If you're living in New England, anywhere in N.E., then you've probably heard or seen at least two (dozen) Mitt Romney for President commercials. These ads tout his record as governor, leadership over the '02 Winter Games, and his successful business career at Bain Capital. Now, presidential ads aren't, as a generally rule, "real" (as we say in the streets), nor should they be taken with anything more than a grain of salt. But there is a real golf between Romney's actual record and what he's been slapping on his resume through these ads.
In particular is his new ad decrying "sanctuary cities" for illegal immigrants. In these ads, Romney takes a stab at Giulliani by suggesting that he harbored illegal immigrants by not working diligently at arresting them. He calls the Big Apple a "sanctuary city", along with Newark and San Fransisco; not exactly the best of company mayors from across the land would like to be associated with, especially regarding illegal immigration. The radio ad further embellishes Romney's success at brokering a deal with federal authorities to allow for the MA state police to arrest anyone residing in the state - and thus the country - illegally, and prepare these individuals for deportation.
Here's the gulf: That deal was brokered not in 2003 (when Romney was sworn in), 2004, or 2005, but in 2006, and not even in the first eleven months of that year! It was literally finalized nine months ago, exactly one month before he was due to step down and hand over the Corner Office to a Democrat whom he knew full well would rescind the order. Other than that, Romney has done absolutely nothing close to substantial to "combat" illegal immigration.
Like his stance on abortion, he has simply flipped the flop over to the conservative side for better appeal. It's cool, because that's what primaries are all about. Promise the base the world, but deliver them Burma. But Romney must understand that he's playing with fire while his hands are drenched in lighter fluid. Giulliani isn't exactly Joe Lawless. He's the man that cleaned up New York City (in every major respect), made Manhattan the coolest place in America, and overcame multiple divorces while still serving in government (just try overcoming one, I dare you).
4 comments:
interesting thought. i don't live in new england, so i take your word for it.
one thing i should question: giuliani didn't really clean up nyc "in every respect." there were a variety of factors that contributed to the nyc crime drop. for instance, crime dropped nationally at a similar rate to how it dropped in new york, it just dropped in new york earlier.
to the extent that police tactics can be credited with the clean up, it was Chief William Bratton who instituted most of those.
you should like him, he's from new england.
Thanks, chief! Appreciate your comments, and I'm pretty sure I meant in "several respects", so apologies for that. And I'm cool with Bratton (but not all of his tactics), who's currently in L.A. trying to deal with our version of Baghdad. There are a lot of explanations as to why crime dropped. "Freakonomics" suggests abortion rates, and that doesn't seem so far off. But that Rudy oversaw the rebirth of The City, a place folks from there will you, me, anyone, is completely different from when he came into office, is telling of his drive for good governance.
Look, this article was no endorsement of rudy, as I give myself a 15% chance that I'd support the paizon, but more of a swipe at romney, who I just feel is the embodiment of what's wrong with politics.
First off let me say, I do not support Giuliani one bit. There are plenty of bad things you can say about Giuliani, However, to not give him credit for cleaning up Manhattan is flat wrong. Best example, Times square, 10 to 15 years, ago was filled with prostitutes, drugs, smut, peep shows, Giuliani turned it into disney land. Kicking out the smut and lowlife encouraging businesses and replacing them with legitimate family restaurants and tourist attractions is what cleaned up times square, not police presence. It is the center of the city now. It's not just drop in crimes, its quality of life.
Rudy had his faults, but there is no doubt that he was just what NYC needed after Dinkins and Koch. The most impressive thing I found about him though, was his willingness to stand in front of the press and not backpedal. I can't remember him ever not standing by his actions, right or wrong, successful or unsuccessful. He never asked for a clarification on the word "is" or tried to say the only way to support the NYPD was to not question them. I'm not sure I'll vote for Rudy, but if he does win I hope this part of him does not change.
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