Vlad Rudy Has Returned from the Fear Mongering Netherworld

While Senator Obama helps flooding victims in Iowa, and counsels hard-working college students who are having trouble managing their growing tuition debt, the McCain campaign, meanwhile, has cracked open the seal on their emergency Feargasm Lock Box and unleashed a terrible mythological force.

With a blinding white light, a loud bang and a puff of wig powder, he's emerged from the netherworld of Republican politics like a hunched, creepy, bulbous-foreheaded genie -- shamelessly rattling off his "Very Best Of" compilation of fear mongering slogans -- most of which include those two words (September 11th) without which he would have no power whatsoever on the national stage.

Vlad Rudy Giuliani has re-emerged. And he's trying to frighten Americans into voting for a Republican presidential candidate again.

In addition to a prepared statement that resurrects the antiquated "pre-9/11 mindset" talking point from the 2004 Bush campaign, Vlad Rudy participated in a conference call today in which he made the forthcoming remark -- a comment so misguided in its inaccuracy and so cynical in its exploitative reasoning that it ought to be etched into a cement tablet and placed in a gutter in lower Manhattan, allowing future generations of Americans to spit upon it.

Before we reveal the offending quote, Vlad Rudy's remarks in the conference call began with the usual repetitious fear mongering:

"The reality is there seems to be more concern about the rights of terrorists, or alleged terrorists, than the rights that the American people have to safety and security," Rudy said. "I do not understand why, at a time we're facing this terrorist threat, we want to create new rights that didn't exist before for people alleged to be involved in terrorist activities or alleged to be enemy combatants."

For those of you keeping score, he said the word "terrorist(s)" four times in just two short sentences which I think is a record -- even for him. Huzzah, Rudy! (Using the same word four times in two back-to-back sentences is really difficult without sounding moronic and awkward. Try it now with the word "pants." It's hard, isn't it?)

So this first section was ridiculous, but not necessarily over-the-top offensive. The truly offensive words and implications were reserved for this line:

"It is fair to say that Osama Bin Laden would be given new rights that nobody ever had before."

Oh would he, Mr. Giuliani? To somehow imply -- to merely speculate in form of two logical fallacies within a single sentence (a straw-man argument and an appeal to fear) -- that the U.S. Supreme Court, the Democratic Party and Senator Obama would afford the world's most wanted man special human rights manages to entirely overlook the very real fact that the party you, Vlad, support, and the elected officials you, Vlad, endorse have utterly failed to capture Bin Laden in the first place. And the way Bin Laden's name is so callously and easily invoked as a means of scoring far-right political points makes his on-going freedom appear way too suspiciously convenient.

Bin Laden's freedom.

That bit of truth speaks volumes about the failed policies of Vlad Rudy's Republican Party. Since the beginning of time, one of the most precious rights any living creature can possess is simply the right to be... free. And free Bin Laden remains; recording new tapes and massaging hair dye into his beard while lurking in various safe houses along the western border of Pakistan. Free.

And as long as he's out there -- free -- he might as well be exploited as a spokesperson for the Republican Party and Senator McCain, mainly because their chief executive is too unpopular to fulfill that basic political duty. During the 2006 midterms, for example, "it's fair to say" (and also true) that Bin Laden's face appeared in more GOP ads than did President Bush's face. "It's fair to say" that the forthcoming general election will reflect the same backwards branding.

But what about these so-called "new" rights? Habeas corpus dates as far back as the 12th Century and the idea of due process of law dates back to the Magna Carta. So irrespective of what Rudy and Senator McCain suggest to those people who are ignorant enough to believe them, it's neither a "new right" nor a Get Out of Evildoer Jail Free card. Yet the Republicans are doing their very best to paint this Boumediene v. Bush ruling as if the Supreme Court has unilaterally awarded every Guantanamo detainee with a Willie Horton style weekend furlough, a new car and wad of folding money.

Sorry, but contrary to popular Republican mythology, not every prisoner at Guantanamo is a terrorist -- or, at least they weren't prior to being abducted. According to an investigative report published this week by the McClatchy news service:

An eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents has found that Akhtiar was one of dozens of men -- and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds -- whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments.

Due process and the Great Writ are designed to prevent such atrocities -- atrocities which could all too easily be carried out against our citizens and our soldiers in this or some other future military engagement. But this war on terrorism is unique in the history of modern conflict in that it's been described as an endless war and therefore those detained at Guantanamo and elsewhere might have otherwise been deprived of due process for a non-specific length of time. This isn't the American Civil War which had a clearly defined victory scenario or endgame. This is George W. Bush's War on Terrorism. The self-described "long war." The endless war. James Madison described such a war as the most dreaded enemy of public liberty.

"War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few."

Senator Obama and the Democrats offer an alternative to the Bush Republican endless war and "the domination of the few." And, for that, they're conflated with Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists by fear mongers like Vlad Rudy Giuliani. More laughable is the fact that Senator Obama is being unfairly demonized for his lack of foreign policy experience by a man whose most recently held public office was that of mayor -- a mayor whose only connection with the war on terrorism (besides his political exploitation of it) is the fact that he ran around in the streets while the towers burned. ("It's only fair" to repeat specifically why was he running around like that. He mistakenly put his command center inside the World Trade Center -- after the towers had already been attacked once.)

This shockingly apocryphal outrage from Vlad Rudy and Senator McCain only serves to underscore the desperation of the Republican Party. After all, how will they win in November without using their best fear mongering tactics in the face of more sensible views... like this one:

"Try them or release them. I think the key to this is to move the judicial process forward so that these individuals will be brought to trial for any crime that they are accused of, rather than residing in [the] Guantanamo facility in perpetuity."

That was Senator McCain from June, 2005. Seriously. "Try them or release them," he said. Of course this version of Senator McCain has long since vanished. Now, the basic notion of a detainee finding out why he's been detained is an unacceptable freedom warranting outraged statements like, "The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country." This from a man who, only three years ago, demanded that either they be tried or be summarily freed.

I suppose this is why Vlad Rudy has been unleashed. It'll take an army of vampiric, fear mongering hooples to successfully mask over Senator McCain's former, reasonable self.

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Comments

[dexxjones]

i almost missed this one. a friend called me laughing and i have to say, this is one of my all-time favorite huffPosts. still laughing. AND ITS TRUE!

[KELLI2L]

NO DOUBT - RUDY G. IS SCARY I assume that's why he did so poorly in his running for republican presidential candidate, BUT SO IS 'OBAMA THE UNKNOWN AND UNCHALLENGED'..... ......

[salidon]

I've lived long enough to see how (s)elected presidents operated. Each one began completely untried and unchallenged for the office whether Dem or Repub. Being a senator doesn't prepare you, nor is it a prerequisite. It's certainly not in the Constitution. Being a Congressman isn't a requirement either. Your religious affiliation is not an issue either. You have to be in your mid thirties and be a born American citizen to qualify. No mention about being a judge, or mayor of a town is required. With that in mind, you now just need the love for the country to lead it. That I can stomach.

Bush snuck in like a snake looking for victims and profit and with an agenda that has left us with the obvious results we are undergoing today.

[dmack]

Being a war veteran or POW doesn't prepare you either. I respect John McCain's service, but that doesn't make him any more qualified with foreign policy than Obama. Being in the military doesn't make one able to run the military. Much like being an employee of a coorporation doesn't qualify one to be the CEO. There is a big difference between taking orders as a naval aviator and giving orders at the highest level as the Commander and Chief. The truth of the matter is the only one with "expierence" is George Bush, and fortunately, he can't run again. But its all for pointless. Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin. The only difference, as stated by Ventura, is the difference between Pepsi and Coke. One can is red, the other is blue. But its basically the same. There is never any real changes, no matter which party is in the White House. They are the same.

[Marlyn]

ooo ... Obama, the mystery sandwich.

[dmack]

Rudy, if he were so concerned about 9/11, would publically ask about the collapse of WTC 7. The jet fuel theory doesn't apply because a plane didn't hit this structure. A SYMMETRICAL FREEFALL COLLAPSE due to two isolated fires and and damage to a corner doesn't cause this. Our country is in such peril. The words Rudy man will be heard and believed. Our country-men are unforgivably ignorant. They only watch the television and think they are aware. The country's problem goes far beyond Democrat or Republican, which are two sides of the same coin. This country is asleep. Much like the movie, "The Matrix." They live in a reality which was put before them to keep blissfull ignorance the norm. I would like to see the Huffington Post begin attacking the establishment. Compliance doesn't lead to coupling. The media will be used until its usefullness expires, at which time, it will be treated the same as all other establishments. Meaning, we will be used until they can't use us anymore.

[TimeJumper]

Once again I reiterate that the real elitists are those who have pressed upon the backs of the American people their yoke of ideology which they now have us sowing through their fields of folly. We as a nation can no longer afford the premise of "ignorance is bliss"; we must now discard those blinders and take back the reins of government for our own sake. Thus we should put the welfare and prosperity of our country before corporate profits and executive privileges.

[sociocanuck]

I can't help but think "Vlad Rudy" is probably not the best analogy. Far be it from me to defend Giuliani (normally I wouldn't); but "Vlad" conjures more of a mental connection to Vlad Dracul, the Wallachian Prince, than it does to the fictional Count Dracula...

Rudy may be a pandering fearmonger, but he's no sociopathic mass murderer viewing his conquest from outside the battle with cold detatchment of a true creep. That's Dick Cheney's gig.

[TJoad]

". . . .a comment so misguided in its inaccuracy and so cynical in its exploitative reasoning that it ought to be etched into a cement tablet and placed in a gutter in lower Manhattan, allowing future generations of Americans to spit upon it."

That has to be one of the best things I've read in a long time--could apply equally well to just about any policy of the Cheney/Bush thiuggery.

[evgolightly]

Isn't Rudy annoying?

Like REALLY annoying?

Why would anyone trust his national security credentials based on his having been Mayor of NY on Sep 11? He made a fortune on that.

I wish McCain would pick this clod for VP. He's almost as ridiculous as Carly Fiorina, the exhiled CEO.

[BassMent]

Rudy the Impaler.

Does anyone in the GOP think that anything this creep has to say is going to sway an undecided voter to support McCain?

This is red meat for the true believers, but not much good otherwise.

[KELLI2L]

Yes and I think it's time for McCain to beg Rudy to please stop stumping for him. . .

[sophieozz]

Rudy Giuliani has been rendered useless. His rehashed words are a desperate attempt to stay visible (and bankable) because he's melting! Melting!

[watchingthings]

This time around Rudy's probably doing it strictly for cash. He said he would fund raise....but for cash only.

[olgraydawg]

Why is he talking and why is what he said being reported?

[SantaFeStars]

Kudos to the many posts stating our desire to rid ourselves of the arrogant, self-serving Rudy. We are not at all interested in hearing your bombastic speeches. Stupidity is not our forte - believe it or not, but the majority of Obama's supporters are very, very astute. Now, for the Repugs, they are not the sharpest tools in the garage!

[KELLI2L]

If they were sharp of mind they wouldn't be voting for Obama. . . .

[elr50]

You ever notice how many of the leaders of the "values" party have left their wives and started new families with much younger wh---s? Rudy, Newt, etc. SOME values. what hypocrits.

[richardgordon]

The truth is we really don't give a damn what Rudy (or any of the Republicans) thinks or says any more. I think, finally, even the most gullible has finally figured them out. Why it took so long is a complete mystery to me.

[appleknocker]

If there is a just god, Giuliani and the Clintons will be sent to some special circle of hell where they will be condemned to campaign against each other for all eternity. MSM gasbags will be condemned to listen to them.

[KELLI2L]

You took the words out of my mouth but instead - directed toward Obama -

[Greensleeves]

As someone who lived through the hysterical and pseudo alpha gymnastics of two Giuliani administrations lets put this sudden reemergence into perspective.This is simply a fund rasing technique by the shameless blowhard.Political(financial) debt.The same way Bill Clinton and the Elder George Bushare said to travel the world raising funds(for a percentage)for Tsumani victims-Bald Rudy is simply shilling for John McCain-"pfishing for a pfish" as it were.I believe that the country indicated that the brand of bumptious balderdash blathered by Brooklyn Rudy was not palatable.That his morals were mired in the muck of hypocrisy .That his same old same old was lame and tired
That "America's Mayor" was simply another reality show contestant who didn't have the vision to prevent the town he couldn't run-and was about to run him out on an ignomious rail-from being terrorized.He surrounded himself with yes men and criminals.
No The good old USA has wised up to this brand of bragging and posturing and shucking and jiviing.Look at George W Bush approval ratings.He was lots more genial appearing than Rudy.
Failure to prevent.Lack of humility & honesty and hair.Fatal defects.His appearance will be short lived.Holding hands with candidate McCain.Showing up in drag at a few insider events and he'll be gone once he's made a dent in his politcal debt.Then its back to licking his wounds.Soaking his pride and plotting his next assault on pubilc integrity.

[tribalypredisposed]

Giuliani also strongly opposed such newfangled notions as freedom of speech (winner of the first ever Lifetime Golden Muzzle Award), rule of law (having a consistent patern of breaking the same laws the courts had just ruled against him on), freedom of assembly, and so on. His administration argued in court that images did not constitute "speech" and therefore enjoyed no Constitutional protections. So he asserted that he had the right to censor all images...like photos, movies, tv shows, paintings....

Lets not even get into how he financed his Presidential campaign with money literally stolen from starving homeless orphans in Zambia and other poor countries.

This creature called Giuliani is truly deeply evil. Comparing him to Dracula is an insult to Dracula.

[KELLI2L]

It's evident to many that the good old USA realizes this terrible flaw about both party's. . . .
The Democrats are equally disgusting in their efforts to win the big prize. . ..

[Desdemondo]

Who bothers to listen to Rudy the loser? No one.

[kylie]

All Giuliani has to do to instill fear, is to put on that sequined red dress, heels, a phony beauty mark, lipstick and that would scare the blank out of anyone.

Mr. 9/11 and his mistresses/wives need to go on their scary way and stay out of politics, lest they remind us of all the fear-mongering and scandals the Republicans (and now McCain) have put us through!
Done with that Party for awhile.

Enough is enough.