Thursday’s political round-up

July 12, 2007

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items that wouldn’t generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* The International Association of Fire Fighters unveiled their video yesterday about Rudy Giuliani, called “Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend,” which hammers the former NYC mayor’s handling of the crisis on 9/11. It’s online and worth watching. (The video cost about $70,000 to produce and was paid for from PAC money, not union dues.)

* Speaking of Giuliani, his presidential campaign utilized a large security team in the first quarter, though he neglected to report any security expenses. The Boston Globe explains the disclosure problem and why it looks like this was an illegal in-kind contribution from Giuliani Partners.

* MoveOn.org members backed John Edwards in a climate change straw poll, which asked participants which candidate would be strongest on combatting global warming. Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama were all practically tied for second.

* The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that the executive committee of the state GOP approved moving its precinct caucuses from March 4 to Feb. 5, “plunging the party into the maelstrom of a de facto national presidential primary.” Minnesota Dems (DFL) is expected to approve the same date shift soon.

* Though John McCain has not actually dropped out of the presidential race, recent events have led observers to start wondering how his departure would affect the campaign. Mark Blumenthal crunched the poll numbers and found that Giuliani would likely get the bulk of McCain’s current supporters.

My favorite Dems are still Edwards and Obama and I really could live with any of them except Hillary (of the ones who stand a chance to win that is). My fear though that all the other candidates will split the anti-Hillary vote.

  • The International Association of Fire Fighters unveiled their video yesterday about Rudy Giuliani, called “Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend,” which hammers the former NYC mayor’s handling of the crisis on 9/11.

    Wow, that’s neat.

    Speaking of Giuliani, his presidential campaign utilized a large security team in the first quarter, though he neglected to report any security expenses. The Boston Globe explains the disclosure problem and why it looks like this was an illegal in-kind contribution from Giuliani Partners.

    Whoa.

  • John McCain is so toast that his breath smells like wheat and sesame seeds. Whether or not he realizes it or will allow himself to conclude it, any further money spent on his campaign will be wasted (like most campaign money, I suspect). Elvis is as likely to be the next president as McCain, and he can thank himself for his cratering efforts – nobody needs a president who changes his position on any given issue several times a week.

  • from blondesense
    This little gem of Republican Family Values was found in today’s Lakeland, Florida Ledger:

    (The bold bits are for emphasis.)

    Rep. Allen Faces Prostitution Charge

    State Rep. Bob Allen was arrested Wednesday after offering to perform oral sex on an undercover male police officer for $20, authorities said.

    Veteran’s Memorial Park was under surveillance when Allen, R-Merritt Island, was seen coming into and out of a restroom three times, Lt. Todd Hutchinson. Allen, 48, then approached an undercover officer and was arrested.

    He has been charged with solicitation for prostitution, which has a maximum penalty of one year in jail. Allen was booked into Brevard County jail on $500 bail.

    Allen is a married father of one.

  • “(The video peddles the claim that Giuliani was more concerned about a vat of gold stored in a vault near Ground Zero than he was about the firefighters’ recovering their comrades’ bodies. The reality is, ah, much more complex and much less sexy.)”

    That is a quote from Mark Ambinder’s blog over at The Atlantic. I sent him an e-mail about it, but I have yet to see a response. Perhaps there is something more to the case, but I haven’t seen it. Can anyone, even if you don’t agree with Ambinder’s statement in the end, suggest where he’s coming from? I’m not really sure of his political leanings, but it’s kind of ridiculous to make that statement and leave it at that. He’s included the response from the Giuliani campaign, but I haven’t read it all yet.

    My guess is, this scares the shit out of Giuliani, and not simply because it’s bad for his reputation but because it’s true. Why else would he be so desparate as to create a fake group, Firefighters for Rudy, several months ago, before the IAFF’s opposition became increasingly well known?

    http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/rudy_campaign_hopes_rudy_an_urban_legend_idea_becomes_urban_legend.php

  • You can tell how lame the various candidates’ positions are on global warming by looking at the winner’s position. Edwards’ policy stance is as vague and touchy-feely as the next guy. One thing that alarms me is that he’s talking about how our demands for biofuels will create a great market in poor African countries for crops they can grow over there to feed our cars. He seems woefully unaware that well over a hundred organizations and individuals involved in Africa have sent a letter to the EU begging them to rescind their biofuel programs because of the damage it will do to Africa. Biofuel demand is having horrible effects throughout the Third World already, from the murder of farmers in Columbia and the theft of their land to the clearing of vast tracts of rainforest in Borneo, with countless orangutans burned to death in the process, all to grow palm oil for biodiesel. And don’t get me started on Brazil. This is a horrible situation, and bound to get worse unless our leaders wake up to better alternatives.

    Are there any? Absolutely! But the best aren’t even being mentioned by anybody. Why? They don’t know about them. I’ve tried and tried to get through to Edwards and Obama to discuss real solutions (I’ll have a book out later this year with all the details) but their nut filters are formidable, despite the fact that I have world-class scientists backing up my work, including project directors from our own national laboratories. When I listen to these guys and the panels of experts wringing their hands about global warming and where oh where can we find clean energy sources it makes me tear my hair out. There are solutions, it’s ignorance and politics that stand in the way. And those are really big obstacles. Trying to penetrate their campaign organizations and get past the bozos who created their lame energy policies is nearly impossible. More’s the pity. I just have to get the book out before the primaries so they’ll all be aware, but I’d have been much happier to have one of the candidates embrace the solutions therein as their own. That way they’d be committed when they get elected. I have little doubt that the first candidate to propose an actual plan to end global warming will get a tremendous boost and a tsunami of worldwide publicity. Too bad they’ll never hear about it until later, when all their competitors will too.

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