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Mary -
If you had bothered to read what I wrote, you would see I was speaking in comparative terms. In other words, I do not see a D candidate who has a better chance of winning than RG and RG is good on many social issues that the far religious right is oppressive on. In fact, here are some of them:
Abortion
Opposes ban on partial-birth abortion.
Gay marriage
Opposes constitutional ban. “I’m pro-gay rights.”
Gun control
Supports ban on assault weapons. As mayor, he called on New Yorkers “to re-energize the fight for gun control.”
Immigration
“We got to stop illegals from coming in,” he recently told Fox News. “And a tremendous amount of money should be put into the physical security that’s needed to do that.”
Taxes
As mayor, reduced taxes in New York by several billion dollars.
So, I get that he defended the cops in the tragic death of that guy, he refused to fund shiitte as art, and his use of police zones cut crime by like half - but comparatively I can live with those when compared to a person like Kerry, Frist, or Santorum. Can you honestly say you can't either? And, it will come down to that I think, though I hope not.
As for the D's the only one I like so far is John Edwards and I do not think he can win. Hillary is an interesting choice and she could possibly win, but it would take luck in addition to her alleged $300 million war chest and please note that other than on partial birth abortion, she is hardly different than RG and he is not a kiss a$$ say anything to get elected sow like she is?
Also and to correct you because you need a little come uppence dear - RG's history on gay issues is stellar compared to most D's you support. I mean the man lived with a gay male couple, marched in gay rights parades, and dressed in drag on several occasions. So, my support of him hardly makes me a gay Uncle Tom.
Here is a cool editorial on RG - again, the man is FAR from perfect, but he is better than most, especially on gay issues Mr. Shelby.
Debunking Giuliani's bad rap
Andrew Carnabuci '06
Posted: 3/31/05
I am greatly alarmed by the general mood of seething indignation around campus regarding the announcement that Rudy Giuliani will be coming to speak for graduation, as demonstrated by an article in last week's campus and talk of an "alternate" graduation speaker, and would like to take this opportunity to respond.
I would like to preface my criticism the campus' response to Mr. Giuliani by establishing two credentials which I believe lend some weight to my thoughts. Firstly, I am a New Yorker, and secondly, I am a registered Democrat.
I am also far from the only registered Democrat in the area, as registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans five to one in New York City (MSNBC). This said, there must be something to this Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, elected as mayor in 1993, and re-elected in 1997 by an overwhelming margin, carrying four of New York's five boroughs (www.nyc.gov) despite being in the radical political minority.
Thus far, I have heard only two substantive criticisms leveled against Mr. Giuliani, both of which are incorrect and misleading. The first is an objection to his homeless policy. Mr. Giuliani's often-criticized policy regarding the homeless is one of the most misunderstood issues in New York politics. Giuliani's policy, which many simply describe as "arresting the homeless," was actually the implementation of the suggestions from a 1990 report, written by prominent Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who was at the time working for H.E.L.P., a non-for-profit homeless advocacy group. New York City now places its homeless in clean, safe shelters where they receive job training and can work towards their G.E.D.s. The city spends 800 million dollars annually to ensure this (Foreman, Jonathan, Salon Magazine, January 4, 2000). This is a far cry from "arresting the homeless," and in fact demonstrates City Hall's compassion for its homeless
Secondly, many cite his "abysmal" record on police brutality. This too, is questionable. While many correctly and accurately allude to the two tragic cases of Abner Louima and Amadou Dialou, this is far from the whole truth. According to Amnesty International's Deputy Executive Director Gerald Lemel, in the 10 years prior to the Giuliani administration, police brutality in New York City was steadily rising at 30 to 40 percent per year. In 1995, the second year of Giuliani's administration, it rose 16 percent. In 1996, it rose 0 percent (www.saxakali.com). What this suggests, contrary to what critics seem to be asserting, is that Rudy Giuliani in fact successfully combatted police brutality in New York.
This all being said, I fail to see what, if anything, Middlebury students could hold against Rudy Giuliani. I suspect, however, that I do know the true reason why so many on this campus despise Rudy Giuliani so much, and that is this: he's a Republican. The enraged response to Mr. Giuliani amounts to nothing more than petty partisan politics as usual. It is indicative of the reactionary, knee-jerk liberalism, which, lamentably, is extremely fashionable on campus these days. That there are Middlebury students out there who cannot think independently of political dogma and find heroes - or at least respect people's accomplishments - across party lines speaks to the lack of genuine intellectualism on campus. There is a word for people who mindlessly chant the party line on every issue and lash out venomously at everything and everyone that demurs from it - that word is fascist.
I would urge all reactionary neo-liberals opposed to Mr. Giuliani's visit to spend less time finding fault with real heroes, and more time reading the Bible they have forsaken in the name of academically fashionable secular humanism, where they might find that timeless bit of wisdom, "and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye" (Matthew, 7:3).
© Copyright 2006 The Middlebury Campus
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Jason, why are you directing this at me? Of COURSE I read what you posted and if you'll read what I posted you'll see I appreciated Rudy's comments  I dont know much about Rudy, but Im not rabidly against him, so Im not sure why you feel the need to single me out ??? Its Towie who made the negative comments and even you yourself hinted not all is well in Rudy-land
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09-28-2006, 10:38 AM
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