Vote with Your Keyboard

MoveOn.org Ad

2007-09-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

The controversial ad appearing in the New York Times tearing down General David Patraeus sponsored by left-wing MoveOn.org

The Politico: New Yorkers salivating over ‘subway election’

2007-06-23T22:54:00.001-07:00

What a time to be a New York pol.

Three of the leading presidential candidates — judging, at least, by column inches in the largely New York-dominated national media – are New Yorkers: Its junior senator and its current and former mayors.

Gregg Birnbaum, political editor of the New York Post, calls the idea of a three-way White House race pitting Sen. Hillary Clinton against former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mayor Michael Bloomberg “a political perfect storm” — for his newspaper, at least.

"I'm already imagining fall '08. A debate. Three candidates on stage. Rudy, Hillary, Mike...Oh, to dream..."

And New York’s leading GOP power broker, for his part, is delighted.

"I love it — I love it," former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato said, though he is not backing any of the three candidates — he is supporting former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. "It's great theater."

But there's a rub.

The three New Yorkers looking at the presidency may be the front-runners for the Democratic, Republican and independent nominations, so to speak.

They're favorite characters in the city's tabloids, and have easy access to the studios of the national cable channels.

But in other ways, New York is the worst home base imaginable.

Egos abound. The tabloids are out for blood, and the New York Post already set the tone for the cycle by suggesting on its front page that Giuliani's wife had been involved in killing dogs.

The local Republican Party, which has lent minimal support to Giuliani, is a wreck.

Clinton has all but decamped, shipping most of the New York campaign staffers who joined her Washington-based team to a new headquarters in Virginia.

The presidential campaigns have, additionally, revealed years of friction between Giuliani and his successor, Bloomberg.

Bloomberg might well never have become mayor had he not filled the airwaves with Giuliani's endorsement of him after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The advertisements were critical" to Bloomberg's victory, said former U.S. Rep. Herman Badillo (D-N.Y.), a Giuliani administration veteran who challenged Bloomberg in the 2001 Republican primary.

Bloomberg's aides, on arrival in City Hall, understood that Giuliani was off limits. When Bloomberg raised taxes that year, he blamed the Sept. 11 attacks for a deficit that had been left, in part, by his predecessor.
But Bloomberg, after a career in corporate America, had little respect for Giuliani's operatic style of governance, in which passion and loyalty were key.

"Mike thought Rudy was insane," says a City Hall insider.

Giuliani, meanwhile, chafed at some of Bloomberg's initiatives — notably, a ban on indoor smoking that could have shut down his favorite cigar bar — but also bit his tongue.

Now Bloomberg's flirtation with the White House has some of Giuliani's supporters openly accusing him of betrayal.

"To turn on Rudy like that — he should remember he would not have been elected without Rudy's support," said Guy Molinari, a Staten Island potentate for whom Bloomberg once named a ferryboat, but who supports Giuliani.

Others are making more complicated calculations.

Howard Koeppel, best known as a member of the gay couple who took then-Mayor Giuliani in after his separation with his wife, told The New York Post that he'd like to see both Bloomberg and Giuliani in the race.

He said he told Bloomberg, "You'd take votes away from Hillary. You'd help the Republicans, and you'd be good for Rudy."

It's an open question, of course, whether Bloomberg would run against Giuliani — or if he is even really planning a run at all.

Bloomberg’s chief political adviser, Kevin Sheekey, has said the ideal scenario for an independent Bloomberg candidacy would involve a "conservative" Republican opponent.

And pollster Frank Luntz, who has worked as a strategist for both Giuliani and Bloomberg, said he believes should Giuliani win the nomination it significantly "weakens" the chances of Bloomberg entering the race as an independent.

Bloomberg's current prominence, meanwhile, may help convince Republican voters that Giuliani is a real Republican, at least relative to his successor.

So far, the two men have had nothing but kind public words for one another, though Giuliani said he was "disappointed" that Bloomberg left the party.

Clinton, so far, has stayed on the sidelines of the urban media drama. Her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said she's focused on winning the Democratic Primary.

And if she does, and if Giuliani does too — does America really want this urban media drama?

It may not.

When the New York Yankees played the New York Mets in the much-hyped 2000 "Subway Series," most of America simply switched off.

It was, The Associated Press reported, "The lowest-rated World Series in history."

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0607/4598.html | digg story

Rudy Unveiling His 12 Point Plan for America

2007-06-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Bush's Speechwriter

2007-06-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

iPhone will require iTunes account to set up

2007-06-13T20:39:00.001-07:00

Apple will require iPhone customers to have an active iTunes Store account, in order to set-up their device, the company has revealed.

read more | digg story

US senator suggests military strike in Iran

2007-06-10T20:36:00.001-07:00

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent who strongly supports the war in Iraq, said today that unless Iran stops training Iraqis to carry out anti-coalition attacks, the United States should launch cross-border attacks into Iran. [...]

read more | digg story

Text of the email sent after signing up at "I'mwithFred.com"

2007-06-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

First, I want to thank you for the encouragement you’ve provided me over the past few months. As I’ve said, for a lot of politicians, encouragement to run from three relatives and an unemployed campaign consultant is considered an unstoppable groundswell. I’ve heard from a lot more people, including you. Now we’re moving forward together.

Second, I want to thank you for registering as a Friend of Fred. We’re entering a new phase of this process, and if I do take on this challenge, we’re not going to do things the same old way. The so-called ‘experts’ say we’re getting in too late. Well, I don’t buy it, and you don’t, either.

We’re going to plow some new ground and make a real difference for our nation.

It’s going to take a lot of work. We’ll use the Internet to reach out to people online, but we also need to reach friends and neighbors who may not be connected. We’ll be making a lot of calls, knocking on a lot of doors, and telling family, friends and neighbors that there is another, better way.

You will help us bring to our fellow American the message of change and a call to return to the principles of our founding heritage. It’s critical that we address our nation’s challenges through the core ideals of self-governance, free markets, and the rule of law.

I believe there is a real sense across our country that we’re tired of the same old petty politics. Our fellow Americans want to see some real change. They want it in Washington, and they want it closer to home. They want a better future for themselves and for their families.

We can do it.

Thank you again for your encouragement and support. I think we’re starting something special.

How to Catch A Jew=A video appearing on YouTube

2007-06-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Former senator Fred Thompson's response to Michael Moore's challenge to a debate over comments made by Thompson on Moore's new documentary "Sicko".

2007-06-10T19:16:00.000-07:00