If Rudi Giuliani Were a DEMOCRAT the Corporate Media Would Be Calling Him a MOBSTER

[McCamy Taylor]

I was reading Paul Krugman's excellent piece today in which he discusses of a lot of things---the right wing's insistence that universal health care equals bad medicine, Rudi Giuliani's lies about prostate cancer statistics and about the health care platforms of his Democratic opponents among other issues. The point that struck me most was his last one:

But here’s what I don’t understand: Why isn’t Mr. Giuliani’s behavior here considered not just a case of bad policy analysis but a character issue?

For better or (mostly) for worse, political reporting is dominated by the search for the supposedly revealing incident, in which the candidate says or does something that reveals his true character. And this incident surely seems to fit the bill.

Leave aside the fact that Mr. Giuliani is simply lying about what the Democrats are proposing; after all, Mitt Romney is doing the same thing.

<snip>

By rights, then, Mr. Giuliani’s false claims about prostate cancer — which he has, by the way, continued to repeat, along with some fresh false claims about breast cancer — should be a major political scandal. As far as I can tell, however, they aren’t being treated that way.

To be fair, there has been some news coverage of the prostate affair. But it’s only a tiny fraction of the coverage received by Hillary’s laugh and John Edwards’s haircut.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/opinion/02krugman.html?em&ex=1194235200&en=53c6be1c4117adba&ei=5087%0A

This is so on target. The mainstream media has tried hard to attach a label to each Democratic candidate. Just as Gore was a "liar" and Kerry was a "waffler", Hillary is a "bitch" and Edwards is a "phony" ( but Obama is NOT "black" at least not until after he is nominated). Yet look at the lengths they go to not to discuss McCain's senility ("slow"), Romney's religion("Mormon"), Thompson's life expectancy ("time bomb").

And Rudi is the easiest of all to characterize. With his family mob ties and the Bernard Kerik scandal and his habit of telling lies about his opponents he should be the "mobster".

I think maybe I will start referring to him as Rudi, the Mobster. It has a nice ring to it, and he is running his campaign like one. No morals at all. And I hear his wife likes to rub out small animals.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Of course. An Italian Democrat is automatically linked to organized crime.

An Italian Republican is just a strong person of ethnic roots who overcame the odds of his/her cultural background.

[McCamy Taylor]

2. That's right! I forgot! He is Italian. Defintely the "Mobster"

My grandmother was Italian, so I forget that we are all members of the Mafia.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. In the media's eyes, if you're not Republican, you are.

That's just how it is. It's ok for a Republican to be an Italian, but Democrats? Na'. They're automatically connected.

[upi402]

4. The Intn'l Assoc of Fireman General President warns about Rudy the schmuck

Check this out if you haven't yet;

http://rudy-urbanlegend.com/

Firemen are protesting the fundraising, profile raising, exploitative events of Rudy's. And the media is silent.

[Augdog20]

6. & Greenwald's "Real Rudy" videos

CHECK OUT
www.therealrudy.org
for a series of videos debunking Rudy's 9/11 myth.
More videos to come.

[Baby Snooks]

8. They hate him

The firemen in New York hate him. They will never admit it but quite a few really did take notice of this woman walking into that fire station with a $5 million check that afternoon and they looked at her and then looked at the man who sent her to prison for being a selfish, greedy bitch and realized they were sold a bill of goods. Along with everyone else in New York. And they began to hate him. And they began to hate him even more when he started his spin machine about 9/11. They remembered Leona Helmsley the afternooon of 9/11 and they remembered Rudy Guilaini sitting in his "command center" that same afternoon starting up his spin machine of lies.

Hillary is really not that much better with regard to 9/11. An estimated 500,000 people were basically poisoned by the toxic air at the World Trade Center and in lower Manhattan. I don't recall her saying a word. About that or about the future health care needs of the real heroes of 9/11. She and Rudy are the zeroes.

And yet both will be the candidates. Not much of a choice if you ask me. But then, really, there hasn't been much of a choice since 2000.

[vankuria]

9. Thanks for the link

I'll be sure to pass it around to everyone I know.

[Augdog20]

5. Times paying attn to Rudy Giuliani's pol. comm. Bernie Kerik mess

Bernie Kerik is under federal and local investigation for links to mob-linked firm(s).
New York Times is giving attention to story, about once every 2 weeks.
Giuliani stood by him; is his kid's godfather. x( :puke: Times said Giuliani know about Kerik's potential mob links :puke: earlier than he let on.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/politics/03kerik.html

[Augdog20]

10. Giuli's close personal relationship w/ Bernie -mob-linked- Kerik

Critics state that Giuliani showed consistently poor judgment in promoting the career of <[Bernard Kerik>], who started out as a <[New York Police Department>] detective driving for his campaign, then became the city's Correction Commissioner and later police commissioner and a founder of <[Giuliani Partners>]. Kerik also served as bodyguard for Giuliani.<ref>Fred Kaplan, "Is Bernard Kerik Qualified to Run Homeland Security?" slate.com December 4, 2007 http://slate.com/id/2110638/</ref><ref>Associated Press, "Giuliani's Police Chief Could be a Problem: Case of ex-NYC police commissioner could crash into final push for votes" October 26, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21491113/</ref>Giuliani is godfather to Kerik's two younger children, by Kerik's third wife, Hala Matli (born 1972, married 1998): Celine Christina and Angelina Amber. <ref>CNN December 11, 2004 http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/11/cst.01.html</ref>

More than half of mayor Giuliani's cabinet opposed his 2000 appointment of Kerik as police commissioner. Kerik's selection came despite the fact that he lacked a college degree. Possession of a college degree was a requirement of police department officials at the captain rank and higher, a practice instituted by former police commissioner <[Benjamin Ward>].

Giuliani then pushed President Bush to nominate Kerik to be secretary of Homeland Security, at which point multiple scandals derailed the nomination and Kerik's career; subsequently Kerik pled guilty to corruption charges dating from his Corrections days (1999). (He pled guilty in Bronx court to state misdemeanor charges related to undeclared acceptance of $165,000 in apartment renovations performed by Interstate Industrial, a reputably mob-associated firm.) In March of 2007, ''The New York Times'' reported that Kerik was likely to also be indicted for tax fraud and illegal eavesdropping, and also disclosed that Giuliani had testified under oath in April 2006 that he had in fact been briefed on Kerik's mob links in 2000 — prior to his appointment of Kerik as Corrections Commissioner. Giuliani had previously denied knowing of these connections until years later. Kerik is also under investigation for conspiracy to <[eavesdrop>] on the conversations of the husband of <[Jeanine Pirro>], <[Albert Pirro>], whom Ms. Pirro suspected of having an affair.
====Briefing of Giuliani====
Mayor Giuliani said that neither he nor his aides could remember being briefed about Kerik's involvement with Interstate Industrial. However, a late 2007 ''<[New York Times>]'' investigation of the diaries and investigator's notes of Edward J. Kuriansky, the city investigations commissioner, indicate that such a meeting did indeed occur. Additionally, Kuriansky also remembered briefing one of Giuliani's closest aides, Dennison Young Jr., about Kerik's involvement with Interstte Industiral just day s before the police commissioner appointment. Regarding Giuliani's appointment patterns and loyalty as a factor in professional relationships, former deputy mayor (under Giuliani) Fran Reiter said, "Rudy can fall for people big time, and sometimes qualifications are secondary to loyalty."<ref>Michael Powell, "Loyal to Kerik, Giuliani Missed Warning Signs," "New York Times," November 3, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/politics/03kerik.html?hp</ref>

[Vinca]

7. Exactly. The "liberal" media goes after Obama for not wearing

a Made In China flag pin, but gives Rudy miles of rope over his mob connections (Bernie, dad, uncle). They ignore the crap he spews about "socialized" medicine, too, and they don't even touch the WTC command center, the reported trysts and the $100,000 donation he raked in siting the command center there. I don't get it. Now, back to the news. Has Hillary changed her hair?

[DFW]

11. Very shrewd to run as a Republican

Mobsters don't stand out in that party.........

[Augdog20]

12. NY Post exclusive: Marc Mukasey is interferring in Bernie Kerik defense

excerpt from NY Post :o article:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10222007/news/regionalnews/giuliani_bern_shield.htm

Giuliani's law partner has been told to monitor the criminal probe of disgraced ex-NYPD boss Bernard Kerik, which threatens to muddy up the former mayor's bid to become president.

As part of his sensitive assignment, Marc Mukasey has thwarted Kerik's lawyer from interviewing witnesses who might help his defense, sources told The Post yesterday.

Sound Off: Tell Us What You Think

Mukasey is the son of former federal Judge Michael Mukasey, a longtime Giuliani friend nominated by President Bush to become the next U.S. attorney general. Michael Mukasey is awaiting Senate confirmation.

Marc Mukasey's task to keep an eye on Kerik's criminal investigation shows Giuliani's concern with how the legal fate of his former NYPD and correction commissioner could affect his presidential campaign, sources said.

A source familiar with the Kerik probe said Mukasey's role in monitoring the Kerik case is "obviously trying to distance Giuliani from all , although obviously it all occurred on Giuliani's watch."

And the refusal to make witnesses linked to Giuliani and his consulting firm available to Kerik's lawyer underscores the frayed relationship between the once-close friends. Those witnesses are people who have spoken to prosecutors and a grand jury investigating Kerik.

"Once there was this sense of 'Bernie's a great guy,' even after he became embroiled in scandal," a source said. "Now, Mukasey's taking a different approach with him."