The spadework on this story is being done by The Politico, no-one's idea of a liberal media organ:
Frederick J. Ryan Jr., former Assistant to U.S. President Ronald Reagan[2], and currently chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, is president and CEO of The Politico.I don't know who Ryan may favor in the Republican primary, but I detect a Romney bias. This right-winger's election-watch page offers the argument that Romney's team swarms with Rovians of the most underhanded sort. Everything I've learned about Romney so far has convinced me that he's a "do what it takes" kind of operator.
Would a Huckabee supporter covertly engineer such revelations? Some considered Huckabee a lock for the VP spot if Giuliani won the nomination. But Huckabee isn't running for Number Two.
And then there's the Bloomberg theory, which comes to us by way of a Daily Kos writer named DHinMI, who notes that Diana Taylor, Bloomberg's girlfriend, has trumpeted her willingness to take the subway without escort:
But look at who's putting America’s Playa and Marie Antoinette in to that narrative frame? None other than the significant other of current NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg.By the way -- Rudy's big excuse is that he had received death threats. I suppose he did; I suppose every New York mayor has, at one point or another. But is there any proof that he ever received a very serious threat? Or is this one of those "9/11 changed everything" deals?
The day it broke, I wondered if Bloomberg had a role in exposing this scandal. Now, with Diana Taylor presenting herself as the anti-Marie Antoinette—even though she’s a jet-setting investment banker who lives with the multi-billionaire mayor of New York who’s entertained his own thoughts about running for president—it’s getting harder to not think that Michael Bloomberg and his team aren’t deliberately involved in trying to screw Giuliani.
At any rate, let me repeat that this scandal is good news for all Democrats who favor someone other than Hillary. With Giuliani as the presumptive candidate, one could argue that Clinton was necessary to keep New York in the Democratic fold.
4 comments:
Death threats? Ones he thought credible? Giuliani? Okay.
As for who is responsible...this scandal has a very Rovian quality to it, (the focal points—sex, elitist fashion and government fleecing of the public—seeming specially selected to be offensive to Middle America's strict "traditional" moralists). So it makes sense that the culprit could be the Republican closest to Rove.
I still think this is the first step in the process of re-installing McCain as the GOP nominee, though. Mostly because Bootygate broke on the heels of a strange resurgence of interest in McCain from the mainstream media. However, it's been my impression that the Rove-ites don't want John McCain as their next president because he may not be totally committed to bombing Iran. So, I don't know what's up. I've been wondering for a while if a distinctly anti-Iran brand of neo-cons have broken from the Cheney folk and are now actively working to stop a pro-Iran nominee from getting in. But I can't decide whether Rove would be with those crazy rebels or not.
What you are asking is whether this seemingly mundane campaign implosion is actually a controlled demolition? What we already know is that no Giuliani campaign has ever collapsed due to a sex scandal or any accompanying accusations of megalomania. Sure, this scandal and the other sexual baggage he carries looks troubling, but it's only superficial damage. At best his personal life is the periphery of his campaign and doesn't pose a threat to its integrity, despite what so called "experts" will be saying. If this campaign goes down it will be the Qatar-charge, the only way to destroy the core message, that he is the number one jackbooted anti-terrorist in the country. Rupert Mudoch is probably already saying "pull it" to any stories mentioning al-Thani and they have confirmed Bootygate/Sex on the City because they know what his strengths and weaknesses are. Bootygate is just clever diversion; the christians in the midwest only care about how many volts he'll use to shock some arab testicles, they are over his infidelities.
I am not impressed with the notion that a Rudy nomination puts NY in danger for the Dems (thereby giving a leg up to a HRC candidacy, as the principle counterweight to Rudy). The guy is wholly over-rated, but in NY, they already know better. They've heard far more of 'the rest of the story,' and remember that 'America's mayor! (tm)' was in the 30% approval range in the city in which he was actually mayor.
...sofla
sofla's correct. prostate cancer couldn't have come at a better time for ghouliani- he was certain to lose to clinton-and nyers had enough of him. we all banded together during and after 911- and ghouliani milked that for what it was worth to salvage his mayoral history. even after wtc attack - ny was happy to see him gone when his term ended.
it's no mystery as to why so many folks in ny have banded together to reveal his lies-and- vanity fair (which broke the story on judy's booty in September)
http://www.vanityfair.com/fame/features/2007/09/giuliani200709?printable=true¤tPage=all
is in ny. if giuliani had anything going for him, it was always in his timing. if it weren't for 911, he probably would not have a career in politics now, and he knows it.
when you get down to it, there are a great deal worse things you could say about rudy than what is being said now. they are attacking him at an angle that will inflict the least pain on others.
rob
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