New York Times Attacks Rudy Giuliani

NewsMax ^ | 4/12/07

[areafiftyone]

The New York Times blasted presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani on Thursday for telling Alabama reporters that it should be up to the state to decide whether to fly the Confederate flag over its Capitol.

And a political pundit in turn blasted the Times for its "silly” anti-Giuliani piece.

Discussing the flag issue, Giuliani told the reporters: "We have different sensitivities and at different times we’re going to come to different decisions, and I think that is best left to the states.”

The Times went on the attack in an editorial: "Mr. Giuliani cannot truly believe the issues surrounding the Confederate flag are just a matter of local taste. The Civil War, the civil rights movement and the Supreme Court answered that question.”

 

The editorial went on to castigate Giuliani for "pandering” on abortion and gun control, concluding:

"Mr. Giuliani ought to stop waving in the wind, because that would be the right thing to do. It is also not working. Southern political strategists said he’s too moderate on abortion and pronounced him dead in their states. In Alabama, the local press mocked him for failing to recognize an actual Confederate flag. Americans know a pander when they see one.”

Writing on Time Inc.’s blog Real Clear Politics, Blake Dvorak observed: "In other words, the Times wants Giuliani to stop being a politician campaigning for the presidency. Give up now, Mr. Mayor, says the Times, because conservative America will never vote for you. Is this not odd? How to explain it, momentarily leaving aside the Times’ visceral dislike of anyone to its right?”

Dvorak cites a remark from Roger Simon, chief political columnist at Politico.com: "Rudy has been very clear in front of conservative audiences that his social views are more liberal than theirs. He has not lied about that, as far as I can tell, for a second. And he’s still well ahead. What could those ‘conservatives’ be thinking?”

Dvorak concludes: "As Simon points out, Giuliani’s position in the polls scares the Times, because if he can get through the primaries, he’s got major cross-over appeal in the general election that a down-the-line conservative wouldn’t have. Hence, this silly attack.”

[Peach]

Rudy’s favorabiltiy rating is 61% today in a new Gallup poll! I’m happy as a clam!

Yippee!!! I had not heard that but am delighted!

[CharlesWayneCT]

If Rudy was a conservative, he’d had a majority of the republicans supporting him, instead of being stuck at under 40% even though the next two candidates can’t scrape together their own reasonable base of support.

Hillary does better in the democrat polls even with two strong and well-known adversaries.

On the republican side, what is clear is that a majority of republicans don’t like either of the candidates the media says are our front-runners, even though both are personally well-liked (having strong positive/negative numbers).

When you are well-liked as Rudy and John McCain, and as well-known as the two, and you can’t pull close to a majority of the voters, it’s a sign of real trouble.

If there were no other announced republican candidates, I doubt Rudy would get more than 50% in a poll of republicans. That’s what the polls show us.

[Labyrinthos]

The NY Times has been rabidly anti-Rudy since his first day as mayor of NYC. Nothing has changed and nothing will even if Rudy were to personally perform a couple of hundred abortions on poor black women at taxpayers’ expense. Rudy committed the liberal sins of throwing 600,000 deadbeats off the welfare rolls, shutting down the porn industry in NYC’s most visible neighborhoods, ignoring Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, and directng the police to actually enforce the law against people who commit quality of life crimes. No matter how liberal Giuliani is on baby-killing, gun-grabbing, and homo rights, the NY Times will never embrace him as one of its own.

[CharlesWayneCT]

You will never be banned, unless you start using offensive language. Your tagline is therefore little more than a slap in the face of those of us on FR that don’t support your candidate, a back-hand way of suggesting that we are looking to ban you because we can’t refute your positions.

[areafiftyone]

Now that Giuliani has been connected to racism, the GOP can’t afford to run him in ‘08.

HUH??????

[massadvj]

"As Simon points out, Giuliani’s position in the polls scares the Times, because if he can get through the primaries, he’s got major cross-over appeal in the general election that a down-the-line conservative wouldn’t have. Hence, this silly attack.”

It seems the FR social conservatives, the DUmmies and the NYT have something in common. They all want to destroy Giuliani in the primaries.

Ironically, the NYT has a better capability to damage RG than the social conservatives do. Attacks from the left will hurt him more in the long run than attacks from the right. But this one is just silly.

[Peach]

You sound paranoid. It’s not a slap in the face to those of you who don’t support Rudy. It’s a slap in the face at a particular freeper who is freepmailing friends suggesting that I be shunned or banned for my support of Rudy.

[areafiftyone]

Galluup Poll

Favorable Ratings of Presidential Candidates, April 2-5, 2007 Gallup Poll
	Party	Favorable	Unfavorable	No opinion
		%	%	%
Rudy Giuliani	Rep	61	27	12
John McCain	Rep	57	26	17
John Edwards	Dem	53	30	18
Al Gore	Dem	50	44	6
Barack Obama	Dem	49	24	26
Hillary Rodham Clinton	Dem	47	49	4
Mitt Romney	Rep	25	21	54
Fred Thompson	Rep	24	11	65

[CharlesWayneCT]

Saying that what flags fly in front of a state capital is a state issue is hardly a “strong statement on state’s rights”.

And when you are asked your PERSONAL opinion about the flag, and respond with “each state has the right to fly the flags of their choice”, it’s not an answer, its a duck.

So I ask Rudy: If you were the Governor of Alabama, would you fly the confederate flag on the capital, or would you tear it down from “your” flagpole because you personally find it offensive?

Do the rudy supporters have an opinion on what his answer would be?

BTW, I don’t think there is a single republican candidate for President who is calling for a national law banning states from flying the confederate flag. So it’s hardly like Rudy alone is respecting “state’s rights” here.

[Peach]

Those are GREAT numbers, areafiftyone. Thanks so much for posting this!

[Past Your Eyes]

I think he forgot his

/s

[Corin Stormhands]

New York Times Attacks Rudy Giuliani

FReeps rejoice!

[areafiftyone]

Oh okay! LOL!

[aligncare]

Giuliani detractors continue to probe for weaknesses; they throw up trial balloons to see if any will fly...most do not.

I liked the earlier comment, though: Rudy = teflon.

[areafiftyone]

I like that too.

[staytrue]

the north’s unfair business practices

There is no such thing. There is only stupidity that allows "unfair" practices to be profitably.

[Rudder]

...because if he can get through the primaries, he’s got major cross-over appeal in the general election that a down-the-line conservative wouldn’t have.

That's one thing many social conservatives don't care about---winning.

[AlaskaErik]

This is one of the only things I have heard that Rudy is correct on.

My sentiments also.

[popdonnelly]

Sulzberger is a Hillary pimp.

[areafiftyone]

NY Slimes will endorse Hillary no doubt about it. Even Obama doesn’t have a chance with the NY Slimes.