Posted on 02/13/2007 5:14:50 AM PST by MittFan08
While the White House is taking a hands-off approach to the 2008 GOP presidential primaries so far, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is quietly seeing an administration cheerleading section grow.
One insider said that it is built on the fact that Giuliani continues to beat Sen. John McCain in the polls and also because he is offering to stick with several Bush programs, including an aggressive stance against terrorists, and promises to name conservative judges to the court. One Bush official today noted Giuliani's pledge to nominate conservative judges and applauded the New Yorker for making that claim in liberal California.
"He didn't back away just because he was in California. In fact, he went there to make that statement. That's a very important signal," said the insider. Interestingly, even White House conservatives are showing support for Giuliani.
"He's the front-runner, and he's doing everything so far very good," said another official. "He isn't bending to what people want to hear. He kind of sounds like Bush did in 2000."
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Ivan
Rudy nominating a corrupt crony shows a serious lack of judgement that has NOTHING to do with the events of 9-11, other than to show he thought it more important to get his guy into the most important anti-terror job than to vet him to make sure he was up to the task. The media shot Kerik down in less than a week, and for good reason.
i consider myself eminently pragmatic and i don't see Rudy winning and i see him having more than a few strikes against him from the conservative camp. and during the PRIMARY season is when you disagree with fellow republicans, otherwise you would be foreclosed from EVER speaking negatively about an opponent from the same party, and that is just ridiculous. there are legitimate FLAWS to rudy's candidacy and all the boosterism in the world isn't going to change that. i am a BUSHBOT for heaven's sake, and have railed against unappeasables for years. i do NOT want rudy to be the candidate and nonetheless will vote for him with a gun to my head and a barfbag in hand. i beg to differ with all of the pie in the sky types who think he is our messiah. i do not see him beating hillary. she relishes the idea of going up against him. she will destroy him.
Kerik also had a reputation as a "can do" guy (which is what the very first media reports focused on, before they uncovered the dirt -- I remember reading them at the time). Giuliani is very results-oriented. He was trying to get a major city back up and running, so it wouldn't turn into a further disaster (such as we saw with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina). Giuliani is a very smart guy. I think he probably learned his lesson with Kerik -- that you need someone who is not only up to the task (which Kerik, by all reports, would have been) but ALSO as blemishless as Caesar's wife.
As I said, I want someone who has learned and will apply the lessons of 9-11. I'm not convinced that Giuliani is the only viable candidate who could do that ... but for all the posters who sing the praises of Duncan Hunter and others on these Rudy threads, I have seen very few news posts about Hunter and others on FR. I encourage all those who support other candidates to get busy and locate some informative stories on Hunter and others and POST them (as news stories, not to my personal mailbox, please!) so that we can all read them and compare all the available candidates.
- Rudy tossed Arafat out of a city sponsored celebrations saying, "I would rather not have someone who has been implicated in the murders of Americans there, if I have the discretion not to have him there”.
- Rudy did the same to Fidel Castro.
- When a Saudi prince donated millions to 9/11 relief efforts and later suggested that United States policy in the Middle East may have been partially responsible for the attacks, Rudy returned the money.
- Rudy refused to meet with racial arsonist Al Sharpton.
- Rudy as mayor was strong on law and order. Rudy said that "government exists above all to keep people safe in their homes and in the streets, not to redistribute income, run a welfare state, or perform social engineering". And Rudy backed this all up by going after both quality-of-life crimes and serious crimes. Total crime went down by some 64 percent during the Giuliani years, and murder went down 67 percent. Auto thefts went down on average about 80,000 per year.
- Rudy supported the police when the police had to enter and deal with Muslims at a mosque.
- Rudy closed down many porn shops across the city and specifically shutdown porn shops in residential neighborhoods.
- Rudy went after both low level and high level drug dealers for the first time in the cities history.
- Rudy had zero tolerance for quality of life crimes such as squeegee extortionists, graffiti vandals, panhandling and public urination.
- Rudy launched a welfare revolution, removing illegal recipients, cutting the rolls by 20% the first year alone and dropping the welfare rolls by 600,000 over the course of his plan.
- Rudy launched a work requirement program for the remaining welfare recipients. The NY Times called it slavery.
- Rudy constantly spoke out against illegitimacy and fatherless families. One of many things that Rudy said on the subject was the following: " If you wanted a social program that would really save these kids, . . . I guess the social program would be called fatherhood."
- Rudy objected to affirmative action. Rudy ended the cities set-aside program for minority contractors.
- Rudy rejected the idea of lowering the job requirement standards for minorities and woman.
- Rudy ended open-ended enrollment at the City University of NY.
- Rudy said. "it was unfair to expect middle-class kids to work their way through college by holding down jobs and going to classes while exempting students on welfare from working."
- Rudy reformed the public school system and forced out liberal chancellors who wouldn't install his reforms.
- Rudy tried to privatize 5 of the cities worst public schools.
- Rudy was for school vouchers. Rudy said, "The whole notion of choice is really about more freedom for people, rather than being subjugated by a government system that says you have no choice about the education of your child,".
- Rudy fought against public money for an art display that defiled Christ and he fought against other obscene so-called works of art.
- Rudy played hardball with city unions winning concessions from city workers that other mayors had failed to do.
- Rudy strong armed state leaders to merge the cities Housing Police and Transit Police into the NYPD saving the city hundreds of millions. Rudy did this by threatening to fire every housing and transit officer and rehire each as a city cop if legislative leaders did not go along.
- Rudy did the same with the city’s garbageman, many of whom worked only half days because the department was so overstaffed with union jobs. Rudy won $300 million in savings from them by threatening to contract out trash collection to private companies.
- Rudy cut or killed 23 levies and taxes, saving taxpayers $9.8 billion during his terms.
- Rudy cut NYC's top income-tax rate by 20.6%.
- Local NYC taxes on a family of four dropped 23.7% during Rudy's term.
- Rudy cut the commercial-rent tax.
- Rudy cut sales taxes, including taxes on clothing.
- Rudy cut the marriage penalty on taxpaying couples.
- Rudy cut taxes on commercial rents everywhere outside of Manhattan’s major business districts, and various taxes on small businesses and self-employed New Yorkers.
- Rudy's expenditure growth averaged 2.9% annually, while local inflation between January 1994 and December 2001 averaged 3.6%.
- Rudy privatized municipal assets.
- Rudy sold WNYC radio for $20 million, WNYC-TV for $207 million, and NYC's share of the U.N. Plaza Hotel for $85 million.
- Rudy divested the the City from the New York Coliseum adding $345 million to city coffers.
- Rudy let the private Central Park Conservancy manage Central Park.
- Rudy cut NYC's hotel tax from 6% to 5%. Consequently, hotel tax revenues increased from $135 million in Fiscal Year 1995 to $239 million in FY 2001.
- When asked if Rudy would raise taxes after 9/11 Rudy said that would be "a dumb, stupid, idiotic, and moronic thing to do."
- A quote from Rudy on his economic philosophy: “City government should not and cannot create jobs through government planning...The best it can do, and what it has a responsibility to do, is to deal with its own finances first, to create a solid budgetary foundation that allows businesses to move the economy forward on the strength of their energy and ideas. After all, businesses are and have always been the backbone of New York City.”
- Construction permits increased by more than 50% in the city per year during Rudy's terms.
- Tourism increased 50% in the city per year during Rudy's terms.
- City jobs increased by 430,000 to an all time high of 3.72 million during Rudy's terms.
- City personal income increased 50% during Rudy's terms.
- The percentage income that city residence paid in taxes declined from 8.8 to 7.3 percent during Rudy's terms.
- Unemployment in the city went form 10.3% to 5.1% during Rudy's terms.
- Rudy was an outstanding leader during the 9/11 crisis.
- Rudy has been a strong supporting in our WOT including supporting the mission in Iraq.
- Rudy was chosen by Ronald Reagan in 1981 as an Associate Attorney General placing him in the third highest position in the Reagan's DOJ.
- In 1983, Rudy was appointed by Reagan to be U.S. Attorney for the SD of NY. In that position, Rudy amassed 4,152 convictions including the heads of NY's so-called "Five Families". Rudy also procecuted terrorists and illegal immigrants.
If the GOP ever becomes the Party of Rudy the liberal, [YUCK!] or anyone like him, it will revert back to its pre-Reagan, 1970`s agenda based on Rockefeller Republicanism. That is not the party for me. Rudy Giuliani as the GOP party standard bearer would send conseravtives marching away from the GOP in droves. It would mark the death of the Republican Party as home to political conservatives.
Rudy did a good job as Mayor by NYCity standards. Not by conservative standards and for good reason. Rudy is no conservative.
Cleaning up Times Square, eliminating the squeegee-men, arresting public urinators and catching turnstile jumpers are not the issues that conservative activists will be judging candidates on in the GOP primaries.
Rudy`s political positions on the major social issues will be what conservative activists will be judging him on. And Rudy`s stances on the social issues remain in lockstep with liberal Democrats like Hillary and Bill Clitnon, Algore, John Kerry, John Edwards and Ted Kennedy.
~ Pro-choice
~ Supports Abortion on Demand
~ Supports Partial Birth Abortion
~ Supports Roe v. Wade
~ Supports Taxpayer Funded Abortions
~ Supports Embryonic Stem Cell Research
~ Opposes a Federal Marriage Amendment
~ Supports Gay Domestic Partnership/Civil Unions
~ Supports Openly Gay Military
~ Opposes Defense of Marriage Act
~ Supports Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens
~ Opposes Tough Penalties for Employers who hire Illegal Aliens
~ Supports Sanctuary Cities/Ignoring Immigration Law
~ Supports gun control and Confiscating firearms
~ Supports an Assault Weapons Ban
~ Initiated Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers Supports
~ Supports Extensive Gun Registration/Licensing
These are the issues that will matter to most conservatives when they go to the primary polls to choose a GOP candidate to match up against the Democrat candidate. Rudy is outside mainstream social conservatism. Not to mention Rudy`s fiscal record of advancing big government policies. Rudy left behind a big deficit, massive debt and an overall poor fiscal record. The scope of NYCity government was not reduced at all. From 1997 to 2001, spending under Giuliani went up 32%, more then double the rate of inflation.
The facts on Rudy don't seem to match the rhetoric some FReepers are boldly posting in recent times.
see #208....that says it all
that and Giuliani's own father, was a Brooklyn bar owner and Mafia bagman and enforcer.
Seems to me Rudy needs to be a lot more ethics-oriented as well.
True but redundant.
~ Supports Partial Birth Abortion
Not true.
~ Supports Roe v. Wade
Uncertain. He's never said he supports it outright, and most recently, he spoke approvingly of it being cut back.
~ Supports Taxpayer Funded Abortions ~ Supports Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Unclear on both. Not necessarily true.
~ Opposes a Federal Marriage Amendment
As do a lot of Conservatives, at least until it's proven necessary by DOMA being overturned by the courts, and outcome that is by no means certain, and actually seems unlikely.
~ Supports Gay Domestic Partnership/Civil Unions ~ Supports Openly Gay Military
True.
~ Opposes Defense of Marriage Act
False. He has never said this.
~ Supports Special Path to Citizenship for Illegal Aliens
True, but conservatives are not monolithic on this issue.
~ Opposes Tough Penalties for Employers who hire Illegal Aliens
Certainly not proven, he's said little about it.
~ Supports Sanctuary Cities/Ignoring Immigration Law
I have no idea what you are talking about, show me.
~ Supports gun control and Confiscating firearms
A gross exaggeration. He has supported some gun laws I don't like, but still.
~ Supports an Assault Weapons Ban
True.
~ Initiated Frivolous Lawsuits Against Gun Makers Supports
Well, I'm not sure it was as bad as some, but there is something to this and I disagree with it.
~ Supports Extensive Gun Registration/Licensing
What do you mean by 'extensive'? If by 'extensive' you mean he favors registering hand guns, true, but while I personally don't support that, half of the Republicans in congress do, we'd have to throw out a lot of good people if this is a test.
Your post was so well said and I am so glad someone said it. Thank you.
See 211.
See 211.
Bu!!$#it. And even if true, which it's not, that has nothing to do with Giuliani.
I know the Nut Squad on FR will say that "White House conservatives" is an oxymoron, but it's apparent that despite what they say, Rudy is picking up conservative support, or at least is being given serious consideration by conservatives.
Wikipedia is roughly as credible as DU.
DU writes most of the Bios for Republican politicians on it. I'm not kidding.
I'm sure they have a DEAL going on amnesty.
The father did own a bar and there are rumors re: being a bagman. You are right it means squat as far as Rudy is concerned.
America is a wonderful place where people do have the opportunity to rise above negative influences in their upbringing. I often wondered if Rudy went into law and became such a law and order type because of what he saw growing up. Perhaps he recognized , at an early age, that he wanted something better for himself/his community.
If we were all to be judged on the misdeeds of our parents, grandparents,etc., we would all be a sorry lot.
OMG I see Rudy has you totally hoodwinked.
Now you're making excuses for his liberalism, not on one or two issues, but on every major social issue that matters to conservatives. That is called psychotic behavior. And you're welcome to it, pal. Just don 't expect social conservatives to overlook Rudy`s entire liberal record when the primaries roll around. They will not buy what Rudy is selling.
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