Letters to the Editor
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Rudy
Would be an absolute disaster. He'd take office as the latest version of the GOP tough guy reincarnation of John Wayne, and then he'd go do something on the international stage to live up to it.
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Sadly
The issue to those supporting Giuliani at this point is less his personal foibles. They don't even care that he's pro-choice and doesn't believe gays are evil incarnate.
It's their love of authoritarian figures -- a big kick-ass daddy figure.
This feeds right into the reasons that Giuliani has a big lead at this point, his quasi-fascism is what many Republicans want.
Something that not only would make Dwight Eisenhower spin in his grave, but Bob Taft too.
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Giuliani
Anyone who was awake in NYC during the Giuliani years knows that he has an authoritarian streak a mile wide. However, unlike Bush who just seems clueless, Giuliani is also mean, vindictive and personal. He's a meglomaniac of the first order and -- please don't take this as hyperbole -- a clear and present danger to the Republic and the Constitution.
Don't let the fact that he has gay friends or that he's from NY or that he isn't a Bible-thumper fool you. He is in no way, shape or form a moderate. He is not the lesser of any two evils. Honestly, the Republic would be in better hands if Newt were president.
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President Giuliani
A comment was made to me by a New Yorker who lived in NYC during Giuliani's tenure as mayor: 'The only trouble with Rudy was that he was a fascist.'
At least we know where he stands beforehand. Bush managed to fool almost half of the electorate in '00 to get elected. Now we won't be able to use false statements as excuses if Rudy gets elected.
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Mr. Greenwald
Your research, thinking, and writing are invaluable. Thank you.
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I live in NYC. I've seen the damage Rudy did to it.
I've nothing to add to Glenn's analysis.
If Rudy is elected President, then what kind of country has this one become?
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Giuliani's authoritarian impulses
Glenn, after your original report on this subject I wrote that I suspected it was reluctance for Giuliani (and Romney) to deviate from the Bush party line that made them equivocate on the use of extra-constitutional detention.
But after Giuliani's repeated assertions of his right to this unconstitutional presidential power that you've now reported, I'm forced to agree with your conclusion: Giuliani is dangerous.
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Executive War Funding
One might have hoped the Iran-Contra debacle might have set this matter to rest once and for all.
"No respect for the rule of law" is another entry for the Bill of Particulars.
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Giuliani
I'm not from NYC so I didn't follow the stories closely but isn't he also pretty much on record as opposing the First Amendment as it relatres to freedom of expression?
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Giuliani - First Amendment
Giuliani was opposed to allowing New York Magazine to advertise itself as ''Possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn't taken credit for.'' He claimed it was an invasion of his privacy, rather than allowable under Freedom of Speech.
Then again, Giuliani just claimed on Hannity's radio show a couple of weeks ago that he supports the "First Amendment right to carry and bear arms.”
He may not be real clear on those amendment thingies.
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The Normalization of Pathology
This is what happens when there is widespread anti-democratic corruption throughout the political system and the Democrats fail to operate as an opposition party. These kind of beliefs start out as only half-serious talking points and rationalizations. Eventually idiots like Giuliani take them seriously, although with little if any analysis.
And that's the way the democratic cookie crumbles...
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Too late.
If Rudy is elected President, then what kind of country has this one become?
I think the last presidential election already settled that question.2000 may have been a fluke, but electing Bush in 2004 after 4 years of manifest ineptitude and mindless plunder was inexcusable by any standard.
Rudolph could turn the Bush experience into a slogan:
"If you liked compassionate conservatism, you're gonna love unrestrained autocracy!"
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The Key to Beating Rudy
Glenn, you got it absolutely right that the republican base is determined to nominate a double-high authoritarian, regardless of his stands on specific issues like abortion or gays. Guiliani meets that standard perfectly.
And that opens up a huge opportunity for Democrats.
Democrats can wield a weapon against Rudy that republicans dare not pick up: Rudy's all-powerful executive philosophy is exactly the idea that got us into a quagmire in Iraq, justified torture, allowed corruption and enabled man-made disasters like Katrina.
The key is to get people to see the cause of what they hate in this maladministration as not individuals - bush, cheney, rumsfeld, gonzales, etc. - but as the "ruler as all-powerful monarch" philosophy of government that guides them.
And Rudy as its inheritor.
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Yellow Dog's got it right -
we're headed towards the moment of truth. The democrats can take on the monstrosity of authoritarianism head on and put it to bed for a generation, or cooperate with it and propel us towards the crisis.
Are the D's gonna be d*ckh**ds for America?
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Will Dick Cheney Still Head the 'Fourth Branch of Government'?
If Giuliani gets chosen to be the new lord high emperor God of Republican USA, will Dick Cheney or an anointed successor still be in charge of a 'Fourth Branch of Government' which apparently Cheney has argued for which is not accountable to either the Executive OR Legislative branches?
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A Worthy Successor To George W. Bush
The search is on among the political and financial oligarchy that directs policy in this country for George W. Bush's successor. Bush has been perfect for them. Totally incapable of critical thinking skills and bereft of any real sense of morality, Mr. Bush has taken his marching orders from his "base", channeled through agents Rove and Cheney, with no hesitancy.
Giuliani may have ideas of his own, but these are for the most part aligned with the goals of his globalist masters. With the courts and Department of Justice firmly in control of the authoritarian right, the Constitution can be safely relegated to the status of window dressing for the coming totalitarian regime. The Congress and nation no longer supports the obsolete notion that human rights are inherent, not granted by government, or that they are universal, but depend on citizenship.
Over the next year or so, you will see vast amounts of wealth being channeled into the campaign coffers of those who support the globalist agenda: Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, etc. and their campaigns and utterances publicised, while the anti-globalist candidates, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Tom Tancredo, will be marginalized, ignored, and/or ridiculed.
Prepare for the ascendency of another sock-puppet president in 2009. Also, be sure to exercise you Second Amendment rights.