His signs claim so, but January 29 will decide. As I sat waiting for Giuliani to appear wrapped in our flag, I had the distinct feeling that there was a scarlet D on my forehead, much the same feeling that Hester Prynne must have had with her scarlet A in the novel, but hers was real, mine imagined. How many other Democrats were pretending to be Republicans (non-closet variety) in the Shell Point Church auditorium on January 14? What a crowd! Would that a Democratic primary candidate should appear here as well and attract even a quarter of the number of warm bodies surrounding me. Frankly, judging from the number of vehicles ravaging our lawns I'd say that Rudy's audience was a combination of our own residents, Naples plutocrats, and Fort Myers laborers in their work clothes.
When the audience's collective clock showed that he was already 40 minutes late he suddenly emerged from the stage wings with his legendary toothy smile aglow. He was late someone suggested because his presidential motorcade was stuck in traffic. I offered the comment that presidential motorcades do not get stuck in traffic, only we do. Perhaps Rudy is a dreamer and foresees a presidency in his future. One thing we do not need is a second delusional president. The crowd certainly did not erupt with applause, but it was polite. Let's say it sounded like several subway trains pulling into the Times Square station simultaneously, our own friendly way of letting him know that we knew of his New York City background. Had we forgotten, he would have reminded us (and he did) in a split second of how he saved New York during 9/11. This was his lead-in to a report he heard on the radio while stuck in traffic from Naples about a luxury hotel bombing in Kabul, something that would never occur when he becomes president. He reminded us of the first of his Twelve Commitments (read: Commandments) which is that "I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists' War on Us". Did his grammar advisor mean to say U.S.? Rudy does not resort to implications; instead he flat out claims that Democrats would allow this to happen.
Number four in his commitments is to cut taxes and reform the tax code. This is nothing new for a Republican, but his claim that if a Democrat is elected he or she will raise taxes 20 to 30% is a claim clearly his own. Filling out your income tax form will no longer be a chore either; in his new simplified Tax Code everyone will fill out one page only. Using the "Change" mantra which many politicians are chanting these days, he did make a rather amusing remark, claiming that the only change the Democrats are interested in is removing the change from your pocket. He ended this portion of his program by announcing that while mayor of New York he made 23 tax cuts. To insure that all the money you saved by utilizing his cuts stayed in the family there would be no inheritance tax at all. Big applause!
In the closing Q & A session he would end illegal immigration and expand legal immigration. Definitions of these two concepts were lacking, but he did say that all of his grandparents were immigrants who could not read and write English, but they learned these necessary skills by using their children's school books. This was a perfect lead-in to education while he feels is entirely a choice to be made by parents and not government. He also holds the state of Texas up as a model for settling lawsuits; I half expected him to recommend the death penalty for anyone who files suit. No, he would place a quarter million cap on any financial awards made in any lawsuit including those brought against doctors, who are leaving many states and migrating to Texas, where presumably they are manning the ramparts against the hordes of invading migrants in the Second Battle of the Alamo.
Wanting to leave the audience with the message that is his number one commitment, he closed with Terrorism which he counts as his strong suit. Admittedly, he knows his facts on this one, reciting every attack on U.S. property overseas before 9/11. It seemed as though he was undercutting the importance of 9/11 at the same time that he was claiming to be the savior of New York when that event occurred. Strange logic, strange man!
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