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| Home Front: Politix |
| Dowd: Rudy Roughs Up Arabs |
| 2007-10-17 |
| Now comes “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week.” David Horowitz’s conservative Freedom Center has designated next week the time to “break through the barrier of politically correct doublespeak that prevails on American campuses, if you want to help our brave troops, who are fighting the Islamo-Fascists abroad.” The Freedom Center’s terrorism awareness program is urging college students to stage sit-ins outside the offices of women’s studies departments to protest “the silence of feminists over the oppression of women in Islam” and to distribute pamphlets on Islamo-Fascism. Their titles include “The Islamic Mein Kampf,” “Why Israel is the Victim” and “Jimmy Carter’s War Against the Jews.” Even before Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week, the Republican presidential candidates were pitching in yesterday at the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory 2008 Forum here. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about the Democratic debates,” Rudy Giuliani said, “but they never use the word ‘Islamic terrorist.’ Ever.” “They have a very hard time getting those words out of their mouth,” he continued, to the delight of his listeners. “I think it’s quite clear to me now, having listened to seven or eight of their debates, that they think it’s politically incorrect to say the words. I don’t know exactly who they think they’re offending. I don’t know what kind of view of the world they have. I understand when I say ‘Islamic terrorism,’ I’m not offending all of Islam. I’m not offending all of the Arab world. I’m offending exactly who I want to offend and making it clear to them that we stand against them.” As the phlegmatic Fred Thompson plummeted in the polls and made a lackluster appearance at the forum, a juiced Mr. Giuliani preened in front of an audience that loved him. He went through his greatest hits: The time he yanked Yasir Arafat out of Lincoln Center during a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth. “The thing that really bothered me was, he didn’t have a ticket,” Rudy recalled. “He was a freeloader!” The time he tossed back a $10 million check for 9/11 families from the Saudi prince who urged America to “adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.” “You know, Israel’s not perfect, and America’s not perfect, but we’re not terrorist states,” he said. There has been much discussion about liberal Rudy stances on guns, gays, abortion, divorce and comic cross-dressing that are well-suited to Manhattan but not to G.O.P. primary voters. But there’s also his bearhug with Israel, so hearty that even W.’s embrace seems tepid in comparison. But Rudy seems out of the Republican mainstream on even giving lip-service to Palestinian aspirations. He has no patience for buttering up the Arabs, or the Republican men’s club attitude represented by Saudi-loving Bush senior and James Baker that has always favored a more “even-handed” policy in the Middle East. Mr. Baker once reportedly justified the tough policy of the Bush 41 administration toward Israel with the notorious comment to a colleague: “[Expletive] the Jews. They didn’t vote for us anyway.” W. blew off the Baker-Hamilton panel suggestions on Iraq that urged the administration to aggressively referee the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, to begin negotiations with Iran and Syria and called for Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria. Imagine what Rudy would do. Even though he has been closer to Israel than his dad, at least W. held the Saudi crown prince’s hand in Crawford. (Bush senior and Dick Cheney were very tight with Saudi Prince Bandar. At a party at the vice president’s mansion once, I watched Bandar greet waiters like old friends.) Rudy would probably only take the hand of an Arab leader to throw him down a ravine, or a wadi. “We need to isolate the terror-funding theocrats in every way possible,” he told the Jewish hawks, during a rant on Iran. “And we must end direct and indirect investment until they change their course.” Rudy lambasted Hillary and Obama for their “strong Democratic desire to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate and negotiate,” and suggested again that he would be tougher on Iran than Hillary, and would never let it get a nuclear weapon. Last night, when he and Judi were interviewed by Fox’s Sean Hannity, Rudy ratcheted it up, saying that Hillary’s “ambiguity” and “shifting of position” on Iran was “a dangerous tendency, I think, in somebody that aspires to take on a position where you have got to be pretty darn decisive.” He also bored in where Obama has been skittish about going: her experience. “Honestly, in most respects, I don’t know Hillary’s experience. She’s never run a city. She’s never run a state. She’s never run a business. She has never met a payroll. She has never been responsible for the safety and security of millions of people, much less even hundreds of people.” He assured everyone he’d learned how to put his cellphone on vibrate. But he left himself at full volume. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #7 Welcome to Rudy's world, guys. I've been pushing Rudy for years because he is first, right, and in your face. He treats American voters like people, and illegals and enemies and phalking liberals like phalking illegal enemies. Rudy's world is black and white. A few months ago Rudy was quoted as saying that illegal aliens have not committed a crime. Apparently, it is not a crime to cross the border. It's that simple. Using someone else's SS # ? A crime. Driving without a license ? A crime. Using a false identity ? A crime. But walking around Arizona looking for a drink of water is acceptable. Just go home before dark. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2007-10-17 19:01 |
| #6 I understand when I say ‘Islamic terrorism,’ I’m not offending all of Islam. I’m not offending all of the Arab world. I’m offending exactly who I want to offend and making it clear to them that we stand against them.” Rudy, I think you are pissing them all off. You piss one off and you piss them all off. They are always pissed off. that's their nature. Don't worry about it. It's O.K. Screw P.C. It is one of the worst things to plague the West. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-10-17 18:42 |
| #5 “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about the Democratic debates,” Rudy Giuliani said, “but they never use the word ‘Islamic terrorist.’ Ever.” KAPOW! Right in the chops. Good shot, Rudy. Our political elite's abject refusal to name the enemy is nothing but betrayal and treason of the American people. The Freedom Center’s terrorism awareness program is urging college students to stage sit-ins outside the offices of women’s studies departments to protest “the silence of feminists over the oppression of women in Islam” and to distribute pamphlets on Islamo-Fascism. Their titles include “The Islamic Mein Kampf,” “Why Israel is the Victim” and “Jimmy Carter’s War Against the Jews.” One stirred hornet's nest, coming right up! Fit hits shan, tape at 11:00. I understand when I say ‘Islamic terrorism,’ I’m not offending all of Islam. I’m not offending all of the Arab world. Wrongo, Rudy old boy. You are "offending all of the Arab world" and they desperately need it. Those who are not offended are not "true" Muslims. No actual Muslim would countenance their jihadist struggle being called "terrorism". The simple fact remains that Islam is terrorism and terrorism is Islam. Period. “We need to isolate the terror-funding theocrats in every way possible,” he told the Jewish hawks, during a rant on Iran. “And we must end direct and indirect investment until they change their course.” WOW! An American politician actually said that? Actually identified Islamic theocracy as the vile bullshit it truly is? That one stance alone cancels out a huge number of other character flaws right then and there. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-10-17 15:10 |
| #4 But Rudy seems out of the Republican mainstream on even giving lip-service to Palestinian aspirations. He has no patience for buttering up the Arabs, or the Republican men’s club attitude represented by Saudi-loving Bush senior and James Baker that has always favored a more “even-handed” policy in the Middle East. Even though he has been closer to Israel than his dad, at least W. held the Saudi crown prince’s hand in Crawford...Rudy would probably only take the hand of an Arab leader to throw him down a ravine, or a wadi. Actually, if I was running the Rudy campaign, I'd print up flyers and post quotations from this screed on the official website. |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2007-10-17 14:43 |
| #3 Back before TimesSelect put MoDo behind a firewall where she belongs, there was a kerfuffle about MoDo editing quotes to change their meaning, a maneuver that came to be known as "Dowdification." "Best of the Web" had a running item called "Eponymous Dowdification" in which readers Dowdified Dowd. Now that TimesSelect has fallen--alas!--the field is open for Dowd to be dowdified again. Here's my attempt: I donÂ’t know if youÂ’ve noticed this about the Democratic debates, . . . but . . . They . . . want to offend . . . America. I watched . . . Obama . . . put his cellphone on vibrate. |
| Posted by: Mike 2007-10-17 12:15 |
| #2 I wish the headline read: Thompson roughs up Arabs. Not to be. I was reading Jim Geraghty's "Campaign Spot" over at NR. Geraghty was reporting on Thompson's appearance before the same group (Repub. Jewish Coalition). I gleam Thompson was not overly inspiring. Thompson did make mention of the "terror masters" in Damascus and Tehran (very good), but spoke of "friendly Arab states" (huh?). A lady in the audience called him on that point: name some, she asked. Thompson responded by naming Jordan. And then mentioned Saudi Arabia. Thompson advised we have "significant difficulties" with SA (true), the USA and SA are "interdependent" (true), but that SA "is NOT an enemy" (false). I'd like to have seen Thompson at least mention the SA financed spread of Whahabbi ideology and funding of terrorists like AQ. I'm not an advisor to Thompson but I'd like to see the phrase "friendly Abrab states" dropped from his vocabulary. Use the term islamo-fascism more often, provide a program to undermine the spread of Whahabbism and state for the record that on his watch Iran will not be permitted to get a nuke. |
| Posted by: Mark Z 2007-10-17 12:04 |
| #1 Nothing I haven't heard before. Tough weekend, Mo? Decide to mail one in? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-10-17 11:19 |