his policy positions in order to make them more palatable to the GOP base, Romney has completely flip-flopped in order to make himself appear to be a conservative. He needs another four years to shore up his conservative credentials before he can be considered seriously for the job. In addition, this election is far too important to risk a negative reaction from the public over the Mormon issue.
Fred Thompson is an all around great guy, but he is yet to present GOP voters with any real reason to support him other than his down home charm and what thus far appears to be a purist ideology.
Mike Huckabee is perfect for the Vice-Presidency and should be at the top of the list if Rudy captures the nomination.
John McCain seems to have lost his energy after losing momentum due to his compromises on issues like tax-cuts, immigration and water-boarding.
Rudy has a lot going for him in this race. He is a proven leader, a Washington outsider, he’s not a Bush or a Clinton, he’s not a phony and he knows how to work across the aisle.
For years now, political pundits have told us how it would be impossible for Rudy to win the nomination, and yet here we are 53 days out of Iowa and Rudy still holds a wide lead in national polls. In addition to this, he has hardly advertised in early primary states and remains either ahead or within striking distance of Mitt Romney who has spent millions on commercials.
In past elections, there has been a sense that none of the candidates running were really the best possible person to assume the mantel of Leader of the Free World. Yet, they were the only choices that we had and we accepted or rejected them based on a whole host of issues, some related directly to their abilities and some not.
With Rudy Giuliani, it’s hard to imagine anyone who is better suited to lead the nation during these dangerous times. Even Reagan wasn’t perfect when he came on the presidential scene. He had previously been pro-choice, he had been divorced and had a tumultuous relationship with his kids. Despite all of this, today Reagan is the individual against whom all other Republicans are judged.
Rudy passes the Reagan test and is exactly the type of leader that America needs at this moment in history.
That is why Falling Panda is endorsing Rudy Giuliani for the Presidency of the United States.
- Dan Joseph
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
ENDORSEMENT: RUDY GIULIANI FOR PRESIDENT
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16 comments:
Seriously? This is who you're going with???
there is no possible way he can win - no way
Why no mention of Ron Paul? He doesn't get nearly as much press but he has raised a LOT of money and has a very strong following. Plus he seems to have a stronger moral compass and a cleaner past than ANY of the nom.s, R or D. He even has this “democrat” looking at him across party lines, considering crossing over to him!
Also, what do you say to those followers of Rudy that say he's betrayed them, mostly NYers who lived through his reign in NYC? Don't you think it's a little hypocritical that he was so liberal (living with a gay couple, dressing in drag, being pro-gay rights and pro-choice) and now all of a sudden he's snuggling up to the religious right?!?!
You're going to have to go into a bit more detail on this whole "betrayal" thing for me to respond.
As for Ron Paul I'll say this. The history of the world at times when America has espoused isolationist policies similar to those of Mr. Paul is an incredibly bloody one. It is an ideology which gives rise to dictatorships and in which tyranys go unchecked. Neither America or the world can afford to go back to those days.
Also, we don't know what's in Ron Paul's past. No one has done any investigation on the subject because the man doesn't have a serious chance of recieving the nomination.
Finally, I think that if you did some more research into Paul's economic stands, you wouldn't care for the guy as much.
Basically he believes that almost every program that has been set up by the federal govt. in order to help the poor, the elderly, etc. is wasteful and not justified by the US Constitution.
On those points I agree with him to a certain extent, but I don't think you would describe yourself as an economic Libertarian in any sense of the word. Unless I'm wrong, in which case, welcome to the GOP.
Regarding Ghouliani, check these out:
http://www.thealbanyproject.com/frontPage.do
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2007/11/02/is-the-real-rudy-for-real/
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020617/newfield
http://rochesterturning.com/2006/10/31/big-times-piece-on-massakuhl-race/
Regarding Ron Paul, you said his is an “ideology which gives rise to dictatorships and in which tyrannies go unchecked.” How is that possible when the cornerstone of his ideology is the U.S Constitution? It’s all he talks about! And you said, “The history of the world at times when America has espoused isolationist policies similar to those of Mr. Paul is an incredibly bloody one.” If that’s true, then how come he is the ONE candidate that wants to bring our troops home NOW and end the war?
As for his past, people HAVE investigated, and it’s clean. He was an OB/GYN. ;)
As for his economic stand, I’m not saying I’m definitely voting for the guy yet, I’m just saying, so far, I like him a lot more than Hil & Rudy.
First off, if you're trying to convince me that Giuliani is gilty of betraying th city in the aftermath ofr before 9/11, you're going to have to provide me with evidence that doesn't come from some left wing blogger or website.
The Nation is a far-left mag and I've never even heard of the other sites although they seem to be referencing Robert Greenwald, who has maade a career out of making propoganda films which unfairly bash republicans.
Ron Paul, has always wanted to bring our troops home from Iraq before the job was complete and as I and most other Republicans have been saying for years now, that would have lead to a massacre, with sunnis and shiiites and Al Queda and Iranian forces killing eachother for years to come. As we are beginign to see Paul and all of the others who called for a premature withdrawl were dead wrong, as the urge strategy has had an incredibly positive effect in pacifiying the country.
America's history of isolationism lead to our late entry into both WWI and WWII which cost Europe thousands of lives at German hands.
Without the threat of American intervention there is no doubt in my mind that areas such as the middle east would be in more chaos than they already are.
Remeber Saddam trying to take over Kuwaits oil reserves? Remember when Iran's president said he wanted to wipe Israel off the face of the map?
You'll notice how only the candidates who really have a chance at being elected get the heavy media scrutiny. Paul has been in congress for 20 years. I'm sure he's a good guy, but if he was a threat to any of the top candidates they would dig up something on him, just like the left is deperately trying to do to Rudy.
First of all: holy typos, Batman! J/K hon- I know I’m guilty too at times. ;) But maybe if you made grammatical mistakes, you made mistakes in judgment or content too? Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. ;)
Second of all, just because something is posted on a blog, doesn’t mean it is without merit or actual fact; just look at your blog AND MINE!
You said: “You'll notice how only the candidates who really have a chance at being elected get the heavy media scrutiny.”
I don’t think that is necessarily true in this new age of MySpace; “the powers that be” own the media, and if they are scared of what a certain candidate might do to their interests, they might try to keep someone out of the press.
You also said, “Paul has been in congress for 20 years. I'm sure he's a good guy, but if he was a threat to any of the top candidates they would dig up something on him, just like the left is desperately trying to do to Rudy.”
The left isn’t desperately trying to dig up dirt on Rudy, they are being handed it, willingly and easily, left and right (literally and figuratively!), by people that Rudy was supposed to be fighting for, that Rudy made promises to, and then Rudy shat on. NAMELY: firefighters and gays, which may not be important to Republicans, but they sure as hell are important to NYers, Democrats, and the all powerful entertainment industry.
Again, you're going to have to provide me with reliable sources on this stuff or else I can't respond.
everything I say on this blog is backed up by Maistream media sources and information can be provided to prove it.
As bloggers we must do this b/c there is far too much bad information flying around on the internets.
Again, I am open to examining these accusations against Rudy, but until I see addressed by a MSM source with some credibility, I have no choice but to ignore them.
Sorry about my typos. My cat Melvin was walking around onthe keyboard while I was trying to type.
Is NY1 a reliable enough source for ya?
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=75341&search_result=1&stid=245
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=75303&search_result=1&stid=236
HOw about CNN?
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/14/regan.lawsuit/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/09/kerik.indictment/index.html?iref=newssearch
All of those sources are fine, but I don't see what they have to do with what we're discussing.
The first two are polls about how, Giuliani trails HIllary which is not surprising considering that NY is a very blue state and the nation remains in an anti-GOP mood for the most part.
The next two are a bit more signifigant.
Judith Reagan claims that Fox News tried to smear her in order to help Giuliani, but I have absolutely no clue what reason she has to believe this.
She's trying to regain her reputation after a disaterous public relations snaffu with the OJ book.
She dated Kerick who was involved in shady dealings, however there is no evidence that Rudy was involved in any of it or that he knew about the activities.
Kerick did a good job while he was working for Rudy and Rudy has publically expressed regret in hiring him, and obviously wouldn;t have put him in such a high profile position if he knew what he was up to.
So again, besides making a mistake in regards to Kerick's character, I'm not sure that any of this would lead anyone reach the conclusion that Rudy "betrayed" the people of NY.
First of all, I think most people feel betrayed by politicians when it is revealed that said politicians were in bed with criminals (Kerick).
Second of all Giuliani trails HIllary not because “NY is a very blue state and the nation remains in an anti-GOP mood for the most part,” but because of how he has been using 9/11 as his campaign slogan, claiming to be “America’s Mayor,” but has angered the gay community and most of the FDNY & NYPD by not standing up for them now the way he did right after 9/11. (He has not fought enough recently for health care and financial aid for those who were at ground zero and claimed he had spent as much time as the site as workers when in reality he spent very few hours there (about 1/6 the amount of hours he spent at baseball games that year). And he’s been snuggling up the Christian Right, hinting that he won’t elect S.C. Justices that they’d disapprove of, which is a real slap in the face to all the gay and pro-choice supporters that made him a hero in NYC.
Third of all I think all the articles are examples of what I was saying before: “The left isn’t desperately trying to dig up dirt on Rudy, they are being handed it, willingly and easily, left and right (literally and figuratively!), by people that Rudy was supposed to be fighting for, that Rudy made promises to, and then Rudy shat on.”
Gays and pro-choice people DID NOT make Rudy a hero. Rudy's actions made Rudy a hero. We all saw him down at ground zero and at the funerals with the family members day after day following the events of 9/11.
"1/6 of the hours he spent at baseball games that year"? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Baseball season was practically over by Sept. 11.
And how exacly is he supossed to "stand up" for the firefighters and police officers? Does that mean he has to do whatever it is that their unions want?
As far as the gays go, anyone who wants to be elected president, needs to distance themselves from the gay community, becasue like it or not, their agenda remains wildly upopular with the majority of Americans.
Giuliani is just about as good as it's going to get in terms of having a relationship with, understanding and listening to the grievances of the gay community.
Like I said before , none of this stuff is going to stick, because all of these things are minor complaints related to the overwhelmingly positive reaction that Rudy had to 9/11. His opponents would be insane to bring it up.
Unless it can be proven that Giuliani knew about Kerick's shady dealings and then ignored it which we have no reason to believe.
How many of Bill and Hillary's former bussiness associates went to jail? Dozens. It hasn't seem to have hurt Hillary's quest for the nomination or BIll's legacy among Democrats.
In reality all of this simply represents the early stages of Democratic attacks on Giuliani, because they a) know that he would be a president who would persue the War on Terror just as aggresivly as Bush has, and b) they know that he can win the election.
"For Giuliani, Ground Zero as Linchpin and Thorn
By RUSS BUETTNER
Published: August 17, 2007
As Rudolph W. Giuliani campaigns around the country highlighting his stewardship of New York City after the Sept. 11 attacks, he is widely hailed for bringing order to a traumatized city. But he has also raised the hackles of rescue and recovery workers by likening his experience to theirs.
On at least three occasions, in responding to accusations that the city failed to adequately protect the health of workers in the wreckage, he has boasted that he faced comparable risks himself. In one appearance he declared that he had been in the ruins “as often, if not more” than the cleanup workers who logged hundreds of hours in the smoldering pile.
Another time he brushed aside safety claims by asserting that his long hours at the site had left him susceptible to “every health consequence that people have suffered.”
So, how much time did Mayor Giuliani spend at ground zero?
A complete record of Mr. Giuliani’s exposure to the site is not available for the chaotic six days after the attack, when he was a frequent visitor. But an exhaustively detailed account from his mayoral archive, revised after the events to account for last-minute changes on scheduled stops, does exist for the period of Sept. 17 to Dec. 16, 2001. It shows he was there for a total of 29 hours in those three months, often for short periods or to visit locations adjacent to the rubble. In that same period, many rescue and recovery workers put in daily 12-hour shifts.
“I think Mayor Giuliani did a fine job as mayor during probably the most difficult time in American history, especially in New York history,” said Michael J. Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association of New York City. “Having said that, it’s unfair for him to characterize himself as being in the same position as the first responders.”
Mr. Palladino said many of his members logged 30 hours in the first two days after the attacks, and most averaged more than 400 hours at ground zero and in the debris pile at the Staten Island landfill. They are among thousands who claim long-term health damage from the exposure.
The details of those weeks are important for Mr. Giuliani’s campaign as he seeks to win the Republican nomination for president. His performance in those harrowing months after the attacks has become the main pillar of his case to become the next commander in chief, and something he reminds voters of frequently in debates and speeches.
The logs illuminate in minute detail what it was like to be mayor of a damaged city seeking to regain its footing after the attacks. The more than 600 pages include unscheduled stops and time blocked out for events with his children.
The 29 hours Mr. Giuliani spent at ground zero involved 41 appearances, mostly to give tours to other officials and foreign dignitaries. Many entries include meetings away from the site before the tour. For instance, the schedule included 30 minutes on Nov. 15, 2001, for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but Mr. Putin’s tour of ground zero was widely reported to have lasted 13 minutes.
Asked to reconcile what the records show with Mr. Giuliani’s public comments about the extent of his exposure to the site, his campaign provided a written statement from Joseph J. Lhota, a former deputy mayor.
“Hundreds of thousands of people around the country and the world saw Rudy Giuliani’s steadfast and determined leadership firsthand at a time when we needed it most,” the statement said. “In the days surrounding September 11th, the safety and health of all those involved in the search and recovery efforts was Mayor Giuliani’s No. 1 one priority. Make no mistake, it is the very same concern Mayor Giuliani continues to express today when it comes to all those who have made tremendous sacrifices at ground zero.”
The months after the attack have emerged as the focus of a contentious battle over the health effects of the cleanup, with workers at the site saying that their long-term exposure to toxins there caused serious illnesses, and that the Giuliani administration failed to recognize the risks in pushing for a speedy cleanup.
The firefighters’ union has also taken umbrage at Mr. Giuliani’s rhetorical claims of being “one of them.”
John J. McDonnell, a battalion chief and president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association in New York, said many of his members worked weeks of consecutive 12-hour shifts on the rubble pile, interrupted only by nights sleeping on the floor of a nearby church.
It was in the context of the debate over health effects at ground zero that Mr. Giuliani said he spent at least as much time at the site as most of the rescue and recovery workers.
“I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers,” Mr. Giuliani said last week in Cincinnati. “I was there working with them. I was there guiding things. I was there bringing people there. But I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them.”
The next day, in an interview with Mike Gallagher, a talk show host, he expressed regret for the tone of his remarks, but reiterated the substance of them.
“I wasn’t trying to suggest a competition of any kind, which is the way it came across,” Mr. Giuliani said. “You know, what I was saying was, ‘I’m there with you.’ Gosh almighty, I was there often enough, even though they were there, people there more and people there less, but I was there often enough so that every health consequence that people have suffered, I could also be suffering.”
And in September 2006, The Associated Press quoted him as saying of ground zero, “I spent as much time here as anyone,” and then adding, “I was here five, six times a day for four months. I kind of thought of it as living here.”
A sample by Mount Sinai Medical Center of 1,138 participants in its study of health problems among rescue, recovery and debris removal workers found that they had spent a median of 962 hours at the World Trade Center site, or the equivalent of about 120 eight-hour days.
The days after the attack for which no detailed records exist were when the dust from smoldering rubble was its thickest, and were also the most dangerous for exposure. Mr. Giuliani was engulfed in the smoke and debris from the collapsing towers the day of the attacks, and escorted President Bush to the site three days later.
The schedules, beginning Sept. 17, show a mayor wrestling with a crushing burden of events.
On Thursday, Sept. 20, for example, he gave three nationally televised interviews before his daily 8 a.m. staff meeting at the command center on Pier 92. At 9:15 a.m., he presided over the opening of Nasdaq trading at Times Square. At 11 a.m., he led a United States Senate delegation on a tour of ground zero, followed that afternoon by a news conference and meetings with Muhammad Ali, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and another staff meeting. At 5:30 p.m., he left for Washington to attend President Bush’s address to Congress and returned to La Guardia Airport at midnight.
Alan I. Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University who specializes in voter behavior, said the Giuliani campaign’s focus on his Sept. 11 record has raised the stakes for any mischaracterization of his actions during that period.
“Its sort of like John Kerry making his war heroism a central focus,” Mr. Abramowitz said, “which may have contributed to the attention that was given to the swift boat veterans’ attacks on him.” ”
-The New York Times
“Aug. 18, 2007:
On Friday, a New York Times story examined Rudy Giuliani's schedule in the months after 9/11 to verify his controversial claim that, like rescue workers, he'd spent long hours at ground zero, and so was "in that sense ... one of them." In fact, the Times found, he only spent 29 hours at the terror site between Sept. 17 and Dec. 16.
What was he doing instead? Giuliani's beloved New York Yankees made it to the World Series in 2001. We decided to compare the time he spent on baseball to the time he spent at the ruins of the World Trade Center.
The results were, considering the mayor's long-standing devotion to the Bronx Bombers, unsurprising. By our count, Giuliani spent about 58 hours at Yankees games or flying to them in the 40 days between Sept. 25 and Nov. 4, roughly twice as long as he spent at ground zero in the 90 days between Sept. 17 and Dec. 16. By his own standard, Giuliani was one of the Yankees more than he was one of the rescue workers.
During three postseason playoff series that began Oct. 10, 2001, and ended Nov. 4, 2001, Giuliani attended every one of the team's home games, with the possible exception of the third game of the American League Championship Series, for which Salon could not confirm his attendance. According to Salon's arithmetic, Giuliani spent about 33 hours in stadiums -- this includes two World Series games he watched in Phoenix -- during the Yankees' 2001 postseason run, four hours more than he spent at ground zero. (We do not know if he stayed for every pitch, but famed baseball writer Roger Angell described Giuliani in the the New Yorker as a "devout Yankee fan, a guy who stays on until the end of the game.") And though the final budget he submitted as mayor called for serious belt-tightening around the city -- cuts as high as 15 percent for most agencies -- in the wake of the attacks and the $40 billion debt New York faced, Giuliani wasn't quite prepared to subject the Yankees or their counterpart Mets to the same penny-pinching. In fact, though nearly everyone expected 9/11 to cause the city to abandon the plans for new stadiums for the teams -- Long Island's Newsday reported that "since Sept. 11, several city officials, including [then-Mayor-elect Michael] Bloomberg, have said the projects were on the back burner because of the city's other pressing needs" -- Giuliani wanted to push forward. The stadiums were projected to have cost $1.6 billion in city, state and private funds.”
-http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/08/18/rudy_yankees/
This is why so many of the NYPD & FDNY are angry. Because though Rudy claims to know what they’re going through (health-wise and otherwise), he doesn’t have the first clue. But regardless, he should be STANDING UP FOR THEM by helping to get more money allotted for treatment of the various respiratory ailments they have suffered from since working at ground zero.
You said, “ As far as the gays go, anyone who wants to be elected president, needs to distance themselves from the gay community, because like it or not, their agenda remains wildly unpopular with the majority of Americans.” That is bull and a copout and makes it seems as if you are suggesting that the possible future president of our country shouldn’t care about the needs of ALL it’s citizens which would make him a horrible president (and pretty shitty human being as well). Hopefully I’m misunderstanding you.
You talked of the “overwhelmingly positive reaction that Rudy had to 9/11.” The problem is, it wasn’t a LASTING positive reaction. If it was, all of NYC would be behind him now.
You also said, “How many of Bill and Hillary's former bussiness associates went to jail? Dozens. It hasn't seem to have hurt Hillary's quest for the nomination or BIll's legacy among Democrats.” You’re wrong about that too. Just because A LOT of Democrats still follow the Clintons and have forgiven them, doesn’t mean ALL of us have. I certainly haven’t and I’m not alone. I wouldn’t trust either Clinton as far as I could throw him/her, and after all the shady things they’ve done, I’m sad to say it puts all their positive achievements in a sour light in my eyes.
Finally, I take issue with the fact that you say Giuliani “would be a president who would pursue the War on Terror just as aggressively as Bush has,” as if it’s a good thing. Bush has royally screwed up the war on terror and the war in general in many ways, none of which I have time to address right now.
Oh, and p.s.- give your cat something else to do when you’re on the computer: cat toys, catnip, whatever, and try using your spell check every once in a while. ;)
Frankly, I really don't care how much time Rudy spent a ground zero, what I care about is his leadership throughout the course of the situation.
He should have never gotten into an argument as to how much time he spent down there b/c it was totally irrelevant.
We don't know that Rudy "doesn't have the first clue" what those workers were going through.
Based on the amount of time he did spend down ther as well as the amount of time he spent with 9/11 families I'm guessing he probably does.
All of these NYC liberals trying to take down Rudy based on 9/11 is very similar to what happened to John Kerry when the Swift Boat guys attacked him, much of which I thought was unfair. The difference of course is that we all saw all of the good things that Rudy was doing in the wake of 9/11 first hand, while we had to take Kerry's word for what he did in Vietnam.
This is the reason as to why in most of the nation, Rudy remains very popular and why powerful left-leaning forces in NY are tring to ruin his reputation.
You have to keep in mind that NYC is still one of the most left-leaning places in the country, the fact that they don't like the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, in a time when the GOP is incredibly unpopular in the country does not surprise me.
Liberals have pretty much forgotten that we're at war and that we were attacked on 9/11 so it doesn't surprise me that they have also forgotten all of the incredibly positive things that Rudy accomplished as mayor.
When I said Rudy doesn't have the first clue what the workers were (are) going through, I wasn't just talking about emotions. I was actually, mainly, talking about health issues. Rudy has had no health problems due to his time at ground zero because he wasn't there long enough. He should be helping those who do.
Now let me confess something to you: I’m not a die-hard Democrat anymore. I’m becoming politically more like I am religiously: I’m studying all the parties, but realizing I don’t fully agree with any ONE of their schools of thought, so I really shouldn’t call myself one. Similarly, there are facets of Christianity, Buddhism, and Judaism that I respect and agree with, but I don’t agree with ALL of what any ONE religion teaches, so I can’t in good conscience call myself a Christian, a Buddhist or a Jew. Likewise, I’m learning that I can’t really call myself a Democrat, because I don’t believe in all things the party does: I don’t like gun control unless it applies to semi-automatic assault rifles, I believe in the death penalty, and so on.
I’ll also admit to you that there was a time when I LOVED Rudy Giuliani!!! He got the homeless off the streets of NYC, which (for a woman who is CONSTANTLY harassed and frightened by loud, lewd, violent, delusional bums on the subways) was a great relief and something I sorely miss. And in the few months after 9/11 I thought he acted as a true hero; helping to identify horribly disfigured remains so that family members would be spared that horror, taking children of victims to Yankee games, inspiring those who lost loved ones not to fall into the pits of despair, and igniting our patriotism and our belief that NYC is the greatest city in the world. I helped my cousin work on a documentary about 9/11, and the principal character in that film, the knight in shining armor, leading the charge against evil was (you guessed it!) Rudy. I helped served food to the rescue workers at St. Paul’s and then heard Rudy speak there, in one of his most historic (and longest) speeches, and I was on my feet, tears streaming down my face, the entire time.
But if you want to be a hero, and have people follow you and support you, you can’t just do it for a few months. You have to keep doing it. And I don’t believe Rudy is a hero anymore. He was once, but for him to get my vote, he would have to have remained one. A president is a president for four or eight years, not a few months. And I want a president who sticks to his guns and stands by his morals, not one who flip-flops about what he believes or distances himself from his principals just to move farther up the political ladder.
From CBC News 3/7/07:
“Firefighters Blast Rudy For Post-9/11 Acts
Union Slams Former New York Mayor For Ground Zero Recovery Operations
The nation's largest firefighters union has accused Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, of committing “egregious acts” against firefighters who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In a letter to its members Friday, the International Association of Fire Fighters, excoriated Giuliani for his November 2001 decision to cut back the number of firefighters searching the rubble of Ground Zero for the remains of some 300 fallen comrades.
The 280,000-member union accused him of carelessly expediting the cleanup process with a “scoop-and-dump” operation after the recovery of millions of dollars in gold, silver and other assets from the Bank of Nova Scotia that had been buried.
Giuliani's campaign insisted that he respects and supports first responders.
The former mayor and the union have feuded for years over his policies in the aftermath of the attacks, but the firefighters' latest criticism comes as several polls show Giuliani ahead by wide margins in the GOP nomination race.
The union's latest broadside initially was included in a scathing letter dated Feb. 28. Union officials say that letter was drafted as leaders were weighing whether to invite Giuliani to a presidential candidate forum but never was distributed to members because the union ultimately invited Giuliani. Giuliani, however, declined the invitation to next week's forum, citing scheduling conflicts.
“We decided to fall on the side of taking the high road and extend an invitation to him,” said Harold Schaitberger, the union's general president. “That letter was never intended to be released.”
Nevertheless, the letter showed up on Web sites this week. After it surfaced, the union decided to send a revised letter with the same criticisms to its members on Friday and posted it on the union's Web site.
“Mayor Giuliani's actions meant that firefighters and citizens who perished would either remain buried at Ground Zero forever, with no closure for families, or be removed like so much garbage and deposited at the Fresh Kills landfill,” the letter said, adding: “Hundreds remained entombed in Ground Zero when Giuliani gave up on them.”
“What Giuliani showed is a disgraceful lack of respect for the fallen and those brothers still searching for them,” it added.
The union said the purpose of the letter was “to make all our members aware of the egregious acts Mayor Giuliani committed against our members, our fallen on 9/11 and our New York City union officers following that horrific day.”
Ielpi, for his part, said he was “deeply disappointed and disheartened” by the union's recent political activities and called the letter offensive and inaccurate.
Tim Brown, a former firefighter and executive director of Firefighters for Rudy who is also a Giuliani campaign aide, added: “We are honored by the support of so many first responders from across the country and are appreciative of their continued enthusiasm for Mayor Giuliani's candidacy.”
The union says it's bipartisan. It endorsed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004. “
That’s just one of many articles I’ve read about NYers who feel betrayed by their one-time “hero.”
On another note: Happy Thanksgiving, Dan!!! Hope you have a great day with loved ones. =) This year I will be giving thanks to Falling Panda for the great debates and for helping to keep the political part of my brain alive and hummin’. ;)
Always,
S
and the hits just keep on comin'...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/giuliani/index.html?iref=newssearch
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