Giuliani Tracker

Rudy, Romney Rumble

A Hillary Clinton operative and intense verbal sparring between Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney made Wednesday night's Republican debate a lively affair.

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Documents Reveal Giuliani's Strange Billing Practice as Mayor

Government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Law show that as New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses accrued during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to a Politico.com report.

Credit card bills and travel documents obtained by Politico detail three summers of visits to Southampton, the Long Island town where Nathan had an apartment.

In late 2001, a city auditor came across $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board, the report said. When the city comptroller's office asked for an explanation, Giuliani's aides refused, citing "security."

The documents reveal that these mayoral expenses had nothing to do with the functions of the city offices that defrayed the tabs, the report said.

The report on Politico said it is impossible to know for sure if the purpose of Giuliani's Hamptons trips was to see Nathan. A Giuliani spokeswoman declined to comment on the story.

--MyFoxNY.com

LINK - POLITICO.COM: GIULIANI BILLED OBSCURE AGENCIES FOR TRIPS

LINK - TRACK NEWS ABOUT GIULIANI'S CAMPAIGN

LINK - MYFOXNY.COM POLITICAL COVERAGE

LINK - NEWSWEEK: GROWING UP GIULIANI

LINK - VILLAGE VOICE: GIULIANI'S FIVE BIG LIES ABOUT 9/11

LINK - TIME: PERSON OF THE YEAR 2001

Newsweek: Giuliani Shaped by a Family of Cops and Hoods

MYFOXNY.COM -- Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed law enforcer from his years as a federal prosecutor who put mobsters behind bars and his two terms as mayor of New York City, which saw a huge decline in violent crimes.

But his career in law enforcement was undoubtedly informed by his childhood in Brooklyn and on Long Island. His connection to a number of police officers -- good and bad -- and his exposure early on to a Catholic culture with a strict moral code are examined in an extended investigative profile in Newsweek.

Four of Giuliani's uncles were police officers, as were four of his cousins. But he also had family members who skirted the line of the law, such as uncle Leo D'Avanzo, a loan shark and a bookie with mob connections. Giuliani's cousin Lewis D'Avanzo did time for armed hijacking and selling stolen cars. And Giuliani's father, Harold Giuliani, was a wannabe boxer who served more than a year behind bars for mugging the milkman, according to a biography. Although Rudy Giuliani has said he knew little of his father's life.

Giuliani's most recent association with a tough but tainted cop is of course Bernard Kerik, who served as both correction commissioner and police commissioner. Kerik, who is under federal indictment on corruption and tax evasion charges, has long denied wrongdoing or any connection to organized crime. Giuliani's relationship with Kerik could cost him on the campaign trail as Rudy tries to present himself in as the presidential candidate who will be tough on terrorism and crime, Newsweek reports.

LINK - NEWSWEEK: GROWING UP GIULIANI

LINK - VILLAGE VOICE: GIULIANI'S FIVE BIG LIES ABOUT 9/11

LINK - TIME: PERSON OF THE YEAR 2001

Giuliani: Promote Benefits of Democracy

AP -- Republican Rudy Giuliani said Monday the reputation of the United States has suffered globally not so much because of arrogant actions but for lack of salesmanship about benefits of democracy.

 

If he is elected president, he said, he would seek ambassadors who would work hard to sell U.S. strengths to foreigners, not just explain those distant nations to Washington.

Giuliani, who is making a late push in the first primary state, also rekindled a dispute with rival Mitt Romney, accusing the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts of presiding over a crime surge while in office.

"I think Mitt kind of runs away from his record as governor," Giuliani said, a day after the two candidates clashed over Romney's appointment of a judge who later freed a convicted killer who now is charged with murdering a pair of newlyweds since his release.

Romney has called for the judge's resignation, and cited statistics showing a decrease in crime in Massachusetts.

He criticized Giuliani later in the day, labeling his opponent too liberal to carry the banner of conservatives.

"I think it's going to be very, very difficult for people to think of Mayor Giuliani representing the Republican Party," Romney told conservative radio host Laura Ingraham. "He's the same as Hillary Clinton on most of those social issues."

Giuliani, who spoke with reporters about the crime issue after a morning speech, had avoided campaigning in New Hampshire, where Romney leads in the polls, but he has mounted a late challenge with advertising, a weekend bus tour and promises of more visits.

One sign of his heightened interest was his appearance at the breakfast: His staff offered his attendance only in the past week, sending organizers scrambling to assemble the crowd and set up the food and meeting room.

On the subject of promoting America abroad, Giuliani spoke of the benefits at a "Politics and Eggs" breakfast sponsored by the New England Council and the New Hampshire Political Library.

"These are beautiful things, almost like gifts given to us by God, the wonderful resources of our country, the great system that our framers created that was ingenious," Giuliani said

He added: `We've got to have a State Department that gets that, that understands that, that we've got a reputation that needs to be defended and protected. We are a country of good motives, of good people, of great accomplishments. We don't want to force 'em on anybody in the world; we'd like to share it with them. That's what diplomacy is about. It's about sharing who we are with others and getting them to understand us better and understand our motives, because we don't have bad motives."

Nonetheless, he conceded problems in the Middle East and the war in Iraq may be partially to blame on the United States, saying, "We didn't know enough about that culture in advance. We assumed things that might come out of our knowledge of Western culture or even other Asian cultures or Asian cultures that we'd become familiar with, like Japan and China."

At another point, he said: "Maybe sometimes we're too short; maybe sometimes we are too arrogant. Everybody has good points and bad points. One of the great things about Americans are we are very productive, we are very logical, we're terrific problem solvers, and sometimes we're too impatient."

He said those problems could be overcome with diplomacy that better understands foreign cultures.

Elsewhere during his hourlong remarks, Giuliani pounded away on the theme of experience, saying his background as a Justice Department office, U.S. attorney and city leader not only gave him the record to support his campaign promises, but also the traits to enact them.

In particular, he cited his tax-cutting record, which he said stands either at 23 cuts or 15, the latter if you consider only ones that he proposed to the City Council.

"I'm ahead of any Republican candidate for president either 23-0 or 15-0. That's almost a Patriots score," the mayor said, alluding to New England's undefeated football team.

Giuliani also picked up the endorsement of Jim Rappaport, a former chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party. He and Romney have been at odds since 2002, when Romney supported his hand-picked running mate -- Kerry Healey -- over Rappaport in a campaign for lieutenant governor.

Rappaport ended up paying a $60,000 fine, the largest in state history, for failing to report a portion of the $3 million in personal funds he spent on the race. He said the payment was less expensive than ongoing lawyers' fees.

Giuliani Keeps Up Spat With Romney

The back-and-forth backbiting between Republican presidential rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney spilled over into Sunday as Giuliani contended that the former Massachusetts governor has fumbled on health care and economic matters.

 

Asked by a diner patron about Romney's health care program while governor, Giuliani said Romney "made a mistake" by mandating coverage for all Massachusetts residents. "When you mandate it, it ends up costing you much more money," said Giuliani, a former New York mayor.

"He sort of did Hillary's plan in Massachusetts," Giuliani said during the second day of a bus tour of New Hampshire.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner for president, pushed for universal health coverage in the mid-1990s when she was first lady.

Romney's Massachusetts program denies a tax credit, worth about $200, to residents who fail to obtain health insurance, which the state subsidizes for lower-income families. Romney defends the program, saying such incentives nudge more people into getting insurance, which benefits individuals and society in general.

The customer at Suzie's Diner, who identified himself as a bus driver and former Massachusetts resident, made clear that he did not like Romney's record and gave Giuliani an opening to take on his rival. Giuliani, who trails Romney in polls in New Hampshire as the Jan. 8 primary approaches, obliged before a crush of news cameras. Romney, he said, "had one of the weaker records of any governor on economics."

Romney, also campaigning in New Hampshire, says he had a strong economic record, leaving Massachusetts with a hefty "rainy day fund." His spokesman Kevin Madden said Sunday that Romney left a legacy "of tax relief, balanced budgets and job creation."

Giuliani fielded a more hostile question at the diner from Roger Latulippe, a Democrat who said he did not expect to run into a GOP candidate during his breakfast. Latulippe, 67, called for an end to the Iraq war, saying young Americans are dying for an insufficient cause.

"I disagree with you," Giuliani said calmly. "I think it would be a very big mistake to pull them out while the general there thinks they can still be successful."

The two candidates had gone at it on Saturday, too. Each tried to characterize the other as a wasteful spender while claiming himself a champion of fiscal restraint.

Giuliani Attends NASCAR

As pit crews made last-minute inspections to their cars Sunday at NASCAR's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani stressed the need for America to break its dependence on foreign oil.

 

Giuliani likened the pursuit of energy independence and the development of alternative energy sources to the race to put a man on the moon several decades ago.

"Now it's a matter truly of national security," Giuliani said. "We have to pursue all of those alternatives that exist."

In the meantime, Giuliani said, the U.S. needs to focus on domestic sources of oil, as well as oil from friendly countries like Mexico and Canada. He said conservation also will have to play a role.

Giuliani attended the season-ending race with his wife, Judith.

"This is our third one this year, so now I feel like I really am a fan," Giuliani said to a tent full of drivers and their crews. "It really represents the very best of America. You should be very proud of where you've taken it and where it's going to go."

Just before the race, Giuliani and his wife took a lap around the track in the official pace truck.

"I've ridden in the car twice at the beginning, and now Judith is going to ride with me," Giuliani said.

Asked whether he was going to cheer for Jeff Gordon or Jimmy Johnson in the race, Giuliani said: "I'm going to pull for both of them. They're both good guys. May the better man win."

Romney Assails Giuliani on Immigration

AP --

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is partly responsible for the vast number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. today.

 

As mayor of the nation's most populous city for eight years, Giuliani created an environment that lured illegal workers by sheltering them from legal risk, Romney said.

"He welcomed illegal aliens to the city," Romney told reporters after appearing before about 200 supporters at a hotel. "That sanctuary state of mind is one of the reasons we have so many illegal immigrants in our country today."

Giuliani's campaign didn't directly respond to the criticism, saying that the former Massachusetts governor is trying to radically recast his record on immigration.

"Under Gov. Mitt Romney the number of illegal immigrants skyrocketed, while he recommended millions of dollars in state aid to numerous sanctuary cities and to companies employing illegal immigrants, not to mention the illegals working on his own lawn," Giuliani spokeswoman Maria Comella said in a statement.

Romney has been raising illegal immigration in campaign appearances and advertisements to draw distinctions between himself and other GOP contenders. The issue is particularly salient in Iowa's conservative western region, given the influx of immigrants coming to work in fields and factories.

In his remarks to supporters, Romney said the nation values legal immigration but must stop programs that reward or entice illegal workers to enter the U.S. For example, he said, it was a mistake to grant driver's licenses to illegal workers, a day after Gov. Eliot Spitzer backed away from a plan to do that in New York.

Romney has also proposed bolstering border fence patrols and imposing tax penalties on employers who hire illegal aliens after creation of an employment eligibility card.

On other issues, Romney didn't answer directly when asked if he would consider it bigotry if someone refused to vote for him because of his Mormon faith.

"I respectfully acknowledge the rights of people to choose presidents any way they want to," Romney said.

Many voters, he said, "respect the fact that I'm a person of faith."

Giuliani Assures Group on Conservatism

AP -- Rudy Giuliani assured a conservative legal group Friday that if elected president he would appoint federal judges who adhere to their principles. He also praised a judge who declared the capital city's gun ban unconstitutional and ridiculed efforts to eliminate the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Federalist Society, Giuliani spelled out a conservative legal agenda in which he cited Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts as models for the judges he would appoint to the federal bench.

He contended that Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards, as president, would select judges who were "activists and try to legislate social policy."

"We're seeking to find judges who understand the very, very important concept that judges exist to interpret the law, not to invent the law," he said.

Giuliani has been held suspect by some conservatives because as mayor of New York he backed some gun control laws and has supported a woman's right to abortion. He has sought to alleviate those concerns, aligning himself with legal conservatives such as former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who introduced him at Friday's gathering.

Giuliani was the only presidential candidate to speak to the group, a testament to his close ties to Olson and other prominent members of the organization. Several of them are advising his campaign and have served as a bulwark for Giuliani against criticism from social conservatives.

He also said that as president he would demand that the Senate change its rules for confirming federal judges, decrying the filibusters that blocked some of President Bush's appointees and the atmosphere at nominating hearings dating back to the failed nomination of Robert Bork.

He argued that nominees should be judged on their qualifications, honesty and integrity, not their judicial philosophy. He said such a standard should apply whether the president is a Republican, nominating conservative judges, or a Democrat nominating liberal judges.

Giuliani did not mention his Republican rivals, but did make a joke at Clinton's expense. He suggested she be inducted into the Federalist Society because in addressing a question about driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, Clinton at one point indicated that it was a decision best left to the states.

"This is the only time in her career that she has decided anything should be decided on a state-by-state basis," he said to an audience that strongly advocates states' rights. "And you know something, she picked out absolutely the wrong one."

Giuliani portrayed the United States in Reaganesque terms -- an optimistic vision of a country with a preordained mission.

"There are some people I think nowadays that doubt that America has a special, even a divinely inspired role in the world," he said. "Now I don't understand how you can look at history and not see the wisdom of that and the reality of it."

He said that from its beginnings, the United States fought tyranny and oppression and would do so again.

"It was this nation that saved the world from the two great tyrannies of the 20th century, Nazism and Communism," he said. "It's this country that's going to save civilization from Islamic terrorism."

While Giuliani was the only candidate to speak at the Federalist meeting, Fred Thompson's supporters distributed fliers advertising an afternoon reception sponsored by "Lawyers for Fred" at a Washington law office. Two of the founders of the Federalist Society, Spencer Abraham and David McIntosh, are Thompson supporters.

Poll: Clinton, Giuliani Strong with Connecticut Voters

MyFoxNY.com -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Democratic candidate for  president, enjoys strong support among Connecticut voters but faces a tough battle against former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to an  exclusive FOX TV / Rasmussen Reports poll.

The poll indicates that Clinton would beat some major Republican candidates by wide margins. Clinton would top former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson 52 percent to 34 percent. Against Arizona Sen. John McCain, the former First Lady would win 47 percent to 39 percent. And when matched up with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Clinton would garner 53 percent of the vote in Connecticut versus Romney's 34 percent.

                                    

But should Clinton face Giuliani in the general election, the outcome could go either way. She polls 46 percent to Giuliani's 43 percent, which is within the margin of error and is therefore a statistical tie.

Connecticut voters also indicated that they prefer Clinton over their own state's Democratic candidate, Sen. Christopher Dodd. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said Dodd should get out of the race now.

The poll also showed that Connecticut voters are unhappy with President Bush, but largely support their own governor even though she is also a Republican: 58 percent of voters rated President Bush's performance as "poor." Gov. Jodi Rell, however, remains popular: 37 percent rated her performance as "good" and 27 percent rated her "excellent."

For complete coverage of the 2008 Presidential race, see the MyFoxNY.com You Decide page.

To read political blogs or to start one of your own, see the MyFoxNY.com Political Blogs page.

To follow news about Hillary Clinton's campaign, see the MyFoxNY.com Clinton Tracker.

To follow news about Rudy Giuliani's campaign, see the MyFoxNY.com Giuliani Tracker.

FOX TV / RASMUSSEN REPORTS
  Survey of 500 likely voters in Connecticut

1. How do you rate the way that George W. Bush is  performing his role as President? Excellent, good, fair, or poor?

13%  Excellent
   15% Good
   14% Fair
   58% Poor
   1% Not Sure

2. How do you rate the way that Jodi Rell is performing her role as Governor? Excellent, good, fair,  or poor?
   
   27%  Excellent
   37% Good
   24% Fair
   10% Poor
   2% Not Sure

3. 2008 Presidential General Election Match-Ups

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Clinton	46%	Clinton	52%	Clinton	47%	Clinton	53%
Giuliani	43%	Thompson	34%	McCain	39%	Romney	34%
Other	9%	Other	11%	Other	9%	Other	10%
Not sure	2%	Not sure	2%	Not sure	4%	Not sure	3%

4. Favorables  for Presidential Candidates

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

	Clinton	Thompson	Giuliani	Romney	McCain
Very    Favorable	23%	8%	25%	13%	17%
Somewhat    Favorable	30%	39%	32%	29%	36%
Somewhat    Unfavorable	15%	29%	23%	29%	25%
Very    Unfavorable	30%	13%	16%	18%	15%
Not    sure	2%	11%	4%	11%	7%

5. If Chris  Dodd received the Democratic nomination for President would you definitely vote  for him, definitely vote against him or would it depend upon whom he is running  against?

23% Definitely vote for him
   29% Definitely vote against him
   43% Depends upon whom he is running against
   5% Not sure

6. Should  Senator Dodd stay in the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination or get  out now?

31% He should stay in the race
   51% He should get out now
   18% Not sure

7. Is  Global Warming caused primarily by human activity or by long term planetary  trends?

49% Caused primarily by human activity
   36% Caused by long term planetary trends
   4% Some other reason
   11% Not sure

8. Is the  state of Connecticut doing too much or too little to combat global warming?

9% Too much
   58% Too little
   18% About enough
   15% Not sure

9. On  another topic in the news, how important is it for the state of Connecticut to  overhaul its parole system?

57% Very important
   27% Somewhat important
   8% Not very  important
   1% Not at all  important
   8% Not sure

10. If a  Connecticut police officer pulls someone over for a traffic violation, should  the officer automatically check to see if that person is in the country  legally?

61% Yes
   29% No
   10% Not sure

11. If an  officer finds that a person pulled over for a traffic violation is an illegal  immigrant, should that person be deported?

48% Yes
   30% No
   22% Not sure

12. If police officers are required to check the  immigration status of every person they pull over, does that create the temptation to  discriminate against people based on their name, their accent and the color of  their skin?

35% Yes
   51% No
   14% Not sure

13. Should  undocumented immigrants be allowed to get drivers' licenses?

20% Yes
   69% No
   10% Not sure

14. Which  Democratic Presidential candidate is most likely to win the White House if  nominated?

43% Hillary Clinton
   17% Barack Obama
   12% John Edwards
   28% Not sure

15. Which  Republican Presidential candidate is most likely to win the White House if  nominated?

43% Rudy Giuliani
   13% Mitt Romney
   7% Fred Thompson
   11% John McCain
   27% Not sure

NOTE: Margin  of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.

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Giuliani Accuses Clinton of Waffling on Iraq, Immigration

Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani brought his campaign to Colorado on Saturday, accusing Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton of waffling on Iraq and illegal immigration.

 

Protesters repeatedly interrupted his appearance at a coffee shop in Loveland, about 40 miles north of Denver. They claimed he knew in advance of the Sept. 11 attacks when he was mayor of New York.

Police led one protester away and the crowd of about 200 repeatedly shouted the others down.

Giuliani said Clinton's answer to key policy questions is "Maybe yes, maybe no, let me check a poll, let me check another poll."

"I think the American people are going to want steadiness, they're going to want focus, they're going to want someone who has handled a crisis," he said.

"Colorado needs the kind of president that America needs, one who's going to be on offense on the war on terror, one that's going to be realistic in facing Islamic terrorists and one that's going to lower taxes, not like the Democrats, and not an American president that's going to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants," he said.

Isaac Baker, a spokesman for Clinton's campaign, responded that voters want a president who will bring change and end the war in Iraq, "not merely continue George Bush's failed policies as Mayor Giuliani promises."

Of the protesters, Giuliani said conspiracy theorists still believe he allowed the terrorist attacks to proceed.

"They have all these theories about somehow America caused Sept. 11. It's not true, but you're not going to convince them it's not true," Giuliani said.

Giuliani also apologized again for not doing a better job of vetting his former police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, before backing him for a position in President Bush's Cabinet heading the Homeland Security Department.

A wide-ranging indictment accused him "selling his office" and lying to cover up the scheme. Kerik pleaded not guilty Friday.

"I made a mistake. I apologized for the mistake," Giuliani said.

He asked voters to look at his record as a whole rather than focus on the Kerik case.

"Look at my entire record about how I turned around New York City. ... I must have made some right decisions to take a city that was the crime capital of America and turn it into one of the safest cities in the United States, " he said.

Randy Fellure, a Loveland businessman who attended Saturday's event, said he backs Giuliani because he would "take on the tough guys" in a dangerous world.

"I don't think the other Republicans or the Democrats have what it takes," he said.