Video: 9/11 firefighters’ relatives unload on Giuliani; Update: Campaign fires back
posted at 8:06 pm on July 11, 2007 by Allahpundit
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The union in question is the International Association of Firefighters. Its president, Harold Schaitberger, is a “longtime supporter” of John Kerry and donated two grand to Waffles’s campaign in 2004 — although there’s at least one self-professed conservative in the mix of interviewees here and per Karol’s very informal survey, the anti-Giuliani animus isn’t a fringe thing within the FDNY.
She predicts firefighter opposition will be a big problem for him. I predict it won’t simply because unpreparedness for 9/11 was institutional throughout the U.S. and people responded to his poise in the aftermath, which isn’t affected by anything here. But judge for yourself. Here’s the clip, via the IAFF’s “Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend” website. Damning all the same.
Update: Serve and volley.
Before the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) was able to release a video in the afternoon full of angry testimony belittling Giuliani’s support of New York City firefighters, the campaign fired off releases and held a press conference.
“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that the IAFF union bosses have once again taken the low road in a move clearly out of step with their membership,” retired New York City firefighter Lee Ielpi said in a statement from the campaign…
The IAFF backed Kerry in 2004, helping salvage a listing campaign in the primaries. IAFF President Harold Schaitberger was a constant fixture behind Kerry as he took the stage in Iowa, New Hampshire and other arenas to claim victory on his way to winning the nomination…
Schaitberger and Giuliani clashed in the weeks before the 2004 New Hampshire primary, when they were in the Granite State at campaign events…
Giuliani’s campaign also pointed out that Schaitberger has held a number of roles in Democratic organizations and has contributed financially only to Democratic candidates.
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There was no Swift Boat union. People around the country understand and despise big city unionism.
Stephen M on July 11, 2007 at 8:19 PM
Radio communications between firefighters is a problems in many cities. When I used to live in Philadelphia, this was a problem not only for Firefighters, but the cops also. Yeah sure, politics plays into everything, not just FDNY.
This speaks of a Michael Moore production funded by the Jersey Girls.
You can’t plan for these things. One thing was said I think was right on;
Money and Politics drives everything.
Kini on July 11, 2007 at 8:28 PM
I looked into the IAFF’s political history yesterday.
amerpundit on July 11, 2007 at 8:29 PM
I lived in and around NYC during Rudy’s two terms. There was not a bigger supporter of Firefighters. Before and after 9/11 he went to almost every funeral of police officers and firemen lost during the line of duty.
Yes, he had some problems (as in inevitable) with the Union. But to treat him like this is inexcusable.
If I remember correctly, Hillary never went to one firefighter funeral after 9/11. Where is the union on supporting her?
As my Brit husband would say: “What a load of old bollocks”.
ukgoods on July 11, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Schaitberger was at every, and I mean every Kerry campaign speech during the 2004 Democratic Primaries. Go find any footage you can of Kerry giving a speech after winning a primary and you will see Schaitberger close by on stage with him. This guy is a total political shill for the Dems and hardly an uninterested voice.
Dudley Smith on July 11, 2007 at 8:34 PM
I don’t know anything really about firefighters, their Union, or New York City politics. However, I think the basic point about radios not working, Guiliani knowing it and not pressing harder for something this important…those are pretty harsh charges.
I’m sure Giuliani had lots of other problems on his plate and all like that but still…firefighters with communication problems seems to me to be a big deal for a major metro area.
THEN…rather than refuting the claims made in the vid the campaign comes out swinging a big political stick making the apparently accurate statement that the Union Boss is a Kerry Lacky. What the F**K ever….Respond to the charge leveled against you. Giuliani is doing the EXACT same thing that Kerry did when the Swifties came after him and that doesn’t speak highly at all of the Mayor.
Time will tell if this is going to stick or not. If the rank and file support the Mayor as much as folks would have me believe then we should see another video or ad or statement soon enough. If those same firefighters start lining up behind their Union….then Giuliani has some real trouble.
Pilgrim on July 11, 2007 at 8:38 PM
Dear God, what is going on over at YouTube? I tried to go find some clips of a Kerry speech from any of the 2004 primaries to prove my point about Schaitberger and the searches “Kerry speech” and “Kerry Primary” (particularly the former) produce about 90% Ron Paul and anti-zionist, North American Union Truther bullsh!t videos. What the hell?
Dudley Smith on July 11, 2007 at 8:41 PM
This is as transparent as Saran wrap.
SouthernGent on July 11, 2007 at 8:48 PM
Are unions annoying? Yes.
Does the IAFF have an agenda? Clearly.
Is Guliani going to have to do better than “He’s a Democrat! Case closed!”? Yup.
tad on July 11, 2007 at 8:51 PM
I have no idea. ;) The process for purchasing the radios was laid out in the video and it sorta made sense to me. The ad charges that Rudy avoided the bid process which, in Kentucky State Government anyway, is a serious problem to get around. You pretty much have to show that your preferred vendor is the “sole source” for whatever it is you want to buy. The ad goes on to charge that the radios he purchased were never field tested. THAT should be easily verified.
But yeah, he has to address the charges in the ad. They are not outrageous charges until he can PROVE they are outrageous charges. If they are, in fact, outrageous…they should be easily proved so I would think.
Pilgrim on July 11, 2007 at 8:53 PM
Do you remember the cops booing Hitlery at the stadium. That’s what the rank and file firefighters think too.
New York was a liberal haven for years. You reap what you sow. This is such a disgusting Union hit piece. Lots of tragic annectdotes here after saying that Giuliani has taken advantage of 9/11.
Spare me your big city liberal farce-a-palooza.
Mojave Mark on July 11, 2007 at 8:57 PM
With all due respect, how is it that radio procurement is settled at the mayoral level? Is that normal in NYC?
All the emergency systems nationwide have been revamped because of the glitches that hampered rescue and evacuation services on 9/11. It’s called “Lessons Learned.” Even the radio call codes have been scrapped – no more 10-4, because different departments had different codes. The big trend now is to harmonize the entire system so that when ouside departments are called in, they link as seamlessly as possible.
With the head of this union so pro-Kerry, it seems prudent to verify. A fairly typical procurement problem seems to have been made lurid.
Gads. Kerry? Of all people? Weird. There is a firefighter culture – no nonsense, watch your back – as an individual, Guiliani fits it a lot better than Kerry.
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 9:08 PM
Never trust or believe a union goon.
I am a Fred man but if Rudy gets the nod in the primary I’ll back the S.O.B. with every bone in my body.
There is no Mayor in the world that could have prepared for the attacks on 9-11.
Rudy’s resume of crime fighting, city management and the steel he showed after 9-11 speaks for it’s self.
He ain’t my first pick but Bush wasn’t either.
TheSitRep on July 11, 2007 at 9:12 PM
You dont fight a negative with a negative. Rudy should show what good he has doen for firefighters. The competing messages would cancel each other out. A draw is in Rudy’s favor here.
William Amos on July 11, 2007 at 9:16 PM
I’m afraid I’m with you here. If it’s Rudy versus Clinton/Obama/etc I’ll have to pick Rudy. I don’t see this election of any election in the near future something I can vote for none of the above.
Unless he shows up on the radar with a live boy or dead girl in his bed…he has a good chance of getting my nod should he make it to the General.
Pilgrim on July 11, 2007 at 9:23 PM
All the emergency systems nationwide have been revamped because of the glitches that hampered rescue and evacuation services on 9/11. It’s called “Lessons Learned”
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 9:08 PM
unfortunately, those “glitches” were discovered during the attacks in 1993 and those lessons were never implemented.
striper1 on July 11, 2007 at 9:31 PM
This is a rotten hit piece.
All the comments refer to actions and procedures that should have been carried out by the people tasked with the radio procurement. Who were those people who reported to Giuliani that the radio contract fulfilled city requirements? There would have been high members of the FDNY leadership. They are all insinuating that Guiliani should be held responsible for the actions of other city employees. Yes, and no. If he was not given the complete information or lied to, what then? Just to be sure, they insinuate that Giuliani might have helped himself to some gold. Didn’t say it outright, just slip-slided it in.
And having worked through an emergency situation, I can attest that things don’t work. They are grumping about how chaotic things were – with a surprise attack of that magnitude? All they have to do is look at New Orleans to see what chaos really looks like, what crapola happens when the dilittante mayor ignores a week’s warning and doesn’t even glance at his emergency preparation plan. New York had no warning, just hit. One minute normal, the next disaster.
The charge that Giuliani should have been sitting in one place, is trash. He WAS, until he was forced to evacuate, like everyone else. And how is it possible that he shouldn’t take to the press? Guess what. One job of the mayor is to show calm – certainly the LAST thing Giuliani wanted to do at that time was talk to the screeching press, but that’s part of his job. He used the time to broadcast information to the general public. Great presence of mind and this report sneers at it.
This thing should have FULL DISCLOSURE: Hi, I am bosum buddies with John Kerry. With me at the head, my union gave this much cash to the following campaigns … Yeh, and just who is that nasty woman sneering around and rolling her eyes? She have an infallibility shield she’s using?
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 9:33 PM
The IAFF is one of the top 25 of the more than 4,000 lobby groups in the country. They have millions of dollars to play around with. They’re a branch of the AFL-CIO. They have a legal right to strike. They couldn’t pressure Rudy for radios? Please. It’s the mayors job to advocate for the city. It’s the union’s to advocate for the city worker. As a former New Yorker, it’s typical Liberal union BS.
amerpundit on July 11, 2007 at 9:36 PM
Serve, Volley, Set, Spike, Rinse, Repeat.
Swift Boat tactics win once in a generation. Nice try, Harold Schaitberger.
RushBaby on July 11, 2007 at 9:38 PM
How come the police didn’t have a problem? Did they always have radios that worked or did they fix their problem back then, too?
I’m sorry, when it comes to procurement of equipment, the Fire Department itself, if it’s going to make these kind of charges, has also to explain its role in failing to insure their departments had the right communications.
Solid managers never throw up their hands and say, “I couldn’t do this because those guys wouldn’t get me what I wanted.” They figure out how to make it work.
What’s the union’s role in advocating better comminications? They always ask for money on the grounds of improving the fire department and caring about the safetry of their rank and file.
Of course, this is a union production, not an operating systems evaluation.
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 9:40 PM
Only watched first couple of minuets. BS
mjkazee on July 11, 2007 at 9:41 PM
Can anybody remember the last time the International Association of Firefighters endorsed a Republican for President?
SoulGlo on July 11, 2007 at 9:41 PM
Excellent advertisement for “Right to Work” legislation in New York.
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 9:42 PM
Won’t tell who to vote for, Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttt.
RIGHT!
mjkazee on July 11, 2007 at 9:45 PM
I want to know one person in the United States who thought on September 10th that a bunch of people would highjack aircraft and fly them into the trade centers using them as bombs?
Yeah, right. No one.
And yet, Rudy should have known that it would happen. Rudy should have known that the radios wouldn’t work in that situation. Rudy should have known that the towers would topple. Rudy should have known, etc etc, etc.
Since when have our politicians stopped being human beings?
It is this kind of crap which causes our country harm.
Rudy did a great job leading the city in the direct aftermath of 9/11.
My husband’s best friend phoned from London and said what a fabulous job Rudy was doing. He couldn’t believe it.
Hindsight is 20/20.
I’m sure the Rudy campaign will have plenty of firefighters coming forward to do their own YouTube video to rebut this nonsense.
My step-son was outside at #2 Broadway when the towers came down. He worked underneath the trade centers for 18 months directly after 9/11 as a union electrician getting the Path trains running again. He developed asthma in the process.
You don’t see me or him blaming Rudy, the government, the EPA or anyone else for this.
We blame the b*st*rds who flew the planes into the buildings!
ukgoods on July 11, 2007 at 9:48 PM
{{{ukgoods}}}
(Hugs you, your husband, and your step-son) (Means it.)
RushBaby on July 11, 2007 at 10:00 PM
Way to not watch the video. The radios didn’t work at all, and it took 7 years to replace one set of non-working radios with another set of non-working radios.
Rudy’s running on his performance on 9/11. Other than lots of tape of him walking around in a mask, I have no idea what he did as an executive, on that day and afterward, that merits him some $85,000/speech on average.
rho on July 11, 2007 at 10:02 PM
HotAir commentary:
1.) L.A Times goes after Fred
“They’ll have to do better than that!”
2.) IAFF Goes after Rudy, Rudy responds
“He’ll have to do better than that!”
Big S on July 11, 2007 at 10:06 PM
As long as it looks like a slapfight between Rudy and the Union, he’ll be fine. If it looks like a fight between the regular firefighters and Rudy, it could be a problem for him.
Bad Candy on July 11, 2007 at 10:12 PM
Nobody but complete partisan hacks will swallow this.
Or amnesiacs. (AKA Truthers.)
profitsbeard on July 11, 2007 at 10:13 PM
I almost want to agree with you, even as I’m nominally in the Fred camp, but the situations aren’t necessarily analogous.
Bad Candy on July 11, 2007 at 10:15 PM
Maybe the fire department should have spent their money on radios instead of giving it to democrats.
BDavis on July 11, 2007 at 10:47 PM
Union No.
reaganaut on July 11, 2007 at 10:49 PM
RHO,
In 2000, my husband and I moved to southern Delaware. However most of our friends, my brother-in-law, my step-son and step-daughter all still worked in lower Manhattan.
On 9/11, my husband turned on the TV right after the first plane flew into the Tower. All the news stations were saying it was a light aircraft and was nothing that serious. Then we watched as the second plane hit. It took forever to get in touch with our family because the phones didn’t work. (Who should we blame for that?) When we finally got in touch, my step-son and step-daughter were extremely shaken up and they asked to move in with us. A close friend who had his office windows blown out was talking about moving back to London. All these people were extremely shook up and they all said the same thing. You will never understand what it was like.
What did Rudy do? Even though he was in the Towers when they collapsed, HE KEPT HIS COOL! He knew the worst thing he could do was panic. He needed to reassure a city and a country that New York would pull through. And this he did fabulously! He was a constantly there reassuring the city and the country that things would be okay!
You don’t understand Rudy s because you didn’t live in NYC pre-Rudy.
I moved to MYC during Ed Koch’s third term. I was almost raped on the subway at 7:00 PM at night at the City Hall Station. The Guardian Angels got on at the next stop and, I believe, saved my life. There were NEVER any police in the subways. And where was Ed? In the basement of the Woolworth Building having drinks since 11:00 AM (I used to work in the Woolworth Building so I know).
I moved to Jersey City during David Dinkin’s term but still worked in the city. I lived through being terrified to go through the Port Authority Bus Station at anytime of the day. God forbid you tried to drive into the city. The squeeqee men would threaten you and if you didn’t pay them off, they would smash your windshield.
On Day 1 in office, Rudy targeted the squeegee men. The NY Times crowd had their usual hew and cry. Rudy told the police take them off the street and check them for outstanding warrants. Guess what, most of them had outstanding felony raps. OVER NIGHT things changed. Then they targeted people who jumped turnstiles. My husband has a great story about going into a Manhattan Subway station. There was a worker painting the turnstiles while a man was laying on the ground getting using a steel bar to break the turnstile and get the tokens out. The poor people who used to work in the token booths were routinely threatened with being torched by thieves pouring gasoline through the money hole. This happened many times.
Then he targeted the sex shops and peep shows in Times Square. He used every law available to him to get them out. Go to Times Square now. It is wonderful. Go to Port Authority Bus Terminal at midnight and you feel safe.
Were mistakes made during Rudy’s terms in office? Certainly. Even after the 93 bombings they located the command center in the WTC. This was a mistake. The reason they did it was that it was so close to City Hall.
Should the radios have worked. Sure! Was this Rudy’s responsibility? I honestly don’t know. This is like saying it was George Bush’s fault that the buses in New Orleans should have been used to transport people out of the city.
To blame Rudy for the remains not being found is ridiculous. The day of the WTC bombings was the mayoral primary. He left office in January 2002. Most of downtown NYC was still closed. My friends who work on John Street had sporadic electricity and phone service at the end of December and this is at least 10 blocks from the WTC site.
I have a personal connection with the events of 9/11. I know people who perished in the Towers. I have been in NYC through the very ugly, the bad and the good. The good started when Rudy was mayor. It is being sustained by Bloomberg now and anyone who tells you otherwise if full of it.
In conclusion, when Hillary was running for the Senate, she donned a NY Yankees hat and said “I’ve Always Been a Yankees Fan”. They asked some Yankee players about this and one of them said: “We know who are real fans are”. They meant Rudy who actually went to EVERY game. He is the real deal.
Is he perfect? NO. Are you?
ukgoods on July 11, 2007 at 10:57 PM
Watched the video. The procurement committee is reponsible for radio contract selection, and plenty of times, what sounds correct in the contract doesn’t pan out.
It is not Giuliani’s job or any other mayor for that matter to personally test a radio. OTHER people are tasked with that. Other people are tasked with making the reccomendations as to what the department needs and which system is the best option. Who were they? 7 Years? The union let year after year go by and didn’t push to get it done? This is shared blame at a minimum.
That’s a stupid comment, “other than lots of video of him walking around in a mask.” Well, which of the miles of video of the mayor that day and that week, would YOU have chosen to show? Doesn’t prove anything as to effectiveness, pro or con – only attests that Giuliani stayed in the city and didn’t flee.
You don’t know what Rudy did specifically,minute by minute, but the fact is New York did not fall into chaos, looters did not run rampant in the streets, people stayed calm and helped each other, the city services, despite being ravaged still provided services. Giuliani’s job was to redirect resources – the ones that were still functioning and provide direction for the city government to function as effectively as it could, give power cuts, streets blocked, hundreds of thousands of people walking out on foot …everything.
New Orleans is the perfect comparison as to what happens with a failure of leadership and executive competence at the mayoral level. A week’s warning. An emergency plan that EXACTLY predicted the impact of a direct hit Cat 5 hurricane – even to the month (see National Geographic October 2004 issue). A mayor who sat on his hands, refused to declare an emergency in order to pre-position troops and supplies, and didn’t use the spelled-out recommendations to evacuate 200,000 elderly and poor out of the city in advance by use of commandeered busses.
Can we even begin to imagine the hell that NYC would have been with the likes of Nagin running it on 9/11? We should, and shudder. New York didn’t crumble, because it had solid leadership at the top.
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 11:09 PM
Not sure the Fire Department per se is in this, but the Union sure is, and you’re exactly right. “Union” is supposed to mean bargaining clout – and getting in good radios should have been a priority, right?
naliaka on July 11, 2007 at 11:12 PM
Insider information here:
The FDNY had new digital radios in the Spring of 2001.
There were problems – they did not work close – radio transmissions would be missed just yards away – but received miles away.
After the FDNY complained – rightfully – they were given their old radios back – analog. THE UNION ASKED FOR THIS while the digital problem was solved. They were using the OLD radios on 911. The radios did not work floor to floor in the WTC. Neither the Union nor the City’s hands are clean here.
Rudy putting the Office of Emergency Managment in WTC 7 – Yep dumb move. Next?
Pulled the recovery of remains too soon? Hard to prove. Sometimes there IS nothing left to bury. The gold story is bogus.
There is no answer form the Union as to who would have done better.
Wander on July 11, 2007 at 11:17 PM
It’s not like they were going to find every victim of 9/11 before the hauled the rubble away. SOMEONE had to say that the cleanup could begin, and thus the rebuilding, and the healing of the nation. That was Rudy.
These firefighters are hacks.
congsan on July 11, 2007 at 11:21 PM
How’s that rebuilding coming along? and as for this comment “Solid managers never throw up their hands and say, “I couldn’t do this because those guys wouldn’t get me what I wanted.” They figure out how to make it work” I don’t remember seeing any firefighters complaining about the job they just went along and did it, just like they always do. there is no-one else to do that job, and unlike teachers it is against the law for firefighters to go on strike, thereby giving the city the upper hand in negotiations. Was the process for testing and purchasing radios circumvented by city hall? Who knows.
striper1 on July 11, 2007 at 11:40 PM
ukgoods, ignore rho, he’s a Ron Paul crank.
Bad Candy on July 12, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Well one things for sure, Clinton got booed off the stage at the benefit concert the week after 9/11. If the case is they don’t like Rudy they definitely don’t like her and her comprades
quigley on July 12, 2007 at 12:35 AM
If the majority of the membership backs Rudy he won’t have a problem. Union bosses, most all, back the libs.
If the man is as successful as he was in ‘04…we s/b so lucky.
Entelechy on July 12, 2007 at 1:11 AM
Aren’t unions great? Given a choice between Rudi and “Herself” I think we all know who the firefighters will vote for! I’m not a Rudi fan either. I think we are being sold another Bush. Rudi is saying all the right things now…once elected he will govern as a liberal! Be VERY careful this time!
sabbott on July 12, 2007 at 5:21 AM
Schaitberger is out for himself, We’re part of the International here, they’re as useless as our local. Bunch of Democrats. Schaitberger followed Kerry around like a lovestruck little groupie. His main goal was/is to be the Secretary of Labor.
LtE126 on July 12, 2007 at 6:21 AM
As a NYC resident, I can tell you that Rudy always was a huge supporter of the Firefighters (and the Police) but that the unions have always been pro-Democrat as they feel they can extort greater pay raises from wimpy Dems when contracts come up for renewal.
This union is like the Jersey Girls, feigning a holier than thou critique while simply pursuing a partisan political agenda.
One more: I well remember that about two weeks after the 9-11 attacks, when we in NYC were all still in shock but when it became apparent that NO ONE could still be alive in that smouldering toxic ruin, Rudy asked the firefighters at the site to return to their stationhouses and leave the cleanup and the salvage work to the professionals and experts and let them get back to fighting fires.
WELLL.. .the outcry. The went ballistic. You are asking us to abandon our fellow firefighters, we will never do that, you horrible horrible man.. we will boycott, we will go on city wide strike. bla bla bla… and I remember thinking: all the good things I felt for those brave firefighters on 9-11 just disappeared in a “poof” because these idiotic bastards want to waste time at a smouldering crash site two weeks after and refuse to go back to work.
Rudy tried to be polite with them but wouldnt back down. The firefighters called him names, bickered even with the police and acted like total jerks. Its one thing for a marine not to want to leave a wounded buddy on the battlefield, but this was over two weeks later, NO ONE was alive, and the firefighters refused to leave.
Rudy is right on and the firefighters union still look like weasel jerks to me on this.
Always Right on July 12, 2007 at 7:58 AM
I want to know the substance of the charge before I dismiss a charge just because it comes from a leftist organization. Even broken clocks have the right time twice a day and we cannot count on those who might be responsible to put the issue front and center.
Just the facts.
csdeven on July 12, 2007 at 9:27 AM
There isn’t any “substance”. The IAFF has had a hard-on for RG since way before 9/11, like all other dem-base entities. It’s all union “suppport-dems;attack-anyone else” politics. They are going to get nowhere with this crap.
Wha…? What’s that got to do with anything? If a clock’s broken, what, do you wait around for the 2x/day it’s “right” and applaud its accuracy, or do you dismiss whatever it says, b/c it’s God-damn broken?
ukgoods, you have it exactly right. NYC was a shithole before RG , but it became a wonderful place to live and work during his tenure (and has been going backward since he left the mayor’s office).
Bloomberg? Oh, jeez. What an absolute sissy.
It’s a weak field of candidates for the GOP. But, Rudy is still the best of the bunch. Why? Because he understands that the worldwide jihad is the only thing that’s important in this election and because he is not intimidated by Her Majesty HRC or her media groupies.
I don’t give a flip about taxes, womens’ “right to choose”, assault rifles, etc. etc. That will all be sorted out. I think RG understands what’s the right thing to do about border security and how that ties in with the jihad.
FWIW, I don’t get the “Fred!” thing at all. As a potential prez, he’s an OK movie and TV actor.
Rico on July 12, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Bottom-line, Rudy was a control freak, he did have the final say on the subject of the radios. After 1993 it was recommended that both the NYPD and the FDNY have radios on the same frequency and early on he bucked it tooth and nail, for no good reason other then his own stubbornness of wanting to have the final say on everything. The nanny system that exists in NY now? Rudy started it all. He is the original micro-managing maniac who has all the answers. And yesterday he answered the call in typical Rudy fashion, by attacking instead of answering the charges intelligently. Not very presidential at all, just business as usual.
Karol is 100% correct, he is going to hav, or already has some serious problems going forward. Many families of the survivors, uniformed and civilian, resent him enormously for making a career out of using the tragedy for political gain.
Most of the comments under this post are ridiculous. The idea that a committee had the final say on radios is laughable, Rudy would never allowe such a thing, ever. Rudy had the final say on all of it – everything and anything – he was large and in charge and he blew it – big time.
The good news? He and McCain should be packing up their tents and moving out and on into the sunset hopfully giving the others a chance to step up to the plate and shine.
Good luck and good riddance to both of them, don’t let the door hit them in their you-know-whats on your way out.
Neither one of them will ever be president in this country anytime soon.
AprilOrit on July 12, 2007 at 12:35 PM
Rudolf was a pro illegal fanatic, Sanctuary City Mayor.
I don’t care who sinks him, just as long as they sink him.
MB4 on July 12, 2007 at 1:08 PM
Was the process for testing and purchasing radios circumvented by city hall? Who knows.
striper1 on July 11, 2007 at 11:40 PM
This video sure didn’t intend to inform us. They just wanted to insinuate that it was all Giuliani’s fault. The parsing is there, they never directly accuse him. Their trick is that it’s his fault by being the mayor at the time. No mention of how these things really work.
The Fire Department leadership is responsible for pushing for good equipment given the operating budget, and making sure it gets through the system to deliver to the stations and overseeing training and systems development/implementation. A mayor is to provide a direction for all these Departmental functions, step in to mediate differences, make the directional decisions when parties come to an impass – not to micromanage their work.
naliaka on July 12, 2007 at 1:28 PM
Rudolf was a pro illegal fanatic, Sanctuary City Mayor.
I don’t care who sinks him, just as long as they sink him.
MB4 on July 12, 2007 at 1:08 PM
What’s his position right now? Now that he’s seen the national anger? Still the same or not? Thought he’d come out more law and order. Is that true?
naliaka on July 12, 2007 at 1:30 PM
He was very Pro-Illegal and when Bill O’Reilly challenged him on it his answer was “crime went down”. He’s another buck passing nervous nelly of a nanny-type which the country doesn’t need.
Forget about the silly ferret incident, this guy hates dogs and cats, they make him nervous. How can we ever have a President who hates animals? Have we ever had a President in the White House who has never owned a dog in their whole life??
AprilOrit on July 12, 2007 at 4:21 PM
Can we please stop with the Swift Boat analogies? That group had one goal and has kept with it all these years – the disclosure of the prevarications of John Kerry before he could be made president. To date, none of the stated allegations of Kerry’s conduct has been proven false – period.
Sure, Rudy has some baggage that needs explaining. Unlike the Dem buffoon, I hope he will actually explain in full.
dkeppner on July 12, 2007 at 4:28 PM
lets see: Rudy has trouble with radios and divorce..Mitt has trouble with dogs and religion..Hillary has trouble with Bill and gender..Obama has trouble with political innocence and?..McCain just has trouble..and Fred has trouble with younger wife image and abortion…etc etc etc!!
Whine on MSM, whine on!!!
jeanie on July 12, 2007 at 5:29 PM
Well Rudy has much larger problems with dogs than Mitt. Mitt made a poor decision on how to transport the family pet.
When Rudy was on with Laura Ingraham I was really hoping she would address his dog phobia at the end of the interview, being a strong dog lover herself.
AprilOrit on July 12, 2007 at 8:10 PM
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