Color Blinded

No repug candidates will be on the stage for the NAACP Annual Convention Presidential Forum this Thursday morning.

Rudy says he can't make it because he has to be in Michigan that night (the convention is in Detroit), Romney says he'll find a scheduling conflict (he's got no events planned for that day, but told the NAACP that he's got something else to do), McCain said that, well, he didn't say anything, and Huckabee -- he announced a month ago that, son of a gun, that happens to be the same date that he'll be in Iowa.

The repugs are following in the tradition established by the Despicable Cretin, who was a no show at the NAACP conventions. After the D.C. pulled in a mere 11% of the African-American vote in 2004, his IRS launched an investigation aimed at stripping the organization of its exempt status.

Detroit political consultant Coit Cook Ford had it right when he said that the no-shows reflected the repug preference to "appeal to white conservative voters who are hostile to immigration and affirmative action than to Hispanics and African Americans."

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Rudy the Monger

Not only did Rudy Giuliani say that, even with everything we know now, it was still a good idea to invade Iraq, but also that he wants to re-tool the American military to become a nation-building force.

Let those thoughts sink in a moment.

With everything we know today, Rudy would still conduct a war of aggression against Iraq.

And what do we know today?

We know that there was no connection between Saddam and 9-11.
We know that Iraq's army was a paper tiger and that his pretense of weaponry was his last line of defense against neighbors none-too happy to have him on the block.
We know that there were no storehouses of chemical or biological weapons.
We know that the mobile weapons factories were a lie.
We know that Saddam was about 1,000 years from nuclear weaponry.
We know that nearly 3500 American kids are dead, tens of thousands grievously wounded, hundreds of thousands innocent Iraq civilians dead, millions of Iraqis are refugees, and one million of Iraq's brightest, most successful citizens have fled the country.
We know that the invasion ignited the sectarian violence and civil war just busting to get loosed.
We know that American influence and reputation has taken a serious blow that could take generations to heal.
We know that we have served up the recruiting posters for every two-bit terrorist cell in every oppressed and disadvantaged area in the world.
We know that we are less safe today than when this madness began.

Yet, Rudy thinks it was all a swell idea.

And I haven't even had the stomach to address the nation-building part of Rudy's absurd world view.

(Image Credit: Blue Tide Rising)

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Playing the Authenticity Card

Medial Lizzy got it spot on todayyesterday:

AUTHENTIC will be the word that defines the 2008 presidential cycle. The candidate who is the most real, most authentic AND is the least contrived - will be the one who successfully crosses the finish line.

While I can't always agree with her politics (oh, okay, I hardly EVER agree with her politics), when she drops the talking points and personal attacks, Media Lizzy can learn us a lot.

Her assessment of the problem with the GOP field is not much different than mine, despite that we come at the question from opposite ends of the spectrum (putting aside her hots for Fred Thompson, who has nothing to offer and despite his spin, is no RR (not that being another RR is anything worth bragging about)):

If Fred Thompson does not enter the race... Mitt Romney will likely be the nominee. (barring a serious mistake) The press, consultants and voters alike don't like baggage. Being a Mormon is a lot more palatable than a third wife, a mistress, an old sick guy, an angry guy with a shady, baggage laden consultant, or a guy who can't be honest about mob ties that a staffer had. If Fred Thompson does not run, it will be about who McCain endorses - because that person will get the McCain finance Committee. And that is McCain's strongest asset.

Sincerity is the key . . . once you can fake that the rest is easy . . . . At least, that's the way consultants approach campaigns. M.L. is right to call them out on it and to point out that the electorate will be clamoring for true sincerity -- for authenticity this time around. That's why Hilary is going to have problems and that's why Obama has taken off.

What M.L. doesn't explain is the reason why sincerity is going to be so important this time around. One word -- Dubya. Colin Powell -- the closest thing to sincerity out of this cabal -- lost that rep for good when he did the deed in front of the UN. The rest of them? Condi, Wolfi, Rummi, Dicki, Pearle, Rove -- yeah, you get the idea.

{Image Credit: Media Lizzy}

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Giuliani: A Vote for Democrats is a Vote for Terrorists

Reflecting the desperation of the Repub warmongers who want to be President, yesterday Rudy Giuliani told New Hampshire Republicans that electing a Democrat in 2008 will result in another 9/11-type attack by terrorists.

Saying that America will be safer with a Republican in the White House and that, with a Democratic President "we will have more losses and it will go on longer", Rudy ginned up the Repub crowd and, shockingly, reached the conclusion that he, Rudy Giuliani, would be the best choice for a safe America.

Rudy, who can play but one note on that piano, sees 9/11 wherever he goes . . . he saw it in Oklahoma, at Virginia Tech, in divorce court . . . . Of course, he didn't remind his whooping audience that it was the Republicans who were responsible for the piled-up bungles which hugely contributed to our inability to prevent the real 9/11 attacks.

Rudy also doesn't mention that it was a Republican administration in New York City which was responsible for the failure to provide first responders with the communications systems and equipment which could have prevented the loss of so many police, fire fighters, and other first responders, who were hampered and endangered by those lacks during the immediate aftermath of the attack.

At the same meeting, Rud-y angrily defended diminishing civil rights and personal liberties as a weapon in the war against terrorism. After all, if we have to defeat the terrorists because they want to take away our civil rights and personal liberties. Hmmm, I see, Rud-y wants to take them away now so that the terrorists have nothing left to fight us about. Smaaart guy, eh?

The war against terrorism has been sidetracked by the neocon-driven war against Saddam. As a direct result of the bungling of that unnecessary and unjustified expedition, Osama bin Laden is still a free man, the organization he represents (a creation of the CIA, no less), has strengthened its hand around the world and gained a foothold in Iraq (where it was not previously), and the reputation and influence of the United States have taken serious body blows, all thanks to the Republican control of policy for the last six years.

Putting aside the repulsion that half of Americans (at least) will feel when Rud-y tells them that agenda of the party in which they are registered favors the terrorists, the failures of the Republicans are so patent, so thorough, and so complete, that, while Rud-y invites whooping cheers from the wingnutz sliver sharing his citizenship in the State of Denial, he only reminds the rest of us, who are weary of this crowd, why we need to be rid of them.

Run, Rud-y, Run.

{h/t Revolt Today}


{Photo Credit: Rox Populi}

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Why the Republicans are Screwed

Just an example.

Take this quote from one of their leading candidates:

"Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do."

Rudy Giuliani, while Mayor of New York. (Also reported in the WaPo.)

Oh, Rudy, PLEASE run.


(Photo Credit: Chris Hondros, Getty Images, via USA Today)

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Obama Bests Hillary vs Republicans in New Hampshire Poll

From Political Grind:

BOSTON – A telephone poll of likely New Hampshire voters, conducted by Suffolk University students from February 24-28, 2007, revealed top Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are statistically tied for the lead among Democratic voters in the Granite State. Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani had a 10-point lead over John McCain, his nearest rival. The results of the poll were officially announced today.

The poll revealed thatDemocrat Obama would defeat Republican Mitt Romney in a head-to-head match up and tie McCain and Giuliani, while Clinton would only defeat Romney. Republican front-runner Giuliani defeated Democrats Clinton and John Edwards in a head-to-head match up and tied Obama.

The survey of 500 Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters likely to vote in the 2008 presidential election found that Hillary Clinton’s unfavorability rating of 48% was the highest unfavorability rating of any candidate.

There's more.

The poll was conducted by Suffolk University. Crosstabs here.


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The Giuliani Campaign Dossier

A few weeks back there was the story about Rudy's staff leaving behind the Giuliani campaign planbook. Now, thanks to The Politico, a new website and blog on politics, you can download the entire thing here.

Ohhhhhh, Rudy, PLEASE run!!!

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Rudy's Insufferable Self-Promotion

Those who have suffered through Giuliani's tedious tenure in New York City, beginning with his appointment as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan), are all too familiar with his overwhelming concern with his personal promotion and image, and lack of care and ability at actual administration.

While US Attorney, criminal defense lawyers there will tell you, he routinely held up indictments, sometimes for months, until he could find time in his busy schedule of self-promotion, for a press conference announcing the indictment. This grand-standing served no legitimate prosecutorial purpose, and was, in itself, a cruel treatment of defendants, left in limbo and delayed in the ultimate clearing of their names (take a look back at the Giuliani indictments of the Wall Street arbs during his rein, and compare that to the jury verdicts he secured -- you'll be surprised at the ineffectiveness of his administration).

His relentless pursuit of press coverage didn't stop when he became Mayor, nor with 9/11. Remember that he asked for an extension of his last term in office? The Giuliani legend was so strong in his own mind that, in the 9/11 aftermath, he couldn't conceive of anyone else running the City, nor of anyone wanting anyone else to run it.

In biting words, Al Sharpton and others called him on it:

Al Sharpton slammed Mayor Giuliani for hogging too much credit for uniting the city, saying "Bozo" could have done as much. Two days after Green and Republican Michael Bloomberg accepted, and Ferrer rejected,Giuliani's pitch for a three-month term-extension, Sharpton - a major Ferrer booster - sharply criticized Giuliani for trying to stretch his term. "We elected you mayor, not Messiah," Sharpton said at his Harlem headquarters during a rally attended by Ferrer. "You didn't bring us together, our pain brought us together and our decency brought us together," Sharpton said. He added, "We would have come together if Bozo was the mayor."

Run, Rudy, Run.


(Photo Credit: Richard B. Levine, Newsweek)

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Oops. It was here a minute ago . . .

Okay, that's two "oops" headlines in a week. Probably two too many for most of you, earning me five demerits for informality of speech.

But, boy is this an "oops". It seems that someone in the Giuliani campaign left their internal analysis and playbook behind in one of the cities in which Rudy stumped for hurting Republicans in November, 2006. The New York Daily News has obtained it and is gleefully pawing through the purloined private notes.

The document apparently spends some time on Giuliani's weaknesses, which is the most fun part. Topping the self-flagellation list "is the explicit concern that he might 'drop out of [the] race' as a consequence of his potentially 'insurmountable' personal and political vulnerabilities." (Gosh, this is fun.) Chief among those personal vulnerabilities is Giuliani's "weakness" for his private business interests -- which reportedly earn him as much as $100,000 for a single speech. His staff also worries that Rudy seems to be drawn to people of questionable character, or perhaps the other way around, either way, the likes of Bernie Kerik, Russell Harding, and others, apparently have his staff very worried.

The topic is nothing new, this section of the internal Giuliani dossier could have been written a year ago by Glenn Greenwald:

Ever since his tenure as New York City's Mayor came to an end in late 2001, Rudy Giuliani has been on a money-making splurge. Beyond just his exorbitant speaking fees, his firm, Giuliani Partners, and its related affiliates, have their multiple tentacles in countless industries and highly lucrative transactions. That Giuliani wants to cash in on the 9/11 fame and admiration he earned is understandable after a couple of decades of living on a government salary, but that pursuit may end up sabotaging his Presidential ambitions.

At least in terms of his integrity -- one of the principal selling points for the former federal prosecutor’s candidacy -- Giuliani’s career has been unmarred. But any substantial venture into the private sector usually entails associations with less-than-pure individuals and transactions which, at the very least, can be cast in a negative light. If nothing else, Giuliani's extensive and diverse business activities are sure to provide ample fodder for opposition research on the part of any campaign looking to undermine his sterling image.

There's more, well worth the read.

Also on the nervous staffs' list are Giuliani's serial marriages and extra-maritals. Donna Hanover (his Mayor-time ex) and Judith Nathan (the current Mrs. G and the Mayor-time mistress), were expressly listed at the top of the list of Rudy negatives. (Showing all the class that can properly be attributed to him, Rudy publicly announced his filing for divorce from Hanover before mentioning it to Hanover. (By the way, Rudy was married for 14 childless years to his cousin and had that marriage annulled when he "found out" they were related. (How do you go through 14 Thanksgivings without "discovering" the relatives?) (Rudy's official campaign bio deletes mention the first two marriages and his two children) (how many times can I place parentheticals within one another like the Dead playing off The Eleven before my reader moves on?).) (Gee, I hope I closed all of those off . . . .) The divorce from Hanover was messy, with the jilted Mrs. bringing up allegations of still other mistresses.

The Daily News report goes on to discuss the fund-raising section of the memo. Apparently, the Giuliani campaign had been counting on the support or recruitment of fundraisers and professionals who have since hitched their wagons to other stars. Awwwwwk-ward.

Oh, PLEASE run, Rudy. The race wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!

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