Rudy Giuliani: Lifelong Liberal

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:15:00 -0400

A reader forwards some excerpts from that forthcoming Giuliani-takedown book from former Port Authority executive director and angry New York Conservative guy George Marlin.

(Marlin's mission of late seems to be to make it impossible for New York Republicans to seek national office: his other recent effort was about George Pataki, entitled Squandered Opportunities.)

UPDATE: Liz has an interview with Marlin.

The new book, expected out next week, is a collection of quotes that have been printed, reprinted and widely known for some time. But it's useful, if for nothing else, as a preview of what the McCain campaign is going to be parceling out over the next few months.

Some highlights:

The Giuliani campaign should emphasize its candidate's independence from traditional national Republican policies. Especially useful in this strategy is Giuliani's role in overturning a Reagan administration attempt to throw disabled people off the Social Security rolls, his prosecution of Republican elected officials - especially his authorization for calling his boss, Attorney General Edwin Meese III, a sleaze, and his un-Republican views on many social issues of concern to New Yorkers, like abortion, gun control and bias protection for homosexuals.

Giuliani Campaign-Sponsored "Vulnerability Study" April 8, 1993

"He's basically very pragmatic," Mario Cuomo says. "And he's progressive. He is not a Neanderthal, a primitive conservative. But look, he's a clever human being. He can shave and draw fine distinctions when he needs to."

New York, November 1, 2004

In repeating his call for a national gun licensing law yesterday, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani introduced an unusual kind of "southern strategy" to his re-election platform: Blame five southern states if the city's crime rate doesn't continue its steep descent.

New York Times, March 7, 1997

-- Azi Paybarah

Observer » Rudy Giuliani: Lifelong Liberal

Rudy Giuliani: Lifelong Liberal