Rudy Giuliani Owes America an Apology
One of the most disgusting tactics the Republicans have used is exploiting the 9/11 attacks for their own gains. As my wife (when she was 8 months pregnant) yelled at Republican delegates to the Republican Convention in 2004, "Shame on you for turning our tragedy into a photo op!" The delegates were none too pleased being chased down the street by a very pregnant woman accusing them of exploiting our tragedy. I was in Manhattan when those planes hit... I heard them hit, though it was only later I realized what I had heard. My wife was in the subway right under the WTC when the first plane hit. That first plane also instantly took the life of a co-worker's spouse. So 9/11 is very personal for me, as it is for many Americans. When the Republicans twist it for their personal gain, I resent it.
Well, as I reported yesterday, Rudy Giuliani (the man despised by the firefighters who were the TRUE heroes of 9/11) is the latest Republican to use this disgusting tactic. Not only was Giuliani's claim that only a Republican can prevent a terrorist attack a disgusting exploitation of a national tragedy, but it is demonstrably wrong. Clinton's administration prevented the millenium attacks. He also warned the nation that al-Qaeda was going to attack again. Bush's administration ignored these warnings and the 9/11 attacks happened on HIS watch. Giuliani is wrong. Republicans have failed America and they continue to fail America as we escalate in Iraq while Osama bin Laden, the man who planned the attacks on us, goes free.
Howard Dean is taking on Rudy, urging us to reject "anti-firefighter" Giuliani's exploitation of the attacks on our city and to demand an apology from him. This is Howard Dean's message and call to action:
Rudy Giuliani should be ashamed.
The former New York City Mayor is politicizing September 11th in his 2008 presidential bid. Here's what he said at a recent campaign stop in New Hampshire:
"If a Democrat is elected president in 2008, America will be at risk for another terrorist attack on the scale of Sept. 11, 2001... Never ever again will this country ever be on defense waiting for (terrorists) to attack us if I have anything to say about it. And make no mistake, the Democrats want to put us back on defense!"
I won't let this wannabe Republican nominee get away with remarks like these. Send a message to Rudy's campaign headquarters and tell him to stop politicizing 9/11:
http://www.democrats.org/TellGiuliani
More than anyone, Rudy should understand the offensive meaning behind his remarks. When he stood at ground zero that tragic day, there weren't any Republicans or Democrats -- only Americans.After trying to convince everyone that he was "America's Mayor," he now shows this sort of "leadership."
I will not sit quietly while he takes the fallen heroes of September 11, 2001 to the campaign trail with him. It might win over the Republican Party, but it won't win over the American people.
Rudy should know better.
Join me and send a message to Rudy's headquarters and tell him that our country deserves better from a presidential candidate:
http://www.democrats.org/TellGiuliani
President Bush, not the Democratic Party, failed our country by never capturing the true culprit of the 9/11 attacks: Osama bin Laden.Now, Rudy thinks he can take a page from President Bush and Dick Cheney's playbook, using fearmongering to gin up support. The American people didn't buy this sort of garbage in the 2006 midterm elections, and they're not going to buy it in 2008.
Show Rudy -- and all Americans -- that the Democratic Party won't stand for this sort of attack. We're delivering this petition personally to the Giuliani for President campaign headquarters, so give Rudy a piece of your mind.
Demand an apology now:
http://www.democrats.org/TellGiuliani
Sincerely,Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.
I wrote Giuliani's HQ and told them that I am joining with the firefighters in saying "not just, 'No,' but, 'Hell no'" to Rudy Giuliani. Please join me in standing with the heroes, not with the people who failed to stop Osama bin Laden.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
9/11 | firefighters | Republican lies | Barking Crazy Right Wingers | Republican Party | Rudy Giuliani
Oh really?
Submitted by mole333 on 27 April 2007 - 7:19pm.
Why? For REALLY standing behind our troops rather than blindly letting Bush send them into a Civil War without proper body armor, no exit strategy and cuts in combat pay? Because they are trying to get the Bush administration to actually SUPPORT our Veterans rather than leave them rotting with inadequate care? Or is it because they want to actually go after fucking Osama bin Laden, the man who ATTACKED AMERICA and yet who Bush has publicly said he doesn't care about?
The real treason was committed by the Bush Administration who failed to protect America and who wages war for the sole purpose of guaranteeing the flow of benefits to war profiteers like Halliburton keep coming. I dare you, DARE you to go up to Jim Webb, Eric Massa, Charlie Brown, Patrick Murphey or Tammy Duckworth and call them traitors. The Republican Party has abandoned our troops and abandoned our security all for their personal profit. Democrats are restoring honor to America and respect to our troops.
Rudy Owes Nothing.
Submitted by Brooks (not verified) on 29 April 2007 - 1:33am.
As we all know, no one is perfect. Mistakes happen. Have you ever gone to see a movie because a friend you trust tells you that it is the best movie ever? Of course. Then the movie turns out horrible. Bad Intel. I know I know, a movie never took a life. But think on it, your most trusted agency comes to you with what appears to be rock solid intel on weapons of mass destruction, (which England still holds exists and claims to have found, but we'll never hear that in the news, nor will we hear about where the terrorists are getting all of their chemicals for these new weapons they are using), would you not act? Would you not do what you believe is right? We elected President Bush to do what he believes is right in all of his decision making. Some do not like his decision making, but such is democracy, a new election is coming. Now, we hear calls that Rudy is simply using 9-11 as political fodder to win an election. Not too much new about using tragedy to pull on voter's heart strings now is there? I'm sure we all recall our most recent election, won by Democrats on the backs of dead troops. If one wishes for their country to go a certain way, one must offer an alternative to the way it is currently heading. A president, or any elected official for that matter, should NEVER be expected to make decisions based on the current climate of so called "public opinion" and polling data. Such things are flawed beyond belief and are just as corrupt as anything else out there. We, as voters, elect our officials based upon their opinions and personalities. Why does it suprise anyone that this current president, who has ALWAYS portrayed himself as somewhat of a cowboy and very much a tough guy who will not stand for any BS, makes the kind of decisions that he does? When this war on terrorism first began, he told us that it would go on and on, and that it would try our country's patience, and that it would last long after his presidency was through. Why should it suprise us that Rudy runs on 9-11 when that day defined him as a leader? No one can deny that they felt moved by his obvious emotion at the events of that day. His story is one of thousands that make that day last in the minds of many. He owes no apology for placing on his political resume that he led the greatest city in the world through the greatest tragedy of our time. Would you not put a fact like that foremost on your docket?
Problems
Submitted by mole333 on 2 May 2007 - 12:26pm.
Thank you for a reasonable and polite comment. That is far better than many of the rabid right wingers we get comments from. The main problem is your comment contains some glaring inacuracies.
First off, no one with any credability is advocating that Bush end the war against the people who attacked us. Problem is, Bush largely abandoned that war against al-Qaeda and has instead mired us in Iraq. We never had a reason for going into Iraq and he blatantly lied about his reasons. Poor intelligence? No. He was told in no uncertain terms that 9/11 was going to happen and he ignored those intelligence reports. Then he was told that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and had no WMD at the time we invaded, but he still told America that Hussein had collaborated with bin Laden (a bald faced lie) and had WMD (possible but there was no evidence for it). His lies took us into a war that military analysts largely agree was a mistake and made us less safe. Meanwhile, the real war, the war against al-Qaeda, has stagnated. The Democrats are demanding accountability and an exit strategy from Iraq and a refocus of our forces to actually fighting al-Qaeda, the people who attacked us.
As to Giuliani, his being some kind of 9/11 hero is another Republican lie. The real heroes were the firefighters and they despise Giuliani because his decisions and actions contributed to their deaths. The firefighters circulated a letter saying firefighters should "not just say 'No!' but 'Hell no!'" to Rudy Giuliani. And his leadership on that day has been seriously called into question. His worst failure was his refusal to upgrade the firefighters' equipment, something that he was told was needed but he chose not to do. The deaths of most of the firefighters on 9/11 was due to the communications equipment problem that Rudy had refused to deal with well before 9/11. This blunder was about the level of Bush's blunder in failing to heed the warnings about the New Orleans levees, which were predicted to fail under the conditions underwhich they did fail. Americans died because of the poor decisions of these two men. Giuliani was also a party to the Bush administration's cover up of information on the toxicity of the 9/11 smoke. This coverup is somethig I call The Worst Shame of the Bush Administration, but it could also be called one of the worst shames of the Giuliani administration. Many firefighters are affected by "Ground Zero cough" thanks to Bush and Giuliani's cover up.
So this is the kind of leadership Bush and Giuliani represent. Abandoning our firefighters is Giuliani's main legacy...that and racial tensions and appointing a police commissioner that he already knew had mob ties. This man is NOT qualified to be President.
"Collusion" is the name of a book
Submitted by Margaret Bassett on 5 May 2007 - 6:55pm.
Bonini and another investigative reporter wrote about how the false information on Niger yellow cake got started. First, there was a dedicated hoodlum making his living by giving out a rumor which would lead to interest. In this case it was planted in an apartment where a mole worked as a maid. When the information was turned over, it got into the allies' circulation loop before it was checked out. The book says it further gained credence because Berlusconi wanted to make brownie points with Bush. I do recall articles in the media about apologies from the Italian government. Since it was in the loop, the British had it. CIA asked them if they knew about it. And that's how the British were referenced in the state of the union speech.
There are too many spy stories for me to follow. However, watching the TV interview brought up the old neighborhood beauty parlor jokes. As in, 3 forms of communication--telegraph, telephone and telewoman. If there isn't careful analysis, I guess we could add teleintel.
BULLCRAP! The ones who owe
BULLCRAP! The ones who owe the country an apology are the chicken-shit, treasonous thugs, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.