Dem strategists: Forget Mittens, Target Giuliani.. NOW

[npincus]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/13/opinion/polls/main3162457.shtml

Yes it's early, but that's when enough perceptions are formed and loyalties hardened to make a difference.

Where Mittens would not be a formidable adversary (he's already battling the label of "flip-flopper" on abortion, "animal abuser" for strapping his dog to the roof of his car for a 12-hour family trip, and "big insensitive dumb-ass" for implying that like our soldiers in Iraq, his 5 sons are performing a "service to their country" by campaigning for him!) Giuliani is defying expectations and gaining support for his candidacy among groups that traditionally wouldn't support him. That Saint of 9-11 shit really goes over among the traumatized, terra-fied masses.

Buttressing Mitt (or McCain) by attacking Giuliani with new vigor would be wise. Giuliani is looking more like a 'Teflon' candidate-- if RWers and Fundies are getting on board, and enough moderates and Independents are impressed, we are in trouble, folks.

The above is my opinion, of course.




CBS) According to a new CBS News poll out Monday, Rudy Giuliani retains a significant lead nationally among Republican primary voters in the race to become the party’s presidential nominee.

In all, 38 percent of Republican primary voters favor the former New York City mayor, a slight increase from last month. Senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson is next; he's favored by 18 percent of Republican primary voters, a seven-point drop from last month. Thompson has yet to officially announce his candidacy.

The third choice, at 13 percent, is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who improved five points from one month ago. He was followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain, who came in at 12 percent.

Republican primary voters appear to be growing more content with the Republican candidates for president: 46 percent say they are satisfied with their choices, up from 36 percent a month ago and 30 percent in June. But 49 percent say they are not satisfied.

Giuliani, defying conventional wisdom, continues to show strength among groups not expected to be favorable towards his candidacy. He leads the field among conservatives, those who live in the South and West, evangelical Christians, and voters who think that a candidate's personal life should be a factor in deciding whom to support.

[blm]

1. McAuliffe's DNC let Giuliani become a hero along with Bush 9/11/2001 thru 2004

They let that monster grow for their own short term goals and now the rest of the Dem party has to continue paying for it while Dean's DNC is working to clean up all the other messes left by McAuliffe.

[TwilightGardener]

2. He IS surprisingly, disturbingly resilient. I'm hoping Fugly Fred

jumps in and does his Cornpone Down Home shtick to charm the morans, which would hopefully knock Rudy down a peg--it will be the clash of the titans at the top, and it will keep Mittens stuck in third.

[Bake]

3. Dems need to hammer Ghouliani mercilessly

Unfortunately, the MSM has no interest in doing so ...

Bake

[Major Hogwash]

4. Nah, we want Giuliani to be the Republican candidate.

His ex-wife would make a fortune with a tell-all book next summer about how Rudi was doing the humpty dance with his mistress in the house of Hanover - while his children were all at home sleeping there.

Great "family values", huh?

[npincus]

6. unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be making a dent

Giuliani's rumored mistress Starr Shepard in a recent National Enquirer, "Terror Alert: Judi Giuliani" in Septemebr's Vanity Fair... and his support among RWers, Fundies, self-professed conservatives seems to be growing.

We DON'T want Giuliani. 'Character" only seems to matter with Democrats.

[bunkerbuster1]

7. I welcome the opportunity to have Rudy's bullshit version of 9/11 taken apart

If the Goopers are stupid enough to run him, that's what's going to happen.

Add a little dose of truth about what kind of a human being he really is (most voters still don't know about his flagrant infidelity and humiliating treatment of his wife), and he'll be a dream opponent.

[Major Hogwash]

10. Eggsactly! Get Rudy on the national stage and then shred him apart, piece by piece.

In front of everybody!

Annihilate that sonovabitch's political career for all time!

[bunkerbuster1]

11. That SOB Rudy is small potatoes

Mostly, I want our nation to stop wallowing in its post 9/11 mindset, and come to look at that particular attack as no more and no less than what it really was.

Our willingness to sacrifice freedom in exchange for a right-wing idea of "security" will go down as one of the great tragic mis-steps we've ever made. The sooner we confront it, the sooner we can get beyond this "post-9/11" bullshit.

And how better to confront it than to have a Gooper presidential candidate who thinks he can milk 9/11 yet again?

[AndyTiedye]

5. The Mighty Slime Machine Has Already Picked Ghouliani to be the Next President

The Ghoul gets a free pass to build yet another Repiglickin' campaign on the ashes of 9/11.

How do we fight something like that?

It is said that our hope of beating him stems from the "skeletons in his closet".
Skeletons in someone's closet only matter if the media is rattling them in your face every day.
We can be absolutely certain that this will not happen with the Ghoul's many skeletons.
They will lie quietly in the closet, attracting no attention whatsoever, except on the net.
Yes, WE know about them. We knew about Bush**'s skeletons too. Much good that did.

We cannot rely on the Ghoul's skeletons to defeat him.

What about our candidates? Either losing to him or within an easily Dieboldable margin.

This is not good.

Our Congressional "majority" caving in at every turn, leaving the whole party badly demoralized.

How do we turn this around?

[WI_DEM]

8. Anybody who thinks that Rudy would be a pushover in a general election

is whistling past the graveyard. He's the one we have to fear because he cuts into the Dem and Indie vote like none of the others.

[TwilightGardener]

9. He's the only one that has maintained his appeal with Indies/Dems, you're right--

McCain lost this appeal, and the rest are either fundie nutjobs or just don't excite crossover interest for whatever reason.

[KamaAina]

12. I'll see your 9/11 and raise you a Bernie Kerik!

Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Kerik#New_York_City_Police_Commissioner

Kerik was appointed the 40th New York City Police Commissioner by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani on August 21, 2000. He left office at the end of Giuliani's term on December 31, 2001. Kerik's selection came despite the fact that he lacked a college degree - a requirement established in 1985 by then-Commissioner Benjamin Ward for anyone promoted above the rank of Captain. There have been questions raised regarding the fact that the City of New York's Department of Investigations bypassed the normal vetting process in appointing Kerik police commissioner. The accusation among others were that his chief qualification appeared to be that he had served as Giuliani’s driver and bodyguard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Kerik#Consulting_work

Following his departure from the New York City Police Department, he was employed by Giuliani Partners, a consulting firm formed by the former Mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani. He served as a Senior Vice President at Giuliani Partners and as Chief Executive Officer of Giuliani-Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners. Kerik resigned from these positions in December, 2004. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Kerik served from May to September 2003 as Iraq’s interim Minister of Interior where he oversaw the re-constitution and reconstruction of the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, including the national police service and border enforcement units. Kerik is currently the Chairman & CEO of The Kerik Group LLC, a New York City based consulting firm specializing in Homeland Security, Counter-Terrorism and Law Enforcement and Jail/Prison Management services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Kerik#Investigation_results

On June 30, 2006, after an eighteen month investigation conducted by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, Kerik pled guilty to two ethics violations (unclassified misdemeanors) and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines at the 10-minute hearing.... Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg immediately removed Kerik's name from the Manhattan Detention Complex, a New York jail that had been renamed in Kerik's honor on December 21, 2001 by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

I repeat, Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik Bernie Kerik!

[Virginia Dare]

13. Let's multitask, I say hammer them both until they cry for mercy..n/t

[kerry-is-my-prez]

14. "Rudeness" scares the crap out of me. He'll be another Bush-dictator type.

n/t

[npincus]

15. scathing article: "Rudy's Five Big Lies about 9/11"

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0732,barrett,77463,6.html/full

and... reason to believe that Rudy made his disatstrous choice to locate NYC Emergency Command Center at 7 WTC near his office (City Hall) so he could meet with his girlfirend there (in his private suite with private elevator). My thread on this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1591433

THIS is the kind of story we need to get out. Giuliani put his craven, immoral desires ahead of the safety and security of New Yorkers and emergency service providers' welfare!