Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani last night mocked Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for drivers' licenses -- and riffed on potential election rival Hillary Clinton's hedging on the issue.
The former New York City mayor was speaking before about 350 cheering and clapping GOP activists in a pre-election solidarity rally for the party's county legislative and town candidates at Briar Cliffe College in Patchogue. It capped a campaign day in which he also made stops in Nassau.
"Well, let’s just take Suffolk county for a minute – how many people in Suffolk County do you think would like to get their vote back for Eliot Spitzer?” he said, prompting shouts of approval from his audience.
As for Clinton, Giuliani said, "She was for it, against it, and then for it and against it, before she was against it, and for it and then after that she was against it and for it again."
“And drivers licenses is a tough question? I mean if you can’t answer the question right on drivers' licenses, what the heck are you going to do about war and peace?”
He predicted that in the state "there's a real big tide moving toward Republicans tomorrow. There really is...We're going to surprise a lot of people tomorrow."
Giuliani declared that under Spitzer, the state "is going in the wrong direction" and suggested Democrats generally promote ideas that lack common sense.
For Giuliani's Patchogue remarks, mostly verbatim, hit the "continued" bar just below:
“This is a great team… I’m really looking forward to woking with all of you...
“I thank you very much for your (Suffolk Republicans' early) endorsement. It meant a great deal. It helped to get us endorsements all over the state where we now virtually have every Republican Party in the state.”
“It started right here with all of you. I appreciated it very much.”
“I’m here because I heard you have an election tomrrrow.”
“It’s really really important that you elect this wonderful team that’s right here. They have so many people I’ve worked with in the past, known, helping me to become mayor – Bobby DiCarlo, thank you….
“We have a lot of good reasons for why this will be a Republican year. First of all we have got to make sure that we lower taxes, we get control of government spending. We have to do the things Republicans really could do well. And I think people know that we’re the party we can look to for fiscal discipline, we’re the party they can look to for lower taxes, we're the party that they can look to for trusting people more. The Democrats just want to build larger and larger government….”
“So I ned you to get that message out on behalf of each one of the people that’s standing here.”
“If we have a Republican victory tomorrow it’s going to make it much easier for us to move forward Feb. 5, and then make sure we don’t turn over the White House to…..
(He stops, teasing -- amid noises, the spectators anticipating Clinton's name)...
"...Make sure we win he White House.”
“I think there are a lot of people in this state that now realize how important elections really are. How many people in this state – well, let’s just take Suffolk County for a minute – how many people in Suffolk County do you think would like to get their vote back for Eliot Spitzer?”
“How many do you think right now are saying to themselves, ‘Gee I made a mistake. Boy, did I make a mistake.‘ And I knew they wre making a mistake – except I didn’t know how big a mistake it was going to be.”
“I mean this is a really big mistake. I mean -- driver licenses for illegal immigrants?”
“Now I know Hillary had a hard time answering that question.
“She was for it, against it, and then for it and against it before she was against it, and for it and then after that she was against it and for it again.”
“And drivers licenses is a tough question? I mean if you can’t answer the question right on drivers licenses, what the heck are you going to do about war and peace?”
“So this election is about all of your issues in Suffolk County and in the towns and they’re very very important, about keeping government that works for people and not just for government. But there is a message you want to send to Albany too. There really is. I mean, this state under Eliot Spitzer is going in the wrong direction.
“It really is. In so many ways, and the drivers' license issue is probably the one that dramatizes it the most. But it shows you the lack of common sense that these Democrats really have.
“It shows why we need Republicans here in Suffolk County, running Suffolk County for the benefit of the people, and not coming up with these silly left-wing – I don’t even know if they’re left wing - ideas. They just might be irresponsible ideas.
"Maybe it comes from the fact in the case of the Democratic candidates for president, whether it’s Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or John Edwards, they never ran anything. They never ran a city. They never ran a county. They never ran a town. They never ran a state. They never have run a business."
“And they want you to give them on-the-job traning as president of the United States. Now maybe this is why they make such irresponsible claims and ideas. Because they’ve never had any responsibility.
"But you’ve got a team here of people that can take responsibility. They can give you common sense solutions to problems and tomorrow, we gotta get ‘em elected.
"I can feel it. I can feel the tide. I’ve been in Ondandaga County, and in Nassau County and I can feel there’s a real big tide moving toward us Republicans tomorrow. There really is."
“We’re gonna surprise a lot of people tomorrow…”
A pull operation means “making sure that the sentiment that’s out there converts itself to a vote tomorrow."
"So your’e working tonght?"
(Someone answers, 'Yes sir.')
“Wow. This is great. You’re gonna work for me like this?... So we’ve got it made…
(He thanks candidates for having the courage to seek office).
“You make sure that they all get elected tomorrow, that we have a great victory for the Republican party in Suffolk tomorrow. Then we’ll have another victory in February and another one in November and we’ll have this county and this country moving in exactly the right direction.’’
"Thank you very much."
Comments (1)
And demagogue Rudy has credibility? Is he still hiding under his desk since 9/11? This is a despicable person. Why would Republicans want to have his blessing. A truly horrible man. Let's face it, Rudy is not that bright either.
Thank goodness for Bloomberg, or NYC would be falling apart from Chicken Rudy's aftermath.