Rudy Gets the MSM's Attack Dogs Rolling

Photo of Warner Todd Huston.

As has been well detailed here at Newsbusters, Mitt Romney has recently been the object of the MSMs attack dogs (see here, here, here... and many others.). But it seems that, with the recent polls showing it is Rudy Giuliani, rather than Mitt, who leads in the polls, the MSM attack dogs have turned their attention to the nation's Mayor.

For just two recent examples over the last week or so, the MSM has jumped on Rudy's perhaps strained relationship with his children, and scolded Rudy for not facing the tough crowds they think he should face so early in his campaign. And the attack articles are mounting.

Apparently it isn't enough to just go after Rudy, though. Now the Boston Herald is going after his bigoted and obviously stupid potential Conservative voters -- stupid at least as far as the Herald is concerned.

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

Three marriages is hardly the end of his political troubles. As Giuliani woos conservative Republicans in search of his party’s presidential nomination, he will have to deal with his pro-choice position on abortion, his cheerleading for gun control, his amenability to gay marriage and a soft stance on illegal immigration. And don’t forget Marilyn Monroe.

According to the Boston Herald, Conservative voters will be too stupid to understand that Rudy was just goofing around when he did a turn as Marilyn Monroe at a satiric stage show put on by journalists in 1997.

Of course, to put the real and substantive issues of abortion and gay "marriage" together with dressing up as a woman for a joke, reveals more about how the Boston Herald feels about the issues than it does about how any Conservative voters would feel about Rudy. But it is the Herald's focus on the voters that is the most egregious insult in this piece.

With a wonderful example of an inability to understand politics, the Herald went on to contrast the famous "tank shot" of Michael Dukakis, the single photo that caused the Dukakis campaign to become the butt of jokes for decades now, to Rudy's funnin' as a woman in a funny stage show as if they were somehow one and the same.

Marilyn Monroe? Well, yes. Giuliani dressed up like Marilyn for a satire put on by journalists in 1997. You can bet that photos and maybe videos of the skit will be all over the Internet at some point - I found a couple of photos in about five minutes - and you can bet it will do him no good. Remember Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis being photographed wearing an Army helmet in 1988 - just a helmet, not a blond wig, lipstick, mascara and a dress - and what that did to his campaign?

The Herald doesn't get it at all. Dukakis wasn't putting on the tank commander's helmet to be funny. He was trying to be serious. The juxtaposition of a candidate that wanted to gut the military and was otherwise soft on defense to the same one riding around in a tank as if he was serious about defense is what caused him to be ridiculed, NOT the funny hat!

On the other hand, Rudy wasn't pretending to be something he is not. He was just being funny -- even if it was misguided. Certainly it might seem a tad less dignified for a serious politician like Rudy to dress like a woman, even for a silly stage show, but it WAS just a silly stage show! He was not trying to be serious like Dukakis was.

Rudy was NOT pretending to be a woman, he was just making a joke. By contrast Dukakis made a serious issue into a joke.

The inability of the Herald to understand past political campaigns aside, the fact is writer Jay Ambrose obviously feels that the Conservative voting public is too stupid to see Rudy's silly stage show as anything other than a silly stage show. Ambrose seems convinced that all Conservatives will see photos of Rudy's clowning around and will assume he is some kind of whacked out transvestite.

According to the Herald, Conservatives just cannot separate clowning around from Rudy's seriousness as a viable candidate.

I guess we are all jess too stoopit ta git it, Boston Herald. Good thing you're there to help us dummies along.

As to Rudy, I can imagine the MSM are worried. They are attacking him more and more as each day passes. They must fear he could actually win.


Comments Policy

All comments are owned by whoever posted them and are subject to our terms of use. They should not be assumed to represent the views of NewsBusters.

Viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

I guess we are all jess too

I guess we are all jess too stoopit ta git it, Boston Herald. Good thing you're there to help us dummies along.

mabey Rudee shood jess be like John Carry and say it was a "botched joke"

What's so "misguided&q

What's so "misguided" about dressing in drag in NYC? I'd say this guy has far bigger problems. And it's an issue when presidential candidates (and presidents) of either "major" party never seem to face tough crowds (or questions, for that matter) IMO. If Dr. Paul had any problems in his marriage (1, apparently happy too, since '68) or with his various kids and grandkids, or with his military service, or with his (risky!) OBGYN medical practice, I'd expect any & all of that to get tossed in my face. It hasn't-been so far... You Rudy-fans (and I include the fawning, antilibertarian media in this admonition) are IMO gonna have to learn to deal with it. It's gonna be a LOOOONG, biased campaign, and I'm having plenty of fun so-far covering it from the sarcasmo perspective, so I'm unlikely to quit soon...
JMR

The Herald doesn't get it a

The Herald doesn't get it at all. Dukakis wasn't putting on the tank commander's helmet to be funny. He was trying to be serious.

Oh, I'm sure the Herald gets it alright (all left).

But they are now officially in the "tank" themselves, like the rest of BIG MEDIA, for the Democrat party. Let's hope it's the Dukakis tank.

Buy hey, at least Rudy's nailed the tranny vote.

The answer is socialism. But only if the question is:

"What's the fastest way to impoverish, enslave and destroy people?"

forgive an off-topic

Hey; regarding the stunted oaf, Michael Dukakis--

He was also taped touring a vast warehouse of some kind; sitting at the shotgun side of a big forklift wearing a construction hard hat. They were tooling along with that important anchorman, Tom Brokejaw riding at rear of old Mike. But hopeless narcissist that he is, Tom would not sit still behind the Democrat candidate; he leaned out and off-- the starboard side of the machine, in order to have his handsome mug in the picture. I never saw anything SO pathetic! An inch away from bailing out of the back seat! Vanity of vanities! How many LOSERS now, has the lamestream media backed for nothing--? ? ?

On Rudy

The good news is that Rudy hates the media just as much as they hate him, so there will be no attempts on either side to be nice. 

"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???."  - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)

Obama and Hillary get press

Obama and Hillary get press coverage (even with big big pictures) and thousands of words of praise and Mitt and Rudy get treated like a couple breaking up.

Argh the inhumanity.

These idiots in the MSM think

These idiots in the MSM think conservatives are on the same IQ scale as the moron libs who read or view what these leftoid proganda machines spew. Conservatives think, Liberals feel.

All this stuff about Rudy in a dress in which he was raising money for charity, tells me he is a man who is comfortable in his own skin. Unlike the majority of today's politicians.

Rudy and the Media

I wouldn't worry too much about this.  One of Rudy's strengths is his ability to fight the media.  I was living in NYC during his tenure, and he was constantly battling the media on everything he tried to do.  Unlike the other Republican front-runners, Rudy is battle-tested with the media.

You better believe the media is scared to death of him.  Rudy will force the Democrats to fight for New York (and probably my home state of NJ too).  Even if he can't win New York, he will force the Democrats to expend resources to defend it.

If you're not outraged at the media, you haven't been paying attention.

I don't understand the notion

I don't understand the notion that a candidate is supposed to campaign in front of "tough crowds". Since when? I thought candidates were supposed to campaign in front of potential supporters. The MSM's well of criticisms must be running a little low. It's time for them to replenish.

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

- Arabian Proverb

The MSM Will Do Anything To Get Rid Of Giuliani

It's nice that this gossip rag would rather just "rag" on Guiliani than discuss why it is exactly that he's ahead of everyone (Republican and Democrat) in the polls. Guiliani appeals to different groups of people notably conservatives, moderates, and independents. While his liberal social stances are a tough sell for conservatives, does anyone here think that conservatives aren't examining McCain and Romney just as critically? At least Guiliani showed up for the CPAC powwow while McCain skipped it. I wonder why.

I love how this news rag implies that conservatives are just too "stupid" to understand Guiliani's history. Yeah, he has baggage just like all the other candidates. We, as conservatives, are examining our choices right now, and it appears that right now that choice is Guiliani. Will he end up the Republican presidential nominee? I hope so. He's our best chance because he attracts more people from different segments of the population. I'd rather trust him in a crisis than Shrillary that's for sure.

I guess we'll have to wait and see....

The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer.  Air Force Motto

emjem says: When your brain's stuck on liberalism it self-destructs.

Rudy and the MSM

"not facing the tough crowds" ?????

Hillary's crowds are as staged and as contrived as humanly possibly.  The MSM has nary a complaint.  I would LOVE to see her in front of a tough crowd.  When someone asked her why her website didn't mention her speech at the gay rights advocacy group her off-the-cuff response was "Ask my campaign."  Who is in charge?  Is that how she will handle questions in her administration?  "I don't know.  Ask the Chief of Staff."  The MSM will do their best to tear down Rudy now that they see some independents and dems are leaning his way.  They will jump on him early.  If anyone needs a tough crowd it is Hillary.  She is the MOST protected and isolated of all the candidates.  Someone please ask her a tough question.  I want to see her with a real unprepared response.

I wish Republicans would go a

I wish Republicans would go address some tough crowds, but it just doesn't work.  A Democrat can come out to a Republican/Conservative venue and they'll get hit with some tough questions, but the folks will be considerate and listen to whatever the speaker has to say whether they agree or not.  What happens when a Republican/Conservative goes to a Liberal/Democrat venue?  They get heckled, shouted at, cursed, threatened, etc., so there's no point in going because you won't be allowed to speak.

And don’t forget Marilyn

And don’t forget Marilyn Monroe.

If you want to talk about 'doing' Marilyn Monroe you can't forget to mention the Kennedy brothers 'doing' Marilyn Monroe first.

D

Find Out Who Rudy Really Is

1) Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Guiliani by Wayne Barrett.

2) The Full Rudy: The Man, the Myth, the Mania by Jack Newfield.

Once you see the facts, the only lead we'll allow ol' Rudolph will be at the front of Santa's sleigh!

Not

I don't believe for one second that guiliani is ahead in the polls. Haven't we learned that polls are control mechanisms to make us think, as in this case, that he's got a chance?

For instance: howard dean's killing in the polls, and bam! all of a sudden, this boring-a$$, arrogant jerk named cohen (well, kerry, now), is, ta-dah!!! the number one candidate for the left. He comes from nowhere and it was like a rent-a-crowd, with the audience facing dean for months and months and months, and oen day........oh, him now, he's the guy? Well...ok, if you say so.

Polls are crap, twisted, and fake. Sort of like a lot of other things we used to (and some still do) believe.

BTW, the dynamics have comple

BTW, the dynamics have completely reversed. Think about what would have happened 4 years ago under today's primary schedule. Most of the states will hold a 5 Feb primary next year, meaning that whoever wins New Hampshire will be the likely candidate. There won't be enough time to give candidates like Dean an opportunity to make an a$$ out of himself. Therefore, 4 years ago Dean would be the candidate.

Now there's a thought. Dean would have been destroyed during the election, and we would have Kerry in the 2008 race.

O Y

ThisnThat: oh yeah? My dad's bigger than you dad!

And guiliani is still a complete putz. He's flipped and flopped mucho times more than kerry the moron was accused of a couple years ago. So we're to believe he's a viable candidate now? Mr. left on several issues and right on several issues, so he pleases every body. His being preznident is equivalent to shillary being preznident.

The difference, JoeP, is that

The difference, JoeP, is that unlike Her Royal Highness....Rudy didn't entertain a run for the big office until recently.

HRC has been planning this since Bill left office.  She thinks it's her birthright.  Or her marriage right.  Whatever.

BTW, is your spell checker deficient?  Or is it just you?

O Y

Blonde: Actually, methinks she's been planning it LONG before 'they' left office, like possibly since the early 1980's.

And spellchecker is correct, "prezident" is how I figure it should be done, it appears.

But ---- and I don't blame you for that or for pointing out any other, actual mispellings ---- hands are cold and can't seem to get the fingers to work! But every time I've commented on someone's spelling in a forum, I've had a mistake in my post ------ JUST like you did in the above:

"She thinks its her birthright." Should be "it's."

Cheers!

That she has JoeP...that she

That she has JoeP...that she has...long before he left office or was put in it.

Nevertheless...she will not be entering again the way she thinks she will...

Lol!

Fair enough, JoeP,If you thin

Fair enough, JoeP,

If you think Hillary is a candidate for "Prezident".

Actually, she probably thinks so too....

She'll be the "Prezident" of a great socialist, nanny village.  Right up her (okay...I'm going to leave that totally alone).

Zeig Mir?

Blonde: Show me where I said, intonated, mentioned straight out, or hoped that shillary would be pres?

Unless my stating that guiliani would be as horrible a choice as shillary was somehow misinterpreted by you as a way of saying that rudy, the man 90 percent of NYC hates, should be pres.

She and he are both fools' fools.