WHY RUDY CAN’T WIN
May 2007
Even though the 2008 Presidential election is more than a year and a half away, it looks like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as the front runner for the Republican nomination. Now granted, a lot can happen in 18 months but I don’t think Rudy can win the Presidency.
In order to win, Rudy has a lot of hurdles to jump over. Those hurdles include important issues like race relations, labor relations, marital relations, abortion, fiscal responsibility and the fact that he doesn’t play or share well with others. Let’s take a closer look.
For non New Yorkers who may be reading this, it’s important that we take a look at some background. Giuliani clearly was “made” by the tragedy of 911, which jettisoned him to national prominence. Had it not been for 911, Rudy’s legacy would have been quite different locally and nationally. In short, he would not have been anointed “America’s Mayor”. Now don’t get me wrong, Rudy did do a lot of positive things for the City. However voters have a short memory and some of the negative things about Rudy outweigh the positive.
In a New York Daily News Poll taken just this week New Yorkers preferred current Mayor Michael Bloomberg over Rudy for President by a margin of 46% to 29%. Even more damaging to Rudy’s candidacy, New Yorkers said Bloomberg has been a better mayor by a margin of 56% to just 29%. However you look at it these numbers do not augur well for Rudy. So far Bloomberg is not running but things change.
Giuliani’s record on race relations is terrible. The fact is that it was not a lot of fun to be Black or Puerto Rican in this city for eight years under Rudy’s reign. Many people say he divided the city and did very little to bring racial harmony to it. I recall a time when ordered NYPD helicopters to buzz a crowd in Harlem during a peaceful demonstration. He never once sat down with Black or Latino leaders like Al Sharpton to discuss racial tensions, which at times ran quite high. In order to win the Presidency you need support of ethnic minorities which Giuliani does not have and is more unlikely to get
His record on labor relations is not much better just ask any New York City cop, fireman, teacher or healthcare worker. He campaigned on the backs of New York City Police Officers then turned his back on them when it came time to hand out pay increases. He did the same thing to firefighters, teachers and healthcare workers. He has not been a friend to Labor whose support is still important in a national election.
Then there is the issue of marital relations. Aside from the fact that his first wife was his cousin, (a tad strange) Giuliani is a graduate of the Bill Clinton School of marital fidelity in that he cheated on two of his three wives.
In fact, he had an affair with his current wife Judy Nathan for more than one year before it was discovered. How do I know? I used to live in her building on East 94th Street where she used to sneak out of the lobby, through the garage and into a waiting unmarked NYPD car. It is not widely known that Ms. Nathan enjoyed NYPD protection during that time at the expense of tax payers. Recently New York State Comptroller Alan Hevasi lost his job and paid a huge fine for doing the same thing except he got caught!
The Republican Party has long been against abortion, Rudy supports it. While he in my opinion is right, he has already been accused of waffling on the issue much to the disappointment of Republican leaders and the Christian Coalition.
Fiscally, he did a lot to return New York City to financial strength. However during his last two years in office he spent money like a drunken sailor leaving the City in a financial mess. Bloomberg by the way cleaned up that mess and the City’s bond ratings were raised.
Under Rudy’s rule there were four ways to get things accomplished: the right way, the wrong way the traditional way and Rudy’s way. Guess which way won out most of the time. Rudy’s battles with the New York City Council and the teachers union are legendary and were very unpleasant. Politics through intimidation will not work on the national level. As President, he will have to compromise with the House sand Senate. Compromise is not a word that readily comes to mind when describing Giuliani’s style. He has been described as a bully with a mean streak.
Since Rudy is campaigning on his record during 911 let’s take a closer look at that record. Clearly New York City Police Officers, Firefighters, Port Authority Police and EMS workers could not communicate with each other with each other via radio. This problem plagued these departments long before 911.
Rescue workers were not adequately protected during the clean up. Nearly every week we read about another 911 worker who has died due to pulmonary issues. These heroes were not adequately protected, the responsibility of which is the responsibility of the Mayor. When the US Environmental Protection Agency gave the all clear on the air quality of the 911 site, Rudy did little or nothing to refute that. Today, all too many of those rescue workers and clean up workers are now getting sick and dying.
There is one other thing. Ever since he was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy’s ego has been out of control. If he is going to take all the credit for everything done right on his watch, then he should be taking the blame for some of the things that didn’t work well. Clearly that is something that he hasn’t been willing to do.
When former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton got national attention for the crime reduction in the city his picture appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. What did Rudy do? He fired Bratton. Bratton was replaced by Howard Safir who was nothing more than a puppet under Giuliani’s control. Safir, an old friend of the former Mayor, had been the Fire Commissioner. He was replaced by Thomas Van Essen who was nothing more than a Lieutenant at FDNY. He was clearly a puppet for the mayor as was Bernard Kerik, who eventually replaced Safir as Police commissioner.
Kerik, who later was President Bush’s choice to head the Department of Homeland Security, turns out to have had somewhat of a criminal past. Prior to that nomination Kerik was Giuliani’s partner in his consulting firm. He will have to be a bit more careful and selective about whom he surrounds himself with if he ever makes it to Washington.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for Rudy on many fronts. His main campaign theme seems to be terrorism even though the two major attacks on the City occurred on his watch. There is more to running this country than terrorism, and our former Mayor seems reluctant to talk about anything else. He is not going to be able to bully leaders of foreign countries in the same manner he steamrolled over the City Council.
As I have already said a lot can happen in the 18 or so months left until the election. If Bloomberg does decide to run, as many think he will, Rudy is finished. One thing is for sure this campaign will be a memorable one, especially if it comes down to Rudy versus Hillary. That will be a battle for the ages. Canada is suddenly looking better and better.
Lee Degenstein has covered the financial markets for print and broadcast media for more than 15 years. Mr. Degenstein was also the news director and morning anchor at two major radio stations in New Jersey. He has been a reporter/contributor to United Press International, The Associated Press, The Mutual Broadcasting System and New York 1 News. A winner of the Associated Press award for 'best business story' he lives and works in New York City. Mr. Degenstein can be reached by email at: lee723@verizon.net
© Copyright 2007, Lee Degenstein.
All rights reserved
www.leereports.blogspot.com
Even though the 2008 Presidential election is more than a year and a half away, it looks like former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has emerged as the front runner for the Republican nomination. Now granted, a lot can happen in 18 months but I don’t think Rudy can win the Presidency.
In order to win, Rudy has a lot of hurdles to jump over. Those hurdles include important issues like race relations, labor relations, marital relations, abortion, fiscal responsibility and the fact that he doesn’t play or share well with others. Let’s take a closer look.
For non New Yorkers who may be reading this, it’s important that we take a look at some background. Giuliani clearly was “made” by the tragedy of 911, which jettisoned him to national prominence. Had it not been for 911, Rudy’s legacy would have been quite different locally and nationally. In short, he would not have been anointed “America’s Mayor”. Now don’t get me wrong, Rudy did do a lot of positive things for the City. However voters have a short memory and some of the negative things about Rudy outweigh the positive.
In a New York Daily News Poll taken just this week New Yorkers preferred current Mayor Michael Bloomberg over Rudy for President by a margin of 46% to 29%. Even more damaging to Rudy’s candidacy, New Yorkers said Bloomberg has been a better mayor by a margin of 56% to just 29%. However you look at it these numbers do not augur well for Rudy. So far Bloomberg is not running but things change.
Giuliani’s record on race relations is terrible. The fact is that it was not a lot of fun to be Black or Puerto Rican in this city for eight years under Rudy’s reign. Many people say he divided the city and did very little to bring racial harmony to it. I recall a time when ordered NYPD helicopters to buzz a crowd in Harlem during a peaceful demonstration. He never once sat down with Black or Latino leaders like Al Sharpton to discuss racial tensions, which at times ran quite high. In order to win the Presidency you need support of ethnic minorities which Giuliani does not have and is more unlikely to get
His record on labor relations is not much better just ask any New York City cop, fireman, teacher or healthcare worker. He campaigned on the backs of New York City Police Officers then turned his back on them when it came time to hand out pay increases. He did the same thing to firefighters, teachers and healthcare workers. He has not been a friend to Labor whose support is still important in a national election.
Then there is the issue of marital relations. Aside from the fact that his first wife was his cousin, (a tad strange) Giuliani is a graduate of the Bill Clinton School of marital fidelity in that he cheated on two of his three wives.
In fact, he had an affair with his current wife Judy Nathan for more than one year before it was discovered. How do I know? I used to live in her building on East 94th Street where she used to sneak out of the lobby, through the garage and into a waiting unmarked NYPD car. It is not widely known that Ms. Nathan enjoyed NYPD protection during that time at the expense of tax payers. Recently New York State Comptroller Alan Hevasi lost his job and paid a huge fine for doing the same thing except he got caught!
The Republican Party has long been against abortion, Rudy supports it. While he in my opinion is right, he has already been accused of waffling on the issue much to the disappointment of Republican leaders and the Christian Coalition.
Fiscally, he did a lot to return New York City to financial strength. However during his last two years in office he spent money like a drunken sailor leaving the City in a financial mess. Bloomberg by the way cleaned up that mess and the City’s bond ratings were raised.
Under Rudy’s rule there were four ways to get things accomplished: the right way, the wrong way the traditional way and Rudy’s way. Guess which way won out most of the time. Rudy’s battles with the New York City Council and the teachers union are legendary and were very unpleasant. Politics through intimidation will not work on the national level. As President, he will have to compromise with the House sand Senate. Compromise is not a word that readily comes to mind when describing Giuliani’s style. He has been described as a bully with a mean streak.
Since Rudy is campaigning on his record during 911 let’s take a closer look at that record. Clearly New York City Police Officers, Firefighters, Port Authority Police and EMS workers could not communicate with each other with each other via radio. This problem plagued these departments long before 911.
Rescue workers were not adequately protected during the clean up. Nearly every week we read about another 911 worker who has died due to pulmonary issues. These heroes were not adequately protected, the responsibility of which is the responsibility of the Mayor. When the US Environmental Protection Agency gave the all clear on the air quality of the 911 site, Rudy did little or nothing to refute that. Today, all too many of those rescue workers and clean up workers are now getting sick and dying.
There is one other thing. Ever since he was the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy’s ego has been out of control. If he is going to take all the credit for everything done right on his watch, then he should be taking the blame for some of the things that didn’t work well. Clearly that is something that he hasn’t been willing to do.
When former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton got national attention for the crime reduction in the city his picture appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. What did Rudy do? He fired Bratton. Bratton was replaced by Howard Safir who was nothing more than a puppet under Giuliani’s control. Safir, an old friend of the former Mayor, had been the Fire Commissioner. He was replaced by Thomas Van Essen who was nothing more than a Lieutenant at FDNY. He was clearly a puppet for the mayor as was Bernard Kerik, who eventually replaced Safir as Police commissioner.
Kerik, who later was President Bush’s choice to head the Department of Homeland Security, turns out to have had somewhat of a criminal past. Prior to that nomination Kerik was Giuliani’s partner in his consulting firm. He will have to be a bit more careful and selective about whom he surrounds himself with if he ever makes it to Washington.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for Rudy on many fronts. His main campaign theme seems to be terrorism even though the two major attacks on the City occurred on his watch. There is more to running this country than terrorism, and our former Mayor seems reluctant to talk about anything else. He is not going to be able to bully leaders of foreign countries in the same manner he steamrolled over the City Council.
As I have already said a lot can happen in the 18 or so months left until the election. If Bloomberg does decide to run, as many think he will, Rudy is finished. One thing is for sure this campaign will be a memorable one, especially if it comes down to Rudy versus Hillary. That will be a battle for the ages. Canada is suddenly looking better and better.
Lee Degenstein has covered the financial markets for print and broadcast media for more than 15 years. Mr. Degenstein was also the news director and morning anchor at two major radio stations in New Jersey. He has been a reporter/contributor to United Press International, The Associated Press, The Mutual Broadcasting System and New York 1 News. A winner of the Associated Press award for 'best business story' he lives and works in New York City. Mr. Degenstein can be reached by email at: lee723@verizon.net
© Copyright 2007, Lee Degenstein.
All rights reserved
www.leereports.blogspot.com
posted by Lee Degenstein | 7:30 PM
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