"America's Mayor" Should Not Become America's President by Doug Wrenn

"America's Mayor" Should Not Become America's President

By Doug Wrenn

March 30, 2007

We Americans have a funny quirk of unofficially but nationally adopting people and groups that are endeared to us. In spite of baseball supposedly being "our national past-time," back in the 90's, we dubbed the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, "America's Team." Since the attacks of September 11th, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has acquired the affectionate title, "America's Mayor."

I was struck by the coolness, courage and effective leadership of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour during Hurricane Katrina. Then again, Barbour had little real competition for such kudos, given the pathetic performances of the incessantly teary-eyed, blubbering, bumbling, and trembling Louisiana Governor Kathleen "I'll give you an answer in 24 hours" Blanco and the foul-mouthed, panic-stricken, out-of-control New Orleans Mayor, Ray, "School Bus," "Chocolate City," "Safe and dry on the high ground while the rest of the city drowns" Nagin. Compared to these two inept and shameful boobs, I don't understand why Haley Barbour never became "America's Governor." I suppose the difference is that Hurricane Katrina was a natural catastrophe and 911 was an evil, sneaky attack by foreigners. They say on St. Patrick's Day everybody is Irish. I suppose on 911, we all became New Yorkers, as well as citizens of Arlington, Virginia and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a place most of us never heard of prior to that grim and eventful day. And given that he had no outside help from the feds for much of his initial handling of the attacks, then Mayor Giuliani did do an admirable job of keeping his head cool, his upper lip stiff and his city together as best he could. OK, fine. So Rudy Giuliani is unofficially America's Mayor, but he should not become America's President.

To paraphrase part of a recent Giuliani speech, someone with whom you agree on 80% of the issues and disagree on 20% of the issues is a friend, not a foe. While that sounds pithy, it's not that simple, Mayor. As Father Pavone of Priests For Life has recently articulated, there is a difference between "policy" and "principle." We can agree or disagree on matters pertaining to taxes. That is "policy," but the taking of innocent human life is flat out wrong, and that is "principle." As for how the numbers turn out, I couldn't acre less. I don't statistics to discern right from wrong, and my morality is not a participant in a popularity contest.

The protection of human life is not only a principle, but also a principle that trumps all other principles and policies. It's not rocket science to know that you can't accomplish any of your agenda if you're dead. While Rudy Giuliani is rightly or wrongly credited with saving New York, the very same policies he held as Mayor and is still promoting as a Presidential candidate are simply dangerous. The primary duty of every elected official is to protect his or her constituents. All other issues can wait in line.

While legitimate kudos go to Giuliani, both as a US Attorney and later as a Mayor for substantially reducing crime and increasing the overall quality of life in The Big (and once rotting) Apple, his constituents are lucky that they haven't experienced even more attacks, both collectively and individually.

Under Giuliani's term of office, New York was a "sanctuary city," one of several cities throughout the country, which deliberately look the other way to illegal immigration. It is nothing more than coincidence that the attackers of September 11th flew out of Boston's Logan Airport, as New York under the Giuliani administration was a breeding ground for illegal immigrants and terrorists. The sanctuary law was not Giuliani's brainstorm. It actually began during the term of previous Mayor Ed Koch, but Giuliani continued and defended the sanctuary city status when it was challenged by the federal government. (Current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg continues to maintain that same "wink and nod" illegal immigration policy today.) When you consider that Giuliani's policies, on a different day, might well have contributed to a terrorist attack upon New York from any of these unknown, unmonitored illegal immigrants wandering around New York with impunity, his then gallant actions in response to the September 11th attacks were a wash at best.

Giuliani also pitched then President Bill Clinton for a stepped-up nationwide gun control effort, including mandatory licensing and registration of all firearms. Clinton was well impressed with Giuliani's ideas and zealously delegated them to then Attorney General Janet Reno to further review. Historically, whenever citizens are disarmed by tyrannical governments, it is all too easily facilitated, thanks to gun registration, which is always the last step before confiscation. Giuliani claims that gun owners should be licensed as operators of motor vehicles are licensed. I can foresee the government possibly trying to confiscate my guns. I doubt anyone wants my car. Despite what gungrabbers would otherwise have us believe, a well-armed citizenry was an intended check and balance by our nation's framers. That is why law-abiding citizens are and should be "more heavily armed" than the police. It's a check and balance, and by the way, it has little, if anything, to do with respecting the rights of hunters. While the wily Giuliani has slightly modified his anti-gun rhetoric in a chameleon-like, "Romney-esque" manner for his presidential campaign, his policies as a former Mayor of a city in which law-abiding citizens were and still are virtually denied the right to carry or own firearms for self-protection, like sitting ducks, are irrefutable.

Giuliani has also endangered individuals and families with his affirmative stances on abortion and civil unions for gays, thus helping to further endanger another almost 50 million of our most innocent and vulnerable citizens, while helping to incrementally destroy traditional families, the fabric of our culture. On abortion, Giuliani has also modified his rhetoric, now claiming that he is against partial-birth abortion. In other words, "Kill them sooner." His opponent, "Un-Mitt-igated Gall Romney," the waffling weathervane should be worried, but conservatives should not at all be impressed. When I see Romney, McCain and Giuliani each doing his bogus conservative love-dance, all I see is the Three Stooges, except for the fact that Moe, Larry and Curly, much unlike Mitt, John and Rudy, were actually amusing (Yuk yuk, yuk!).

The "Peter Principle" is theoretically rising to your level of incompetence. A "President Giuliani" could be a very dangerous proposition for all Americans, including fair-weather conservatives, and "RINO" Republicans, whose tunnel vision only allows them to myopically focus on beating Hillary Clinton, no matter what.

It is also public knowledge that Giuliani is a (real) die-hard New York Yankees fan, (unlike Hillary). Given his love and knowledge of the Yankees, Giuliani might want to reflect on the waning days of Babe Ruth's career. Unlike the "Bambino," Giuliani should quit while he's ahead and exit the public arena now, while still he's still a hero, either by fact or in legend.