Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Fear-Mongering Giuliani Losing Ground to Clinton


Is the American voting public finally getting fed up with Republican politicians who continue to spew the infuriating and offensive rhetoric that the Iraq war and the 9/11 attacks are connected? Are they sick and tired of the GOP's playing the politics-of-fear game? If a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is any indication, the answer is yes.

Back in March, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani led Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) 47%-42%. The new numbers are in, and the table has turned on Giuliani, as he now trails Hillary 48%-43%..and has seen former Tennessee Senator and TV star Fred Thompson hot on his trail, leapfrogging over McCain into second place among GOP candidates.

What's causing this downturn for the GOP's most famous crossdresser? In the recent Democratic debate, Clinton came off extremely polished, poised and presidential. Her star is rising. To the contrary, at the recent GOP debate, Rudy, like his fear-mongering counterpart Sen. John McCain (AZ), seemed utterly delusional and out of touch. Unbelievably, both McCain and Giuliani continue lying through their teeth about the origins and justifications for the war, and the need to continue the carnage. Despite the fact that four years after the invasion not one reason the Busheviks gave for toppling Saddam has been proven out (WMD, ties to Al Qaeda, Yellowcake uranium purchases, etc), Giuliani still invokes the 9/11 attacks at every possible turn, especially when justifying his delusional position on the war. Despite the facts on the ground that would indicate the war is out of control, that the Bush "surge" has been a lesson in futility, and that victory is but a fantasy, Giuliani's been pounding the hawkish table on this debacle. And it's all about fear, fear, fear. Big bad scary terrorists are swallowing up Iraq. "We gotta fight 'em over there so we don't have to fight 'em over here" is the popular refrain of the GOP fear-mongers. "If we pull out of Iraq they'll follow us home." Puh-leeze. Somebody get me a barf bag.

Apparently voters are finally sick of this deceptive rhetoric, and it shows in Rudy's numbers. Let's get it straight: the invasion of Iraq was planned well before the 9/11 attacks. The attacks simply gave the insane White House Iraq Group the justification they were looking for to bring down Saddam. We are not fighting the 9/11 terrorists in Iraq. 95% of those we're fighting are Iraqi insurgents who themselves are embroiled in civil war. There was no connection between the 9/11 attacks and Iraq. No alliance between Saddam and Al Qaeda. In fact, the secular Saddam hated the Muslim extremists, and vice-versa with bin Laden. If we pull out of Iraq, we face no threat whatsoever from Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites "coming to America to kill us." These factions--the Iraqi people--do not want us in their country. Statistics published in Sunday's NY Times show that an overwhelming majority of Iraqis believe their country is headed in the wrong direction. What does that say four years, $300 billion and 3400 dead U.S. soldiers later?

This relentless morphing of 9/11 into Iraq has finally disgusted voters to the point that those who continue to be guilty of the deception--Giuliani and McCain in particular--are being pounded to the pavement. I guess if you insult the intelligence of the American people long enough, they will eventually come back swinging. Let's hope the rejection of these shameless fear-mongers continues unabated.


On another subject......we could use your help at The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated in my wife's honor to help carry out her spirit and passion, with the goal of assisting women filmmakers. As you may know, Adrienne was brutally killed in NYC on November 1, 2006. Through the Foundation, her commitment to filmmaking lives on. We've finalized a scholarship with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts/Kanbar Institute of Film; and grants with Columbia University, American Film Institute, NY Women in Film and Television, the Independent Feature Project, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Other initiatives will follow. Please visit our website to learn more about our mission and to make a donation. Every little contribution helps preserve Adrienne's legacy, and to help create something positive out of this horrible tragedy. Thank you.

Adrienne's film "Waitress" opened in theatres May 2nd to incredible rave reviews from the NY Times, LA Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, People, Entertainment Weekly, Ebert & Roeper ("Two Thumbs Up"), Leonard Maltin and more. Since then, it's been playing to packed audiences across America, and is currently #6 in America. It's a truly wonderful film that you're sure to love. A link to the trailer is below. Enjoy.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/waitress/trailer/

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her latest claim: she played pickup basketball. What fun. It seems as though she will stop at nothing to fake her way into the presidency. A fake Southern accent when she visits the south. A fake sport when she wants to keep up with the other boys in the race. A complete bald-faced lie about Chelsea jogging around the World Trade Center on 9/11, just so people will feel bad for her.



Sadly, I have little faith in the American people to see through her false front and listen to the words that actually come out of her mouth – the words that peg her as a power-hungry socialist. She is most concerned about her ability to control your life, than allowing for individual freedom to prosper. Right now I'm convinced that this accomplished liar will be the next president of the United States. The vote of single women will be the key ... like that young women they interviewed in NYC last week who said that she can wait for Hillary to be president because "Bill is so awesome!"



Newspapers, like the Chicago Tribune, are under fire for calling her just "Hillary." (I'm sure they would hate to see what I call her!) But this isn't fair. The male candidates for president are almost never referred to as just Mitt or John or Rudy. And for all women out there, this is just a travesty! Hillary represents all women of the world! If you don't treat her like the men in the race, then you are insulting half the world's population.



What horsesqueeze. Hillary has put herself in this position. it wasn't the Chicago Times that printed all of those campaign buttons with just the "H" word. She wants to be a candidate "of the people." It is the nature of her socialist ways. So she gets the label "Hillary." How else are we supposed to know what to call her ... considering she changes the lineup of her names with every mood swing. She's gone from Hillary Rodham to Hillary Clinton, then back to Hillary Clinton, then to Hillary Rodham Clinton. When she's sworn in I'm putting my money on Hillary Rodham again.



At any rate ... I can see it coming. As we really get into this campaign, and after The Hildabeast gets the nomination, we're going to see more and more stories like this. Any criticism of Hillary is going to be cast a criticism of women in general, and thus unfair. Hillary will be entitled to special protection and treatment because of her gender.



Funny ... I really don't think of Hillary so much as a woman ... mainly as a threat.

Anonymous said...

!
! Ostroy you are a complete dope.

"Back in March, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani led Democratic front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) 47%-42%. The new numbers are in, and the table has turned on Giuliani, as he now trails Hillary 48%-43%"

You are blogging about a change in percentage points equivalent to a standard margin of error. What's the margin of error for these polls ? I bet the margin of error for these polls was 3-5%, which would mean you are blogging about nothing.

There's like 15.5 months until the election are you're acting like Bill Clinton in a sex shop.

Anonymous said...

The hatefulness and desperation of the repugs is on display. It is amazing to think of how much more this country could have achieved by focusing on stopping Al Qaeda and aggressively coercing a Israeli/Palestinian peace agreement, instead of spreading mayhem in Iraq.

Anonymous said...

I am a Democrat and a feminist and would love to vote for a Democratic woman, but Hillary Clinton has become a fake, empty ,bought polition. She is worse than useless. Second , it would be wonderful to have a black president but Obama is a slick , empty nothing. I would vote for Ron Paul among the bunch available, even though I don't agree with some of what he says. I agree with most of it , and at least he is real

Anonymous said...

come on Andy-----youre MUCH smarter than this! This is why I HATE seeing you almost immersed in total truth but not quite there. Hillary is a LIAR----she supported the war in 2003 and supported it all the way up until elections last year when she flip-flopped and saw 70% of America against the war and then said "Oh wait, Im against it now!"-----come on Andy, I hate Giuliani too---he's a criminal and a liar. he lied to 9/11 truth activists last week and said he had no idea the towers were going to collapse, which is NOT what he told Peter Jennings on the day of 9-11. He said that someone told him they were going to collapse. And he also did NOTHING about the 9-11 workers --he said it was safe for them, and of course, it wasnt. I am no fan of that asshole Andy, but come on, you gotta get off this Clinton/Gore shit. Do you REALLY believe polls in the mainstream media? Politicians PAY for this exposure and they PAY to have fake poll numbers advertised because they know all too well that polls dont REFLECT the reality, they INFLUENCE voters! Youre smarter than this Andy, please tell me you are...please....

Anonymous said...

2:08 is RIGHT, Ron Paul is the BEST candidate! A REAL American and REAL patriot, and a FULL supporter of the Constitution. Ron Paul is the ONLY one in the race who is NOT a Neo-con, bought and paid for asshole. He's the REAL DEAL---why do you think he wins all the online polls after debates? The media does NOT control online voting----and just about all the online polling does NOT allow you to vote more than once. RON PAUL IN 2008!!

Anonymous said...

Frankly when Rudi said he would still have attacked Iraq in spite of what we now know, it was just further evidence of his lack of integrity.
This is the same man who was jumping up and down at the Republican convention over the Defense of Marriage act.. well I thought, he certainly has shown he loves marriage!!!
I would vote for Hillery's dog over Guliani

Anonymous said...

Bravo! I thank you for clearly expressing the shopworn fear-mongering tactics of Giuliani, McCain, et al. We as a nation have been beaten over the head time and time again by the politics of fear from Bush and his cronies, never once challenging us to our full potential to better our society and our world. Instead, their constant message has been one of paranoia, hatred, and scare tactics, for the worst of all possible reasons: simply so they could remain in power. I think the tide is finally turning, and, like the boy who cried "wolf" once too often, their message is being tuned out. Voters are simply tired of the incessant ranting from the Republican candidates! After all, wasn't it President Roosevelt who said "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."?

Anonymous said...

[6.13.2007] A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows amid political gridlock on domestic issues and inconclusive debates over Iraq, the approval rating for the Democrat-controlled Congress stands lower than Mr. Bush's, at 23%. Just 41% of Americans say their representative in Congress deserves re-election, comparable to levels before Democrats swept Republicans out of power in November.

Anonymous said...

Boy the hate mongers are out in full forces today. Commenters lose credibility when they come across as hateful.

The congress rates low because they gave Bush the war funding. If they would have stood up to him their numbers would be higher.

Personally, I'd be more concerned with Thompson. I do believe he will be the Republcan nominee. His acting skills will be on display, but he is not an outsider as he claims. He was in the senate for 8 years. After he left the senate, he not only returned to acting but also registered as a lobbist for a business based in England. He will not be able to run as an outsider.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Neal could just post a link to the original RNC talking points, since he appears to be having difficulty regurgitating them clearly.

Anonymous said...

Boy, the repugs are really afraid of Hillary, and they should be... so far, she'll trounce any of the 12 or so candidates they are scraping the bottom of the barrel to run.

Anonymous said...

I'm not crazy about Hillary Clinton and I'm still observing from the sidelines as to whom I'll support in the primary - but as far as I'm concerned: the worst Democrat among the current crop of POTUS candidates is a THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than the best Republican. Even Ron Paul.

There is just no way in hell that I will pull the lever for a Republican in 2008. None.

And if we can't get impeachment of Bush and Cheney, then I will settle for the complete and utter decimation of the Republican pig party in 2008.

Anonymous said...

wow, liberals really hate the free sharing of ideas. Ostroy's use of polling data is ok, but when a conservative uses polling data, it's 'hate mongering'.

Anonymous said...

I am amazed that Neal thinks Hillary will control our lives when the Repulican candidates want to plan our families and even decide who among us can get married. Not to mention all our civil rights we've lost under Bush. Yet he calls her a "power hungry socilaist." And his "Bill is so awesome" example is of course a slur implying women are shallow and dumb. His comments about Hillary had no merit.

However, I, a constant Democrat, hope she does not get the Democratic nomination. I agree with many of the negative things said about her by other Dems.

But even if she were a top-notch candidate, I don't think a woman has a chance of winning in this country at this time. If she's our candidate the Independents will vote for the Republican male - especially if he's liberal on some issues as is Rudy. That, in addition to her weaknesses, makes it impossible for Hillary to win and if she is the nominee the Dems will lose again. Unless of course there are enough people who really think Bill will run the show and we'll get him in charge -- Bill's third term.

Anonymous said...

*_*

Hillary releases "United States Senate Financial Disclosure Report for Annual and Termination Reports" on 6/14/2007.

She reports an income source for her spource ("Source of Income", Page 6, Line 7): Yucaipa Global Holdings, formerly Yucaipa Global Opportunities Fund, LLC.

*Bill Clinton is the sole owner of "WJC International Investments LP, LLC" in New York, NY. It holds such interests as Yucaipa Global Partnership Fund, LP (investment partnership that invests in securities of corporations that conduct significant operations in foreign countries) (general partner is YGOF GP, Ltd, c/o 1930 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90069)

*Garrard Worldwide Holdings Ltd (retail jeweler with flagship store in London, England). Garrard is the Crown Jeweller, and appears to be connected to the Bronfman financial empire.

*The report also discloses that CNN's pollster, Vinod Gupta, granted stock options to Bill Clinton for 100,000 shares of InfoUSA, with an exercise price of $8.05, and those options expired on April 24, 2007 without being exercised. The report shows that Bill Clinton received "over $1,000" of non-employee compensation from Gupta's company. Some reports place the amount at $3.1 million.

Yucaipa is Ron Burkle’s holding company. Ron Burkle is a very wealthy man, with a net worth listed last year in Forbes magazine at $2.5 billion. On April 23, investors of Hawk Opportunity Fund sued Burkle’s private-equity company, Yucaipa Companies, in Atlanta federal court, charging Yucaipa and IBT leaders with racketeering in Yucaipa’s takeover of Allied Holdings, Inc., North America’s largest car-hauling company.

Anonymous said...

hey baritonewoman------one mistake you're making......Ron Paul is the BEST person, regardless of party---he's a TRUE Constitutionalist, he's sincere, he tells it like it is, and he does NONE of what he does for money and he's not a fearmonger. Ron Paul is the ONLY true Republican running----the others arent Republicans, they are NEO-CONS! Remember that! The worst Democrat IS better than a NEO-CON, but will NEVER be better than Ron Paul, never in a million years. Going against Ron Paul is going against the Constitution----I would love to hear your response when you pry your head out of your ass.

Anonymous said...

Hey, "Anonymous" at 1:53 AM: Your brains are showing, bonehead.

I'd like to see Ron Paul make some headway in this race myself, but unfortunately, his party has been riddled with the Neo-Con parasite so badly that not even he can save it. There's just not enough people out there who will vote for him.

Probably the best thing to do is for him to stay out of the way while the Republican Party gets exterminated, and the Democratic Party gets fumigated against the Neo-con pest. When that's done, he can help rebuild things.

Anonymous said...

"Going against Ron Paul is going against the Constitution"

So, we got anonymous chickenshits telling us that it is treasonous to vote Democratic next year?

Me, I want a candidate who is not committed to the bipartisan conspiracy to maximize corporate profits to the expense of all other interests. Sens. Clinton and Obama are sworn defenders of corporate power. Edwards, maybe, but I recently heard about his health care plan to mandate my entrapment by an insurance company. The Repubs are of course complete tools of the corporations, but Ron Paul would, were he given the chance, sell us out to the corps faster than anyone else on the campaign trail this year.

I invite the Paul fanatics to check out his environmental bonafides. It won't take a sec, 'cause he hasn't any. Y'see, environmentalism is anti-corporate, and thus to Paul is heresy.

Anonymous said...

12:01 This is a tough one, but do your best.

1:53 said:
"going against Paul is going against the Constitution."

Now think for a minute. Don't you see how that clearly implies "treason"?

Sometimes different words can convey the same meaning.

You see: Our Constitution is the basis of our country? If you go against one you go against the other. That is called treason.

Treason: the offense of attempting by overt acts (Voting for Paul) to overthrow the government (Constitution) of the state to which one owes allegiance.

Anonymous said...

9:23 AM,
Liberals love to use nuance to define treasonous behavior when it suits them.
If you are so concerned about Treason, what's your feeling on the aid and comfort given to our enemies by Harry Reid ?

Anonymous said...

anonymous 9:23--you make absolutely NO sense. Youre implying that government and the Constitution are synonymous. The President, Congress---and just about everyone else in Washington is IGNORING the Constitution. Ex: Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act, Habeas Corpus being disbaled, illegal wiretapping, etc... So, with all that going on---you're saying if Ron Paul is AGAINST all those things (which he is) then he is committing TREASON??? So, in other words, if the government is SUPPOSED to do the Constitutional thing and it does NOT, then when someone comes along who wants to RESTORE what is going WRONG with Washington, then it's TREASON to want to right things again? God, you're a COMPLETE MORON!! As for you baritonewoman----so you're saying that just because a certain party has been corrupted and has disgusted America, that if someone comes along who wants to RIGHT the wrongs of that party and wants to RESTORE what it means to be a TRUE Republican and NOT a NEO-CON (like Ive said earlier) then it doesnt matter? Ron Paul is really a libertarian, he is ONLY in the Republican party because if he entered the race under any party OTHER than Rep. or Dem. he would be ignored even more than he's being ignored now. By the way, he's only being ignored by the bought and paid for mainstream media-----he's the hands down winner on the internet. So, what you're saying is: If someone isnt popular, or doesnt have money, or doesnt have the limelight then they dont deserve to be President? What ever happened to a TRUE Democracy? Isnt a Democracy when EVERY candidate has EQUAL opportunity to express views and to win? You sound like the typical, lazy American who sits on their ass and gets easily influenced by mainstream media polls. In other words, if the media says Giuliani is winning, THATS who you pick, just because you are being FED lies from the media. It seems Andy gets fooled by that too. Dont you idiots understand that these candidiates PAY for that media attention because they have MONEY?? They pay for EVERYTHING, thats part of the reason why you need mga-bucks to enter races and have campaigns. Ron Paul doesnt have alot of money--he has a grassroots following that I bet will guarantee that he will be a top contender in the Presidential, REGARDLESS if he gets the nomination. I havent spoken to any Ron Paul supporter yet that will NOT put his name in as a write-in vote on the ballot in November 2008. If youre too lazy to research the candidates' record and just will ACCEPT who has the highest mainstream media poll numbers, then you deserve whatever asshole you get in office.

Anonymous said...

!
! Global Warming Lies

Global warming fanatics, you're going to absolutely LOVE this story First .. here's a column from Bill Steigerwald of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Steigerwald writes about Anthony Watts of Chico, California. Watts is a former TV meteorologist. Watts did what Al Gore never did ... he started searching out and looking at some of the 1,221 weather stations that the federal government uses to gather data on temperatures. That data, of course, is then used to tell us of the threat of global warming! Government standards say that these temperature measuring stations should be 100 feet from buildings, not on a hot concrete service, and so forth. Well, it would seem that these regulations aren't exactly being adhered to.

Believe it or not, Steigerwald and his followers have found temperature measuring stations sitting right next to barrels where trash is burned. Some are sitting directly in front of air conditioning vents. Others are located near the tarmac on parking lots and at airports. Still others are found surrounded by high buildings. Believe it or not, he even found one official temperature measuring station sitting directly behind an airport ramp where it can be routinely subject to jet blast! Just what do you think the locations of these official government temperature measuring stations might mean to all of these temperature measurements that are being used by OwlGore and others to convince us of global warming!

Now for the fun. Pictures! Watts has a website where he's detailing his findings. The site has been so slammed lately that he has had to go in search of a new server. The address is http://www.surfacestations.org
Give it a try .. if he still doesn't have a new server up and running you can get some rather amazing pictures, along with accompanying graphs, on his blog. Here's your link.

http://www.norcalblogs.com/watts/weather_stations /

Are you starting to get the feeling that we're being had here? Sure seems that way. I wonder what the motivation is? One thing for sure, the more leftist you are, the more likely you are to go along with this man-made global warming nonsense. The more anti-capitalist you are, the more likely you are to be worshiping at the altar of the OwlGore. Noodle it out, my friends. Connect some dots when you get the chance.

Anonymous said...

Andy,

Have you seen this piece from the UK Guardian?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2105343,00.html

Anonymous said...

Gore.....yawn.....

Anonymous said...

Neal, I know all the bona fide scientists who have conducted scientific and regulated studies for years and have determined there is global warming will resign their posts in deference to the TV meterologist who checked out and photograhed garbage cans. Thanks for letting us all know the scientists findings are in danger of being declared lies.

On a happier subject, although Edwards is my candidate, I was actually thrilled by Hilary's intereview by Chris Matthews this morning when she forcefully and brilliantly discusssed the need for the return of powerful, strong, protected unions; universal healthcare so corporations can't blame healthcare expenses on their sending jobs overseas; and, her concern with restoring the middle class to its rightful place. She then said the jobs which have been sent overseas are lost to us, but corporations should no longer get tax benefits when they outsource jobs. She also said that energy is a new field of endeavor that will create millions of jobs.

Then Edwards spoke with Chris and he was birlliant too.

The Dems have some winners.

Anonymous said...

Giuliani did run a major U.S. city. I am still not sure what accomplishments Ms. Clinton can attest to. Nothing sticks out. Any help?

Anonymous said...

Hillary Clinton did a great job hiding the 'missing' Rose Law Firm papers in her office for 2 years after they were subpoena'ed.