How to Swift-boat Rudy Giuliani

[NYCGirl]

And it has nothing to do with his drag photos...

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/03/13/swiftboat_rudy/

Giuliani's supporters believe it would be impossible to undermine the ingrained perception of their candidate as a national icon, Rudy the Rock. But imagine what a talented and aggressive Democratic media consultant could do with Giuliani's real 9/11 record. Imagine Rosaleen Tallon and a Greek chorus of angry, bereaved New Yorkers in a spate of heart-tugging commercials. The ads could include not only the family members of men and women killed on 9/11, but also hard hats sickened by prolonged exposure to the toxic ground zero air that Giuliani declared safe to inhale within days of the attack. And the chorus could include the mayor's downtown constituents, who were left to rid their homes of chemical dust without city assistance, risking their own well-being. The New York City government now estimates that 43,000 people have significant 9/11-related health problems. Many, no doubt, would gladly go on camera.

Giuliani's vulnerability can be detected, in part, in his shifting accounts of his actions. He has said, for example, that technology for police-fire interoperability didn't exist at the time the planes slammed into the towers. A fawning 9/11 Commission swallowed that line, but the U.S. Conference of Mayors found shortly before Giuliani's testimony to the commission that of 192 cities it evaluated, three-quarters had radios interoperable across police and fire departments.

Giuliani has also said that firefighters remained in doomed towers because they, as a breed, are wired to their bones and sinews to stand their ground. But firefighters are also part of a quasi-military chain of command and are wired to obey orders during a crisis -- if they can hear them. Tellingly, Giuliani's Republican successor, Michael Bloomberg, who took office in January 2002, had little difficulty outfitting the FDNY with reliable radios, which they now carry with them into harm's way.

"He tells filthy lies, shamelessly parlaying his failures into a multinational empire and national campaign," said Sally Regenhard, the mother of a fallen firefighter. He cut and ran, she says. "All the heroes of 9/11 are dead or wounded, spiritually, emotionally or physically."

[Turbineguy]

1. Let the repubs do the swiftboating on St. Rudy.

They are good at it and it's a skill we may not want to learn.

[NewJeffCT]

6. swift boating is dishonest - we can hammer Rudy with the truth

see my post below about the letter from the Firefighter's Union...

[NYCGirl]

7. The article may be a bit misnamed — the author suggests we just tell the truth.

"Swiftboating" is lying about someone.

[AX10]

12. True.

[Spiffarino]

2. Beautiful.

The fact is Rudy was a good face man during the crisis, but his management skills didn't - and do not - extend beyond that.

Once we take his sorry ass down, I recommend we do this with abandon to EVERY Republican who dares run for office from here on until they get the fucking point and start addressing real issues in their campaigns.

[MADem]

3. The man is a stupid idiot. He put the Command Center in a TERRA TARGET building

That's a huge stupidity right there.

One more time, he put the COMMAND CENTER in a terra target building. A KNOWN terra target building. One that had been attacked before.

It was more about a convenient location for 'da maya' than a place that would withstand a likely terra attack.

Let's not even get into the brutal and vicious excesses of his police department, that he gleefully sanctioned...

[dazzlerazzle]

9. supposed success against crime

A friend I worked with from the city said he ran the homeless into new jersey. Also benefited from nearly 5000 new police because of the Clinton cops program. Any city who can increase their police force by these sort of numbers should have an improved record against crime!

[NewJeffCT]

4. the letter from the Firefighter's Union destroyed Giuliani

Absolutely killed him. They invited every presidential candidate to speak to the Firefighter's Union - even the most obscure of the candidates. They singled out Giuliani saying he did not deserve an audience.

some excerpts:
His actions post 9/11 rise to such an offensive and personal attack on our brother and sisterhood — and directly on our union — that the IAFF does not feel Rudy Giuliani deserves an audience of IAFF leaders and members at our own Presidential Forum.

<snip>

What Giuliani showed is a disgraceful lack of respect for the fallen and those brothers still searching for them. He exposed our members and leaders to arrest. He valued the money and gold and wanted the site cleared before he left office at the end of 2001 more than he valued the lives and memories of those lost.

<snip>
and the closer
The fundamental lack of respect that Giuliani showed our FDNY members is unforgivable - and that's why he was not invited. Our disdain for him is not about issues or a disputed contract, it is about a visceral, personal affront to the fallen, to our union and, indeed, to every one of us who has ever risked our lives by going into a burning building to save lives and property.

We have heard from some affiliates that Giuliani's campaign is beginning to reach out to our locals, looking to build support. If you are contacted by Giuliani, Von Essen, or a representative of the Giuliani campaign, we hope you will say not just, "No," but, "Hell no."

http://www.firefightingnews.com/article-US.cfm?articleID=27125

[spooky3]

5. Swiftboating = lying to smear someone. That is not the same as

telling the truth about incompetence.

[ClassWarrior]

8. I thought it meant...

...(and "meant" is used loosely, recognizing that it's brand new slang) attacking someone's strength head-on.

NGU.

[spooky3]

11. I guess I wouldn't object to attacking someone's strength head on.

if it is done in a legitimate way. I do object to lying.

[TwilightGardener]

10. Lie, smear, swiftboat--whatever it takes, I am all for it if it helps Dems to

take the WH! They bring a knife, we bring a gun. They put one of ours in the hospital, we put one of theirs in the morgue. We Dems have to get away from this notion of "honor" in campaigns, or we will lose just like we did before.

[Doctor_J]

13. Step 1 - take over the media from the ultra-right wing

until step 1 happens, he will be impervious, just like Smirk is.