Volumes have been written about the downfall of the Republican party and the incredible degeneration of one Rudolph W. Giuliani from America’s Mayor to laughing stock and punchline of fart jokes. Both phenomena have been incredible to watch. And they both spring from one central well: at some point, both Giuliani and the GOP decided that it was easier to lie to the American people and persuade them to believe conspiracy theory, then to actually lead and give Americans a better choice.
That might seem like a wild statement to make but unfortunately it’s all too obvious that it’s true. This has been going on for a while, think Benghaaaaaazi, but Benghazi was righteousness personified when contrasted with the furor over Hunter Biden’s laptop, which is pure fantasy. At least the Benghazi conspiracy theory was centered around an actual event, the laptop theory and all the theories surrounding Joe Biden’s alleged corruption are all made up out of whole cloth. Listen to this Bizarro World clip from Giuliani’s radio show and then we can discuss why it’s so damaging and how it speaks to the greater tragedy that has befallen our nation. This is what happens when leaders just give up leading and do whatever they can do to stay in power, instead. (short clip 2:54)
If you took the time to listen to it, then you know, it’s the same old dirge, different day. But the point to be made here is that to many people, to MAGA, this is REAL. It is real that Trump “could have” put Hillary in prison but he didn’t; presumably because he’s such a great guy.
And it’s real to MAGA that the 14th Amendment precludes the president. That argument will be decided definitively at some point, but so far it’s been shot to hell by legal scholars right and left because it defies common sense. The framers of the Constitution set the basic parameters for the government and the amendments to the Constitution all address changes to that framework. But somewhere in there, when the 14th Amendment was drafted, it was meant to apply to every single member of a class of persons, i.e., elected officials — except the top elected official? That’s what Giuliani is selling.
Giuliani sells lies, conspiracy theories, nonsense non stop and this is what he puts out on the public airwaves on a regular basis. Again, I’ve said many times, we are two separate countries now, two separate cultures. And this is why, because we are listening to two separate and distinct narratives of reality. I saw this as a disaster when I first became aware that that was what was happening. And it’s only going to get worse. If January 6 taught us one glaring lesson, it taught us the tragedy of when a certain number of people are lied to and they act upon that misinformation and belief. People get killed. People go to prison. Lives get ruined. It doesn’t get any worse than that.
That’s the tragedy of what Giuliani and other Republicans, elected officials who lie and spew conspiracy theory just like he does, are doing. They are literally poisoning peoples’ minds. It’s no wonder that the topic of cult deprogramming has come up with respect to MAGA.
On a side note having to do with Giuliani, man is broke as you know. He also had an enormous judgment pronounced by a judge recently, $146 million. Now it turns out that Rudy could be wealthier by half a million dollars or so (which is no small sum) except he was too stupid to file for a pension with New York City. New York Post:
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who filed for bankruptcy in the wake of a $148 million civil court ruling and faces a mountain of unpaid legal bills, said he now regrets not having the safety net of a government pension.
Most recent Big Apple mayors pocket pension checks after leaving office, but Giuliani, 79, failed to apply for the benefits, according to city payroll records obtained by the taxpayer watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy and his official disclosure filings.
Had he taken a pension, the two-term former mayor who left office at the end of 2001 would’ve been eligible for about $26,000 in annual payments after turning 62.
That translates to about $442,000 he could have collected the last 17 years.
That is a lot of money to piss away. And it gives you insight into Giuliani. It’s clear that he’s one of those people who can’t manage money. Some people are that way, they can’t manage money at all. That raises an entirely different question, a very compelling one: is this the kind of person that you want in public office? Because if he handled this own coffers this way, I shudder to think what he might have done with New York’s repository.
But this is who’s in charge of the GOP, folks. This is their spokesman, one of them in any event. The sad part is it’s not just Rudy, out there on the extreme fringes, this is normal in the Republican party. These crazy MAGA talking points are what they’re all selling.
Where We Go One, We Go All is the QAnon slogan. But it just as easily describes the GOP. You could not have said that in 2015. QAnon didn’t originate until 2017. Far right-wing media grew it. And it exists now and is a corrosive thread in our societal fabric. If it had stayed a fringe theory, that would be one thing. But increasingly, there are no fringes in the GOP, the crazy has gone mainstream. Rudy is Exhibit “A”.
I doubt the gentleman farmers Washington, Adams, and Jefferson knew all their early adulthood, they would eventually have to risk EVERYTHING to take on the most powerful military power at that time. I often wonder when it became clear that’s EXACTLY what they would be required to do if they wanted to be free of the king. The story repeats with the railsplitter from Illinois, when exactly he would have to lead the Union to war to save it. I wonder how many sleepless nights FDR, Ike, or Truman had worrying about the survival of the nation. It’s hard to accept all of our freedoms have been won through battle and sacrifice. It seems there is always a moment in history where we face our crossroads to either fight for this democracy or give in. This is the year we face it again. The good news is all we have to do is vote, a privilege paid for by the sacrifices of those who went before us, and those serving as I type. I pray we do. The enemy sits on the Supreme Court and in Congress. That was only possible because, through our collective sloth and myopic self interest, we allowed it to happen. We still can change it if we care enough to act. Nothing survives in this world without care and attention. Not a house plant, a pet, a child, a marriage, a friendship, or a democracy. Whatever vows, spoken or unspoken, we make tonight, let us vow to save our Union! Good fortune to you all and I pray blessings will find you in the new year.
Your “… The good news is all we have to do is vote, … and those serving as I type. I pray we do…” Spot on, sir. Spot on! That’ll “… zing Trump…” and his trumptards.
“Because if he handled this own coffers this way, I shudder to think what he might have done with New York’s repository.” — Fortunately the mayor of New York does not have direct control over spending. The Comptroller is the city’s chief financial officer, with the power to scrutinize the mayor’s budget, check the soundness of its assumptions, and advise regarding potential issues that might affect the fiscal outlook. During Giuliani’s entire mayoralty (1994-2001) the comptroller was Alan Hevesi, a Democrat (Giuliani was always a Republican). This was possible because the office of NYC comptroller is an elected not an appointed position. Hevesi later got into serious trouble for two scandals (mild by today’s standards), but that had nothing to do with Giuliani.
More to your point, in 1995 Giuliani tried to sell the city’s entire water supply system in an attempt to pluga hole in the city’s budget, but Hevesi blocked the move by refusing to certify it. Giuliani promptly sued Hevesi. Hevesi called the proposed sale, which would have raised 2.3 billion, “the granddaddy of all fiscal gimmicks.” He showed that it would have been extremely detrimental to the city in the long term. Two years later the state’s highest court ruled that the mayor’s plan was illegal. Hevesi had acted in the best tradition of public service, and it is a shame that he fell from grave later.
Fell from GRACE, that is.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews fawned over Rudy. Yuck. But… as with past… adios for now… and hello new year. So to all before I forget Happy new year and always vote!!! Feliz gran ano nuevo!!!