Rudy! An Investigation into Hypocrisy Nobody does hypocritical mudslinging better than Republicans and this past week was no exception. There is an apparent inability among the GOP and their propagandist media arm, FOX, to think, introspect, and self-analyze prior to opening their mouths and bloviating about anyone they see as a threat without considering their own less than stellar past.
According to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani President Obama does not love America. "I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America," Giuliani said at a group dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. During the dinner at the 21 Club, a former Prohibition-era speakeasy in midtown Manhattan, Giuliani continued, "He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country."
Giuliani, for his part and for the most part has become increasingly irrelevant and while this might seem like a ploy to get back on the Fox news circuit, it's a reminder of just how low Republicans will stoop to discredit the other side.
As Andy Borowitz writes in the New Yorker:
The words of the great Eric Clapton, "before you accuse me, take a look at yourself," might have been good advice for Giuliani, as a look into his own past shows him on shaky ground when it comes to not only love of country, but generally love of anything or anyone. Rudy does love him some criminals, corruption, and chasing women though.
Lest we forget Bernie Kerik, Giuliani's former chauffer, who pled guilty to two misdemeanors for receiving $165,000 in renovations from a company accused of mob ties. He lobbied city officials to approve them anyway. Kerik was indicted on 16 counts of tax evasion, fraud, lying to federal investigators, and tampering with witnesses. Giuliani appointed him as police commissioner, hired him for $500,000 at his security company, and convinced President Bush to nominate Kerik as Director of Homeland Security. Kerik was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials. Giuliani continues to defend him. During his Presidential run, Giuliani did not rule out pardoning Kerik if he was elected president.
Paling around with criminals isn't particularly foreign to Giuliani and has a surprising number of mob ties himself. Remember Keep in mind what Giuliani said about Obama. That, "He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up." As it happens, Giuliani was right. His father Harold, a convicted felon who, according to the book "Rudy! An Investigative Biography", was involved in a shoot-out with a mob competitor. The book claims that Harold's best friend Lou Carbonetti, Jr. was a mobbed-up Democratic Party leader with connections to the boxing world. Harold Giuliani (dear old dad) did prison time for robbery and also served as the collector for Giuliani's uncle Leo.
And how about that love of country and willingness to fight for it? According to Wayne Barrett, who spent a lot time getting to know Giuliani, as he is the author of, "Rudy: An Investigative Biography," shed some light on the topic. According to Barrett, writing for the New York Daily News, Giuliani received nearly a half dozen deferments in order to avoid going to Vietnam. He even got the federal judge he was clerking for to write a special exemption for him.
That didn't stop Giuliani from disparaging people who actually served in the military and defended this country. In a New York Times interview Giuliani said, "Some people thought it was racist -- I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people. This isn't racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism."
Got that? "Most of this he learned from white people." Obama learned his anti-American sentiment from relatives, including his grandparents, according to Giuliani.
Obama's grandfather, Stanley Dunham, was not only in the Army in World War II, he was at the invasion of Normandy. Many of Obama's relatives served this country according to AP:
Since Harold was also of age around the WWII era, it's worth mentioning his military record since Rudy was so willing to point out the Obama family's record. According to Barrett:
There are those American family values and patriotism everyone's talking about. Barack Obama's grandfather fought in World War II. Rudy Giuliani's father was barred from military service because he was a felon. Maybe Giuliani's right after all. Maybe we really are formed by the character of the people who raised us. Mobbed up thugs, draft dodgers, and convicted felons.
As for Giuliani's time in office, on more than a few occasions tax dollars were used for trips and outings with girlfriends. A lot of girlfriends. In one example a city auditor stumbled across $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board. Why not though, right? It's a perk of being in office. As Chris Christie likes to put it when he's talking about freeloading on the taxpayer's bill, "I relish these experiences and exposures, especially for my kids. I try to squeeze all the juice out of the orange that I can." Christie shamelessly said that to the New York Times after he and his family traveled to Israel on a private flight paid for by GOP mega donor and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson in 2012 -- a trip billed as a "trade mission" -- the Christies proceeded on to Jordan, where King Abdullah treated them to two parties at his private residence, a desert champagne reception, and Kempinski hotel rooms costing approximately $30,000.
How patriotic. No wonder these guys love this country so much.
Before you start thinking that the many girlfriends of Rudy Giuliani is an indication that he's experienced in the ways of love, consider these events:
Then there's the way he lovingly treated his second wife, Donna Hanover, a TV anchorwoman in New York.
Imagine Giuliani, the most famous person in New York City at the time, and his wife is a TV anchorwoman, also very famous. He'd been having a very public affair with his 28 year old press secretary for years and not really trying to hide it as they go out to dinner in public. That particular affair ends and he starts in with a new woman. His wife goes about her business with considerable class. She starts using her maiden name again and understandably refuses to appear at public events with Rudy, but that's about it. So Rudy, being the love master, ups the ante. He knows his wife enjoyed their long walks together -- a favorite romantic memory. So on Mother's Day, he arranges a long walk with his new girlfriend. He then notifies all of the New York tabloids, who of course cover it in excruciating detail. Think about that. His wife is a newscaster. So all day long, her workplace is filled with looping video of Rudy and his mistress, and Hanover, still his wife, has to announce it on the news -- On Mother's Day.
If that wasn't enough, Giuliani brought his mistress into the Mayor's mansion - you know, for love stuff, while his wife and kids were still living there, forcing Hanover to go to court to stop him and then had his lawyer savagely attack her. Later, when he was finally man enough to get a divorce, he announced it on live TV, without telling his wife or kids first.
And that's the guy who thinks he's qualified to talk about love.
Obama's loyalty, nationality, faith, patriotism, and religion have been questioned since he came into office. He's been hammered by the wing-nuts on the right relentlessly with each new iteration manifesting some new conspiracy theory. While satire sites are writing about Obama running for a third term and some on the right believe that to be a real threat, whether Obama loves America has become a debate among potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates as if he were running and posed a real threat. In an interview on CNBC, Walker, the presumptive GOP nominee, was asked about Giuliani's remarks but declined to comment on whether he believed Obama "loves America."
Giuliani didn't stop with the one comment though. He later appeared on FOX's bastion of outlandish speculation, "Fox & Friends" to say, "What I'm saying is that in his rhetoric, I very rarely hear him say the things that I used to hear Ronald Reagan say, the things I used to hear Bill Clinton say, about how much he loves America." The hosts of the show just smiled and nodded. That's what they do at FOX. Agree with everything the guest says. I had a conversation about that phenomenon with Radio Host, Tony Trupiano at AUN America on Blog Talk Radio last week.
Later the same day, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) got a little distance from his GOP counterparts by openly saying he has "no doubt" Obama loves the country, but disagrees with his policies.
And not to be overlooked, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) issued a statement declaring his refusal to condemn Giuliani's comments because the sentiment was "true."
Maybe Giuliani said it so many times to get some woman in bed that the phrase, "I love you," has become meaningless. Maybe he doesn't realize that you can show love without having to say a word. Maybe he doesn't know that loving someone is wanting the best for them and that the policies the GOP are behind don't have the best interest of this country in mind. There's not a lot of love there.
Mostly though, Giuliani doesn't realize that he's become irrelevant. The height of his career happened shortly after 9/11 when he was seen as "America's Mayor." He was respected, revered and admired. Shortly after that, when he couldn't squeeze one more 9/11 story out of that orange he started opening his mouth about national politics. Giuliani might have been remembered as a great leader and maybe even a great man when it comes to how he changed New York City and how he handled what some consider to be this country's most devastating tragedy. Instead, he opened his mouth and he'll be remembered for who he really is.
Tony Trupiano and I will be talking about this and more on his show every Thursday if you'd like to listen in.
According to former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani President Obama does not love America. "I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America," Giuliani said at a group dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. During the dinner at the 21 Club, a former Prohibition-era speakeasy in midtown Manhattan, Giuliani continued, "He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country."
Giuliani, for his part and for the most part has become increasingly irrelevant and while this might seem like a ploy to get back on the Fox news circuit, it's a reminder of just how low Republicans will stoop to discredit the other side.
As Andy Borowitz writes in the New Yorker:
A largely forgotten man sought attention on Wednesday night before returning to obscurity on Thursday, according to reports. The man, whom many Americans had difficulty placing, was making a desperate bid to remind people of his existence, experts believe. His efforts were somewhat successful, as his widely reported outburst caused people across the country to rack their brains to try to remember who he was.
The words of the great Eric Clapton, "before you accuse me, take a look at yourself," might have been good advice for Giuliani, as a look into his own past shows him on shaky ground when it comes to not only love of country, but generally love of anything or anyone. Rudy does love him some criminals, corruption, and chasing women though.
Lest we forget Bernie Kerik, Giuliani's former chauffer, who pled guilty to two misdemeanors for receiving $165,000 in renovations from a company accused of mob ties. He lobbied city officials to approve them anyway. Kerik was indicted on 16 counts of tax evasion, fraud, lying to federal investigators, and tampering with witnesses. Giuliani appointed him as police commissioner, hired him for $500,000 at his security company, and convinced President Bush to nominate Kerik as Director of Homeland Security. Kerik was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to eight felony charges, including tax fraud and lying to White House officials. Giuliani continues to defend him. During his Presidential run, Giuliani did not rule out pardoning Kerik if he was elected president.
Paling around with criminals isn't particularly foreign to Giuliani and has a surprising number of mob ties himself. Remember Keep in mind what Giuliani said about Obama. That, "He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up." As it happens, Giuliani was right. His father Harold, a convicted felon who, according to the book "Rudy! An Investigative Biography", was involved in a shoot-out with a mob competitor. The book claims that Harold's best friend Lou Carbonetti, Jr. was a mobbed-up Democratic Party leader with connections to the boxing world. Harold Giuliani (dear old dad) did prison time for robbery and also served as the collector for Giuliani's uncle Leo.
Harold Giuliani served as the "muscle" for a loan-sharking outfit, claiming that he "broke legs, smashed kneecaps [and] crunched noses" in the 1950s -- even taking part in a gunfight on a Brooklyn street in the 1960s.
And how about that love of country and willingness to fight for it? According to Wayne Barrett, who spent a lot time getting to know Giuliani, as he is the author of, "Rudy: An Investigative Biography," shed some light on the topic. According to Barrett, writing for the New York Daily News, Giuliani received nearly a half dozen deferments in order to avoid going to Vietnam. He even got the federal judge he was clerking for to write a special exemption for him.
That didn't stop Giuliani from disparaging people who actually served in the military and defended this country. In a New York Times interview Giuliani said, "Some people thought it was racist -- I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools, and most of this he learned from white people. This isn't racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism."
Got that? "Most of this he learned from white people." Obama learned his anti-American sentiment from relatives, including his grandparents, according to Giuliani.
Obama's grandfather, Stanley Dunham, was not only in the Army in World War II, he was at the invasion of Normandy. Many of Obama's relatives served this country according to AP:
His company supported the 9th Air Force as it prepared for the assault on Normandy and took part in the drive that carried the Allies across France. Dunham and the men of the 1830th came across six weeks after the initial Normandy invasion and followed the front through France....
Madelyn, the beloved grandmother known as "Toot" who helped raise the future president, did her part for the war effort, working the night shift as a supervisor on the B-29 bomber assembly line at the Boeing plant.
Her brother is part of the war story, too. Charles Payne, Obama's great-uncle, in 1945 helped liberate a sub-camp of the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald....
Since Harold was also of age around the WWII era, it's worth mentioning his military record since Rudy was so willing to point out the Obama family's record. According to Barrett:
Harold told relatives and friends that he wasn't drafted because of his poor eyesight and ulcers. What, in truth, protected him from military service, however, was his criminal record. The record was almost impossible to find -- then and now -- because it is filed in the name of Joseph Starrett. Harold apparently helped the local draft board locate it.
There are those American family values and patriotism everyone's talking about. Barack Obama's grandfather fought in World War II. Rudy Giuliani's father was barred from military service because he was a felon. Maybe Giuliani's right after all. Maybe we really are formed by the character of the people who raised us. Mobbed up thugs, draft dodgers, and convicted felons.
As for Giuliani's time in office, on more than a few occasions tax dollars were used for trips and outings with girlfriends. A lot of girlfriends. In one example a city auditor stumbled across $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board. Why not though, right? It's a perk of being in office. As Chris Christie likes to put it when he's talking about freeloading on the taxpayer's bill, "I relish these experiences and exposures, especially for my kids. I try to squeeze all the juice out of the orange that I can." Christie shamelessly said that to the New York Times after he and his family traveled to Israel on a private flight paid for by GOP mega donor and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson in 2012 -- a trip billed as a "trade mission" -- the Christies proceeded on to Jordan, where King Abdullah treated them to two parties at his private residence, a desert champagne reception, and Kempinski hotel rooms costing approximately $30,000.
How patriotic. No wonder these guys love this country so much.
Before you start thinking that the many girlfriends of Rudy Giuliani is an indication that he's experienced in the ways of love, consider these events:
Rudy Giuliani knows a lot about love.
Ask Regina Peruggi, the second cousin he grew up with and married, who was "offended" when Rudy later engineered an annulment from the priest who was his best man on the grounds, strangely enough, that she was his cousin. Or ask Donna Hanover, the mother of his two children, who found out he wanted a separation when he left Gracie Mansion one morning and announced it at a televised press conference. Or ask Judi Nathan, his third wife, whom he started dating while still married to Hanover and New York mayor. In two SUVs, he and an entourage of six or seven cops traveled 11 times to Judi's Hamptons getaway at a taxpayer cost of $3,000 a trip. That's love.
Then there's the way he lovingly treated his second wife, Donna Hanover, a TV anchorwoman in New York.
Imagine Giuliani, the most famous person in New York City at the time, and his wife is a TV anchorwoman, also very famous. He'd been having a very public affair with his 28 year old press secretary for years and not really trying to hide it as they go out to dinner in public. That particular affair ends and he starts in with a new woman. His wife goes about her business with considerable class. She starts using her maiden name again and understandably refuses to appear at public events with Rudy, but that's about it. So Rudy, being the love master, ups the ante. He knows his wife enjoyed their long walks together -- a favorite romantic memory. So on Mother's Day, he arranges a long walk with his new girlfriend. He then notifies all of the New York tabloids, who of course cover it in excruciating detail. Think about that. His wife is a newscaster. So all day long, her workplace is filled with looping video of Rudy and his mistress, and Hanover, still his wife, has to announce it on the news -- On Mother's Day.
If that wasn't enough, Giuliani brought his mistress into the Mayor's mansion - you know, for love stuff, while his wife and kids were still living there, forcing Hanover to go to court to stop him and then had his lawyer savagely attack her. Later, when he was finally man enough to get a divorce, he announced it on live TV, without telling his wife or kids first.
And that's the guy who thinks he's qualified to talk about love.
Obama's loyalty, nationality, faith, patriotism, and religion have been questioned since he came into office. He's been hammered by the wing-nuts on the right relentlessly with each new iteration manifesting some new conspiracy theory. While satire sites are writing about Obama running for a third term and some on the right believe that to be a real threat, whether Obama loves America has become a debate among potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates as if he were running and posed a real threat. In an interview on CNBC, Walker, the presumptive GOP nominee, was asked about Giuliani's remarks but declined to comment on whether he believed Obama "loves America."
Giuliani didn't stop with the one comment though. He later appeared on FOX's bastion of outlandish speculation, "Fox & Friends" to say, "What I'm saying is that in his rhetoric, I very rarely hear him say the things that I used to hear Ronald Reagan say, the things I used to hear Bill Clinton say, about how much he loves America." The hosts of the show just smiled and nodded. That's what they do at FOX. Agree with everything the guest says. I had a conversation about that phenomenon with Radio Host, Tony Trupiano at AUN America on Blog Talk Radio last week.
Later the same day, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) got a little distance from his GOP counterparts by openly saying he has "no doubt" Obama loves the country, but disagrees with his policies.
And not to be overlooked, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) issued a statement declaring his refusal to condemn Giuliani's comments because the sentiment was "true."
Maybe Giuliani said it so many times to get some woman in bed that the phrase, "I love you," has become meaningless. Maybe he doesn't realize that you can show love without having to say a word. Maybe he doesn't know that loving someone is wanting the best for them and that the policies the GOP are behind don't have the best interest of this country in mind. There's not a lot of love there.
Mostly though, Giuliani doesn't realize that he's become irrelevant. The height of his career happened shortly after 9/11 when he was seen as "America's Mayor." He was respected, revered and admired. Shortly after that, when he couldn't squeeze one more 9/11 story out of that orange he started opening his mouth about national politics. Giuliani might have been remembered as a great leader and maybe even a great man when it comes to how he changed New York City and how he handled what some consider to be this country's most devastating tragedy. Instead, he opened his mouth and he'll be remembered for who he really is.
Tony Trupiano and I will be talking about this and more on his show every Thursday if you'd like to listen in.
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