Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Challenging The Rudy Giuliani 9/11 Hero Myth

Is it uncommon for NYC Union bosses to go after Republicans who are running for Prez?:-)
Yours,
Issodhos

Good question! It leads one to wonder why that might be the case. If it is.

One thing for sure: it is uncommon for former mayors of NYC to run for President as Republicans.

Moot.

Here's the odds makers line at the moment:
DEMOCRAT PARTY -175
REPUBLICAN PARTY 110
ANY OTHER POLITICAL PARTY 4000

Rudy will be working for FOX between 2009 and 2017

All the other Republicans will have non-President jobs as well.

gamblerspalace.com

As I understand it, this particular Union is angry at Mr. Guiliani because he has misrepresented his role in 9/11 and mischaracterized the response of the responders, while at the same time opposing their claims for treatment and compensation.

Of course it is common for unions to oppose Republican candidates, but my sense is that in this case the opposition is very heated and that they will go for blood.

Fermi, according to the oddsmakers, no matter what they may say about party, the front runners have equal chances (both at 200). And right behind them, at 300, is Fred Thomspon, tied with Barack Obama, and next is John McCain!

You can't make up better stuff than that.

TOP 14 RUDY EXAGGERATIONS:

* Giuliani exaggerated his alleged expertise and experience with advanced interrogation techniques.

* He exaggerated his background as a religious scholar, claiming on separate occasions, "It happens that I am a student of the history of religion," and "[Theology is] an area I know really, really well academically."

* He exaggerated prostate cancer survival-rates in order to make a dishonest ad about healthcare.

* He exaggerated how much time he spent at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11, claiming to be an actual recovery worker.

* He exaggerated the responsibilities of the mayor of NYC, claiming to have the security of 8 million people "on his shoulders," basically characterizing himself as the commander-in-chief of some kind of city-state.

* He exaggerated his 9/11 record in a variety of breathtaking ways.

* He exaggerated his background in counter-terrorism, claiming to have been "studying Islamic terrorism for 30 years," a claim which quickly fell apart.

* He exaggerated his record of reducing abortions and increasing adoptions in New York City during his tenure.

* He exaggerated his record of tax cuts as mayor, including tax cuts that passed over his opposition (and counting one cut twice).

* He exaggerated his budget accomplishments, claiming to have created huge surpluses, when in fact he left Bloomberg with massive deficits.

* He exaggerated how many cops he added to the NYPD.

* He exaggerated Hillary Clinton's comments about economics.

* He even exaggerated his list of congressional endorsements he's received for his presidential campaign.

* And now he's exaggerated Bernie Kerik's record of reducing crime in New York City.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/67342/

Another bad day for Rudy:

By CHRIS FRANCESCANI
ABC News Law & Justice Unit
Nov. 14, 2007

Only Judith Regan could draw so many famous men into one court filing.

In a $100 million defamation suit filed in New York Tuesday, the firebrand former publisher sues, censures or cites Rudy Giuliani, Rupert Murdoch, Mickey Mantle, Bill O'Reilly, O.J. Simpson, Roger Ailes and Bernard Kerik.

In a 72-page complaint, Regan's attorneys claim that she was the victim of a "deliberate smear campaign orchestrated by one of the world's largest media conglomerates for the sole purpose of destroying her credibility and reputation.

"This smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions," read the court filing.

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3864145&page=1

Report: Rudy has business ties to 9/11 facilitator

GOP presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani, who has made tough talk about combating Islamic terror a staple of his campaign, has had extensive business dealings with a foreign ministry helmed by a man with ties to the 9/11 attacks, according to a new report.

Giuliani Partners, a consulting firm which the former New York mayor founded after leaving in office in 2002, maintains a "cozy business relationship," with the "terrorist-tolerant" nation of Qatar, writes the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett. Barret reports that the firm's business partners in Qatar have included that country's former minister of Islamic affairs, Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani (above right), who has been accused of helping suspected 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad evade an an FBI arrest attempt in 1996.

"In other words," writes Barrett, "as incredible as it might seem, Rudy Giuliani -- whose presidential candidacy is steeped in 9/11 iconography -- has been doing business with a government agency run by the very man who made the attacks on 9/11 possible."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Rudy_Giuliani_and_his_connections_to_1129.html

Anybody seen Giuliani's latest TV ad? He tries to make the claim that only a Republican (such as him) knows how to fight terrorism. His example is that the American hostages in Iran were released the day Reagan took office, implying that the mere thought of facing a Republican President had them quaking in their boots...

Of course he completely omits the fact that Reagan's political operatives made a deal with the Iranians NOT to release the hostages for several months, until their guy could win the election and get sworn in.

So is Rudy stupid, or does he just think his potential supporters are?

I wouldn't go so far as to say "stupid". I think "mildly disinterested in exerting the effort necessary to absorb the truth" would be closer to the mark.

We were taught by the propaganda of the day (1979-1980) that President Carter was a wimp and that negotiations were no substitute for decisive (read: murderous) action. The fact that the hostages were released by virtue of negotiation rather than decisive (read:murderous) action - regardless of who was negotiating for what - flies in the face of the "accepted wisdom" and therefore must be discounted, even by the reasonably intelligent.

Ronald Reagan is still by far and away a more popular figure than any of the current crop of Presidential candidates, especially among the elite Punditocracy. Hence the delusion.