How screwed up is the GOP right now? I mean, more than I've already covered this week?
This was a banner day.
It turns out Rudolph Gall-iani will literally say anything he thinks will get him elected,
especially if it involves climbing on the corpses of 9/11 victims or the shoulders of those who cleaned up afterwards:
Speaking to reporters in Cincinnati, Giuliani said, "I was at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers... I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I'm one of them."
Do those workers agree with him?
Fire Captain and Giuliani foe James Riches, whose firefighter son died on 9/11:
"That's insulting and disgraceful. He's a liar. I was down there on my hands and knees looking for my son."
Queens paramedic Marvin Bethea:
"I personally find that very, very insulting," he said..."Standing there doing a photo-op and telling the men, 'You're doing a good job,' I don't consider that to be working."
Ironworker Jonathan Sferazo who spent a month at ground zero:
"He's not one of us. He never has been and he never will be. He never served in a capacity where he was a responder," Sferazo said.
Oh, he's
tried to backtrack. So sad, so lame.
An isolated incident of exaggeration?
Not so, per Wayne Barrett in
The Village Voice:
Rudy Giuliani's Five Big Lies About 9/11:
1. 'I think the thing that distinguishes me on terrorism is, I have more experience dealing with it.'
Turns out he lies about the minimal, unsuccessful terrorism prosecutions he even touched when he was a U.S. Attorney.
2. 'I don't think there was anyplace in the country, including the federal government, that was as well prepared for that attack as New York City was in 2001.'
No, turns out NYC was much worse than the Pentagon, no unified command, no high-rise plan, bad communications killed firefighters, lackadaisical response to 1993 WTC bombing.
3. Don't blame me for 7 WTC, Rudy says.
(
Do.)
4. 'Democrats do not understand the full nature and scope of the terrorist war against us.'
The worst kind of typical GOP scummy smearjob.
Clinton was the President who ordered daily briefings on Al Queda and other terrorist threats. Bush cut them down, missed "Bin Laden determined to attack inside the United States." 9/11 happened on Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld's watch. Then they blew our lead in Afghanistan by attacking Iraq, with Rudy's full and continued support. This after Rudy blew the preparations in NYC.
Meanwhile the Dems consider terrorists
criminals rather than soldiers, meaning you don't do asymmetrical warfare and get your ass handed to you by an enemy you often can't see, who can disappear into a population...like a criminal.
Rudy understands...nothing.
5. 'Every effort was made by Mayor Giuliani and his staff to ensure the safety of all workers at Ground Zero.'
Ask them.Will this cave in on Rudy? Who the heck else do the GOP have to go with? McCain is polling below Obama amongst Iowa
Republicans. Mitt's fundraiser are johns or
crooks. In fact,
"None of the Above" is
leading the GOP field in Iowa:
None of the Above has polled higher than Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and all the other Republican presidential candidates, reflecting a lackluster field that isn’t catching on with the American people.
What else is there to loathe about the GOP?
- David Brooks reveals that
no one likes the current President -- even Republicans.
- Bush and Giuliani want to
regress our tax system further.
- They are
traitors who leak secrets when politically advantageous for them.
- They will have to
bring back the Draft.
Oh, and their President Cheney is desperately trying to
plunge us into WWIII.
Prediction:Newt Gingrich will enter the race, solely on the basis that he has the smarts, nerve and ego to run
against the current President. He will wipe out at least two of the three supposed contenders now, maybe even go head-to-head with Rudy. Whichever one wins will not win the General Election, unless there is some act of violence which tips the equation.
Newt will, however, unleash a huge Republican rank & file rage against the current Administration, and he may be able to ride that wave to a nomination.
The trick will be to blame the officeholders and not the overall Republican ideology, but GOP faithful will want to be fooled into that, and are probably laying the groundwork already. Bifurcate the leadership away from Karl Rove. Scoop 'em up.
It's the
only strategy that can take on and beat None of the Above.
