The Blue State

Giuliani attacks Romney's Mormon faith

Taking a page out of Bush's 2000 smear strategy against McCain, this week the Giuliani Campaign circulated a story to right-wing bloggers in an attempt to instill fear about Mitt Romney's Morman religion.  This is pretty despicable:

Today, however, a blogger has provided me (on condition of anonymity)an email from the Rudy Giuliani campaign drawing attention to an article from today's Salt Lake Tribunetying Mr. Romney to a disavowed Mormon prophecy of a "White Horse" thatwill ride onto the national stage to save the Constitution.

Generally speaking, the "White Horse" myth finds that the second coming of Christ will happen when the constitution is hanging by a thread.  The man on the White Horse will ride in and save the constitution.  Giuliani's people insinuated that some people believe Romney will be that White Horse -- obviously an attempt to poke fun at the prophecy, and make a general statement about the absurdity of Romney's religion in general.

According to a column this morning in the Salt Lake Tribune, the Giuliani Campaign has apologized for the mess-up:

This "is not acceptable," said Tony Carbonetti, Giuliani's senior campaign adviser.  "We extend our sincere apologies to Governor Romney and reaffirm our commitment to running a clean campaign."

In tonight's debate, we will see more examples  of that same brand of campaign cleanliness. 

NPR comes knocking

Earlier this morning, I completed a taped radio interview with a local NPR affiliate in New York.  It seems as though the Giuliani video that was released a few days ago is working its way into mainstream news coverage.  For the record, the video, which was sent to me anonymously in windows media player format, was an exact duplicate of the one that Hotline blog posted just hours before.

For a short amount of time, I had thought that my site would be the first to release it.  But after doing a blog check, I discovered that Hotline did in fact get to it first.  I decided to tip my hat to them and at least acknowledge on the post that this was originally their story.  My guess is that someone took it from their site, recorded it and then sent it to me.  Why?  I have no idea.  This is a small blog.  So it beats me.  I took the video, edited it with "The Blue State" logo and link, and then posted it.

Some of you know that I recently gained access to a tool that allows me to re-download videos from Youtube, edit them and then post them.  I have done that before -- but not with this video.  Again, in this case, the video was sent to me via email by an individual that put it in .wmv format.  That person asked me not to post their email on here, so I will honor their request.

Lastly, and most important, I'm sure that some of you might question why I would release a video like this on a Republican primary candidate, even though this is a Blue site?  Quite frankly, as I told the interviewer this morning, I want voters in both parties to know everything about their candidates.  We're talking about the next president of the United States here.  All of this needs to be front and center.  Preferably, we should have this stuff out now, so that we can focus on more substantive issues as the election draws near.  We want our races decided by real ideas that impact real people.  By putting this video out there now, for both this site and Hotline, we are trying to clear the road for voters.  Weeks before the election, no matter what party, we don't want primary voters' decisions to be blurred by little things such as this recording.  I am surprised that the Giuliani video is getting so much play.  So I am glad it is out there now, as opposed to two weeks before the Iowa vote.

(Video) Giuliani in 1989: There must be public funding for abortion

Oops.  It looks like Rudolph Giuliani will have an even tougher time getting the '08 Republican nomination (via Hotline Blog):

GIULIANI: "There must be public funding for abortions for poor women.  We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources.  I have also stated that I disagree with President Bush's veto last week of public funding for abortion."

So much for gaining the respect of Republican voters.  I know, I know -- Giuliani is way ahead of McCain and Romney in just about every poll there is.  But when you couple this story with the drag queen footage of Giuliani that surfaced, all you have to do is wait until just two months before Iowa when the GOP establishment begins hitting Giuliani with everything they have.  Giuliani will be political dead meat.

Mike Huckabee and Sam Brownback will be looked at closely by conservatives as fresh alternatives to McCain, Romney and Giuliani.

So who likes big government?

Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani is trying to prove to right-wing conservatives that he is genuine in his bashing of Democrats.  John McCain is going through the exact same test.  As the Arizona Senator panders to the Jerry Falwell crowd, the former New York Mayor blind-sides Democrats on the size of the federal government:

"The Republican party is the party of the people," said Giuliani. "The Democratic Party is the party of government."

Oh really?  So the Republicans love small government?  Maybe Giuliani can explain the following decisions that have been made during this Republican administration -- an administration that he idolizes like God:

• Two Patriot Act legislations (Violation of the 4th Amendment of the Bill of Rights regarding search and seizures)
• Guantanamo Bay (Violation of numerous international laws regarding modern warfare)
• The Military Commissions Act (Violation of habeas corpus clause in Article I Section 9 of U.S. Constitution)
• Warrantless wiretaps (violation of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the 1996 Telecommunications Act)
• The sudden firing of eight federal prosecutors.  Under a loophole in the Patriot Act, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales can hand-nominate new Bush-friendly prosecutors without them having to go through Senate confirmation.
• Record debt -- that speaks for itself.

Soon we will find out whether Rudolph Giuliani is welcomed into the party of big government: the Republican party.

Smoking Gun: Giuliani married second cousin

The Smoking Gun web site, infamous for investigating celebrities and corrupt politicians, has uncovered a confidential 445-page "vulnerability study" that Giuliani's research director wrote about Rudy prior to his 1993 run for City Hall.

Here is a summary of the "vulnerability report":

• "The Giuliani campaign should emphasize its candidate's independence from traditional national Republican policies."
• "He will continue city funding for abortions at city hospitals. Nothing more, nothing less."
• "After law school graduation in 1968, Giuliani married Regina Peruggi, a woman he had known since childhood.  She was the daughter of his father's first cousin and they shared vacations as small children at a summer house his grandmother rented in South Beach, L.I."
• "Giuliani received special treatment from a friendly federal judge to avoid military service during the Vietnam War when thousands of less fortunate people were dying.  Then, as a member of the Justice Department, he hypocritically prosecuted draft-dodgers."

Again, this report was issued by his own campaign, not an opponent.  After reading this report, I was amazed at how detailed of a campaign strategy this was for someone running for City Hall.  The report basically outlined all of Giuliani's downsides, and then gave him advice on how to respond when pressed about them. 

For example, on the issue of why Giuliani switched parties:

"Whatever the course of the campaign and the candidate take on the party switch issue, all should be aware of a basic rule of politics: define yourself before your opponent defines you."

With all of this information about Giuliani surfacing, it will be nearly impossible for the former NY Mayor to get the GOP presidential nomination.  This is not even one-tenth of the stuff that will be leaked about his past.  He might be ahead right now in the polls.  But don't look for that to last much longer -- especially when considering that some of the biggest GOP smear artists now work for John McCain.

Latest Ohio 2008 general election poll

Forget the primaries.  Some analysts are predicting that the upcoming presidential election, like in 2004, will come down to Ohio.  The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows Clinton would beat both McCain and Giuliani:

OHIO

Hillary Clinton - 46%
John McCain - 42%

Hillary Clinton - 46%
Rudolph Giuliani - 43%

John McCain - 41%
Barack Obama - 38%

John Edwards - 44%
John McCain - 41%

Barack Obama is new to many Ohio voters.  21% of voters who were asked about a McCain vs Obama match-up were unsure.  Once Ohio voters get a chance to see Obama in the primaries, then he would likely pick up more votes.

Although Clinton does well in Ohio, she would lose New Jersey rather easily.  In another poll conducted by Quinnipiac and given to New Jersey residents, the former First Lady loses to McCain 48% to 41%.

Giuliani's Iraq strategy: Follow Bush and start praying

Many Republicans have accused Democrats of criticizing President Bush's plan without offering a strategy of their own (since Republicans do not consider "withdrawal" as a strategy).  But before they try and shift the Iraq burden onto Democrats, maybe they should look at one of their own.

Earlier this week, Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani went on the "Today Show" and stumbled when asked about his Iraq strategy.  Giuliani compared executing the current war strategy to his efforts to fight crime as mayor:

The object is to make Baghdad secure, Anwar more secure. We can measurethat. We can measure -- I think, it's nine sectors in Baghdad -- howmuch violence is there now? How much violence is there the week after,the next month, the month after.  You know, I'm kind of familiar with that using the Comstat program in New York.

Actually, it is called the "Anbar Province," not "Anwar."  This is Iraq, not the wilderness of Alaska.

Giuliani supports President Bush's troop escalation proposal.  But what if it does not work?  He tried elaborating prior to a speech in Bretton Woods this week:

“It’s very important that it go correctly,” Mr. Giuliani, the formerNew York City mayor, told reporters before a speech in Bretton Woods.  “I hope and pray the actions the president is taking will work, that wehave a good outcome in Iraq. But if we don’t, we have to be ready
for that, too.”

Asked if he was backing away, ever so slightly, from Mr. Bush, Mr.Giuliani said: “The strategy makes sense. There are no sure things.”

So there you go: follow Bush and start praying, even though the strategy probably won't work.  Oh sure, that $500,000,000,000 was well worth it.

Giuliani's master plan for '08 stolen and then leaked

Someone infiltrated the Giuliani campaign, and released a sensitive document on his strategy for winning the GOP nomination.

Former New York Mayor and possible '08 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani is already starting the year off on a bad foot.  Someone "sympathetic to one of Giuliani's rivals for the White House" infiltrated Giuliani's campaign and stole a 140-page document that specifically outlined his strategy to win the Republican nomination.  The document was then given to the New York Daily News yesterday.  The New York Times chimed in and said it was "a dirty trick to embarrass Giuliani."

The New York Daily News elaborated on the stolen document:

At the center of his efforts: a massive fund-raising push to bring in at least $100million this year, with a scramble for at least $25 million in the next three monthsalone.

..The source said it was left behind in one of thecities Giuliani visited as he campaigned for dozens of Republican candidates in the weeksleading up to the November 2006 elections.

...the dossier, which envisions spending more than$21 million this year alone, shows that Giuliani began meeting with potential supporterslast April and that by October, his staff had put in place a detailed plan for a seriousbid for the presidency. But they also depict a candidate torn between his prosperousbusiness and a political future full of both promise and risk.

One page cites the explicit concern that he might "drop out of [the] race" asa consequence of his potentially "insurmountable" personal and politicalvulnerabilities.

On the same page is a list of the candidate's central problems in bullet-point form:his private sector business; disgraced former aide Bernard Kerik; his third wife, JudithNathan Giuliani; "social issues," on which is he is more liberal than mostRepublicans, and his former wife Donna Hanover.

The concerns appear to be listed as issues for Giuliani law partner Pat Oxford toaddress and are followed by the central question of the campaign:

Are there "prob[lem]s that are insurmount[able]?" it asks, adding, "Hasanyone reviewed with RWG?" Giuliani, whose middle name is William, is referred tothroughout the document by his initials.

"All will come out - in worst light," the memo continues. "$100 millionagainst us on this stuff."

Even though Giuliani says he is still pondering whether to enter the race, this document proves that it is pretty much a done deal.  He will be in the GOP field.  But realistically, there is too much against Giuliani for him to stand even a shot at winning the nomination.  Once the conservative base realizes who he really is, they will reject him.

Giuliani to court "Simpsons" demographic

In an effort to boost his popularity in among a more wide audience, former New York mayor and possible 2008 presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani will appear in an episode of the Simpsons.  The episode, which was taped last weekend, will premiere in the fall of 2007, about the time when the Republican primary race will heat up.  Giuliani, as expected, will play himself in the cameo.

NY Post:

In the episode, which Giuliani recorded over the weekend, theformer mayor plays himself, putting in a cameo appearance after BartSimpson's dog, Santa's Little Helper, rescues Homer from a cornfieldmaze.

Rudy recruits the Simpson family pet to be a police dog.

Giuliani was a "natural," someone who saw the session told The Post.

The Giuliani episode is not expected to air until fall 2007, at the earliest.

Demographically speaking, the Simpsons is most popular among male audiences.  Giuliani will need to best McCain among male Republican voters.  Will this help Giuliani at all?  Probably not.  The former New York mayor will need to explain to voters in places like South Carolina why he is pro-choice and pro-gay rights.  That will be a tough task.

Giuliani compares Bush to Winston Churchill

It looks like someone else is in a state of denial.

Yesterday, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani set up an exploratory committee for a possible run at the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.  Arizona Senator John McCain made a similar announcement over the weekend.  It is likely that Bill Frist, Mitt Romney, George Pataki and Mike Huckabee will do the same in the coming weeks.

As of now, if he does indeed run, Giuliani will try to gain Republican support by cuddling up to President Bush.  The former New York Mayor defended George W. Bush yesterday, even comparing the recent anti-Bush sentiment to the kind that the late Winston Churchill received years ago:

"It doesn't matter what the media does to ridicule him or misinterprethim or defeat him. They ridiculed Winston Churchill. They belittled Ronald Reagan.  But like President Bush, they were optimists. Leaders need to beoptimists. Their vision is beyond the present, and it's set on a futureof real peace and security," Giuliani said.

I will give Giuliani one thing: It is easy to misinterpret a guy who has trouble finishing a sentence.  But it sure isn't easy to misinterpret policies that have hurt working families in this country.  That was why Bush and his party got a vote of 'no confidence' one week ago.

Really though, I can understand quite well why Giuliani would want to cozy up to Bush when he runs for president.  The two have the same mentality when it comes to invoking 9/11 for the moral high ground on everything.  In other words, expect the campaign to turn into an "I was there and you weren't" sort of thing.