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Fort Campbell
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 896
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 Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:48 pm Post subject: The International Association of Firefighters against Rudy |
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| Quote: | The International Association of Firefighters has gone on the offensive against "America's Mayor" Rudy Giuliani, releasing a 13-minute video that viciously rips into the former New York mayor, who has been using his leadership demonstrated on September 11th to urge people around the country to support him in his quest to become President of the United States.
The video, released early Wednesday evening, is titled "Rudy Giuliani: Urban Legend," and offers testimonials from various members of the organization and family members of firefighters lost in the terror attacks.
“We have the remains of dead heroes at the garbage dump because of Giuliani and his administration and they’re still there today and they won’t remove them,” claims FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches on the DVD, which was released to CBS 2 HD before its public debut.
Giuliani's campaign denounced the video, saying that the former mayor had a long history of supporting firefighters' health and safety and that the international union releasing the video only
supports Democratic presidential candidates.
“Whenever I hear him talk, I want to scream out to the world and say God he’s so full of it,” adds Rosaleen Tallon, who lost her brother in the attacks.
Tallon is one of several people who lost loved ones and speaks out against Giuliani.
“I’m a conservative. I’m a member of the NRA, I voted for Giuliani, but in this instance he messed up,” says Al Regenhard, whose son was killed.
Those quotes are just the beginning of the video in which firefighters attempt to set the record straight about how they view Giuliani and his leadership on that tragic day.
“This image of Rudy Giuliani as 'America's Mayor' is a myth,” says President of Uniformed Firefighters Union, Steve Cassidy in the DVD.
The video raises many questions about the former mayor, including why firefighters used obsolete radios on September 11th that may have added to the death toll, why the search for human remains was suddenly stopped after a lost shipment of bank gold was recovered and why the emergency management bunker was on the edge of ground zero. |
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_192162447.html |
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Me#1You#10
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Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | “We have the remains of dead heroes at the garbage dump because of Giuliani and his administration and they’re still there today and they won’t remove them,” claims FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches on the DVD, which was released to CBS 2 HD before its public debut. |
With all due respect to Chief Riches for his public service and to ALL the firefighters who might, regretfully, support this blatantly politically motivated smear of Giuliani by their union bosses, they have not only crossed, but VAULTED the line into political demagoguery...and it isn't pretty.
The media is representing this as the "swiftboating" of Giuliani. Here's a clue for them. Demagoguery isn't TRUTH...something the Swiftees had...IN SPADES.
IMHO, Giuliani will weather this nonsense in a NY minute. While he's not on the top of my favorites list, this shameful performance by the union representing the firefighters sullies, instead, the noble public image of all NYC firefighters in the rank and file...and I'm sorry to see it. |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
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Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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The IAFF isn't about the firefighters any more, though in big union towns, the firefighters will vote the union ticket.
The IAFF endorsed Kerry in the last election, despite the enormous support for President Bush among its members.
But, even that betrayal didn't rouse the members for long - so I doubt that the trashing of Giuliani is going to be the last straw that's necessary to get the rank and file to trash their union and coalesce into a new union - one that truly represents their interests AND their idealogies.
Firefighters are traditionally conservative, pro-life & pro-defense - but they're not terribly political animals and a lot of them really do follow the union recommendations - because they trust their union to look out for them, just like it has always done for their fathers and grandfathers!
I doubt they'd rally hard behind Giuliani (a pro-abort) but they'd choose him over a liberal Democrat in a heartbeat.
The IAFF has consistently supported liberal Democrats for years, now - never in line with the rank and file - so when the IAFF does something, please remember that it really has nothing to do with firefighters any more. It's all just big union business.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
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Me#1You#10
Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2004
Posts: 6503
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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My bet is this is the voice for the majority of NY's Bravest...
| Quote: | 07-11-2007
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PARTISAN POLITICS
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. In 2008, I expect these same union bosses to endorse Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards, so today’s comments are just a first step in that process. Fortunately, rank and file firefighters know the difference between politics and leadership.”
– Lee Ielpi, Ladder 2, Retired FDNY
Join Rudy2008 |
...and if that ain't enough, take a look at the following if your stomach is strong enough...
| Quote: | Schaitberger At Kerry Endorsement Press Conference: “[T]he Bush Administration Has Thrust Our Nation Into The Worst Economic Crisis Since The Great Depression”
(IAFF, “Fire Fighters Endorse Kerry for President,” Press Release, 9/24/03)
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
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Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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I remember that. The pompous, lying windbag. 
With a name like Schaitberger, you can just imagine what his membership was calling him! LOL!
If you have any questions about the type of esteem in which IAFF leadership is held after their egregious endorsement of Kerry, (on flimsy, chickenspit grounds) just check out the guestbook at www.firefightersforbush.com  Firefighters aren't real political, but they do know chickenspit when they smell it.
We had some FF4B leaders as members here on this board, at one time.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:51 pm Post subject: |
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Taranto does his usual on this in today's "Best of the Web":
| Quote: | Keep on Truckin'
If John Kerry got "swift boated," Rudy Giuliani may be getting "ladder trucked." ABC News reports:
The nation's largest firefighters union is set to launch a video on Wednesday that seeks to tarnish former mayor Rudolph Giuliani's reputation as a strong leader before and after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The 13-minute video--set for distribution to firefighters and the general public courtesy of the International Association of Fire Fighters--uses interviews with New York City firefighters and families of 9/11 victims to argue that Giuliani has exaggerated his record as mayor.
"He's running on his 9/11 leadership and it was lacking--and there was none," Jim Riches, a deputy chief in the New York Fire Department and a father of one of the 9/11 victims, says on the video, according to a transcript obtained by ABC News. "I blame Giuliani. He was the leader that day. And he was the leader for the eight years leading up to that."
Here are the video and the union's site, Rudy-UrbanLegend.com. The video makes three claims: that Giuliani's administration took too long to replace bad Fire Department radios after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and replaced them with other bad radios; that the mayor erred in locating the city's command center at 7 World Trade Center rather than a lower-profile location; and that he was in too much of a hurry to conclude the Ground Zero cleanup without exhaustively searching for the remains of fallen firemen.
The last complaint has the greatest emotional resonance, but as the video acknowledges, Giuliani quickly backed down and allowed the search to continue. Putting the command center at the WTC seems a foolish decision, but it's hard to see how it reflects a lack of leadership. As for the radios, the firemen appear to have a strong case that the Giuliani administration was tragically inattentive, but this seems a case of 20/20 hindsight. We don't recall the Democratic mayoral candidates in 1993 or 1997 making an issue of FDNY radios either.
The comparison to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's efforts against John Kerry are obvious: In both cases, groups not affiliated with an opposing campaign are going after the candidate on his supposed strong suit. But for several reasons, we suspect the firemen will not be as effective as the swift boaters.
In Kerry's case, it was the word of one group of men who served with him against that of another group: those who thought he was a hero vs. those who thought he was a goat. To a truly neutral observer, the existence of the latter group was enough to neutralize the former. Because Giuliani's 9/11 leadership was quite public, the same observer has a much richer context in which to evaluate the firemen's claims.
Those complaints cut both ways, too. Giuliani's reputation is that of a tough leader. A New York mayor who didn't incur the wrath of public-sector unions would be more vulnerable to the charge of weakness. By contrast, Kerry and his backers could not denounce the Swift Boat Veterans as liars without undermining the rationale for Kerry's campaign, namely that merely being a veteran was an assurance of good character.
Another difference is that the firemen's attack is coming a year earlier in the election cycle than the Swift Boat Veterans' did. That means that if Giuliani is the nominee a year from now, this will all be old news. And unlike Kerry, Giuliani is responding swiftly. His campaign issued a press release yesterday calling the union the "International Association of Partisan Politics."
As we argued in 2005, Kerry--who, by the way, served in Vietnam--was lulled into complacency by friendly journalists, who he thought could keep the lid on any questions about his Vietnam service and other activities. There's no chance of that happening to Giuliani. |
Normally there would be an asterisk on Kerry referencing a pithy comment. Taranto must be out of practice.
_________________
"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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