ALAN CHARTOCK – GIULIANI: HE HAS FALLEN HARD
In the matter of Rudolph Giuliani
When he was mayor of New York, they called him “America’s Mayor.” He ran the biggest city in the country and when the World Trade Center was attacked, he was the symbol of resistance to the really bad guys throughout the America-hating world. No other politician could touch him when it came to popularity and the guy was a Republican in Blue State New York. That’s all pretty hefty stuff. His romantic exploits were seized upon by the tabloid press and I personally could never understand how any woman could kiss that ugly puss, but such was his position that people were attracted to the guy. Power is an aphrodisiac.
From his former position as one of the most important politicians in the world, he has fallen hard. When I see his inevitably smiling, toothy face so needing the adoration of the public, I suspect that I am seeing a man desperately trying to recreate his former life. Once you’ve tasted from the fountain of fame, you’ll always need more.
I have noticed that when my grandchildren are here, their parents often comment, “Good decision” or “Bad decision.” To put it mildly, Rudy has squandered his good name by making bad decisions.
He worked for a president who seemed determined to bring American democracy to its knees and replace it with fascism. Giuliani constantly lied to the public, ultimately insisting that the election was stolen. We have absolutely no way to know whether the man really believes “the Big Lie” or whether he is just lying the way that people do to get one over on other people. Now he is the subject of a lawsuit by the company that he accused of rigging the election. I hope they take him for all he is worth.
We do know that when asked about Trump’s habit of getting even with former colleagues, Giuliani said that he was not worried. If you read his words carefully, it’s evident that he knows too much about the former president for that kind of retribution to happen.
Now we witness the spectacle of the FBI raiding Giuliani’s home and seizing his phone and computer records. Apparently, this investigation may have to do with Giuliani’s taking money from Ukrainian officials while working for the president at the same time.
I love this part of the story. As president, Trump, assisted by Giuliani, seemed committed to bringing our way of government down and replacing it with the Putin-type autocracy that he seems to so admire. It may be a crime to work for two masters when one of them is a government. What if Giuliani were working hand in hand with the Russian colonel, now the Russian president, to undermine the United States?
Would Giuliani flip on Trump in order to avoid jail time? Does a bear walk in the woods? My bet is that he would if comes down to his neck or Trump’s. The Democrats know this. They are so adamantly opposed to Trump that they will be paying careful attention to Giuliani, knowing that he is the linchpin to defeating Trump once and for all. They full well know that this is an important moment in American history. I doubt that Biden likes messing with the rules like the presumption of innocence. Biden’s problem is that he can’t seem to get Senate Republicans to side with him either in the past or the future. So with Giuliani in trouble, Biden says that he isn’t giving in. We know who and what the guy is. The man who once was seen as a protector of the American democracy has now turned the other way. He is facing criminal indictment. It can’t be any too soon.
Alan Chartock is professor emeritus at the State University of New York, publisher of the Legislative Gazette and president and CEO of the WAMC Northeast Public Radio Network. Readers can email him at [email protected].
