GIULIANI DECLARES WAR-- AGAINST PEOPLE WHO WANT PEACE

Giuliani may never have fought in any real wars and he even shirked his responsibilities when it came to the so-called "war on terror." (Hey a crook's gotta eat too.) But now Rudy is finally in a war-- against everyday Americans who want peace. You know, after the multimillion dollar p.r. push that culminated in Bush and Petraeus addressing Congress with their plan to extend the Iraq occupation indefinitely, public support for the Iraq mess dropped again. In every part of the country and among every demographic group-- except frequent listeners to Hate Talk Radio propagandists like Limbaugh and O'Reilly and Ingraham and that ilk-- support for the Bush-Cheney war agenda has collapsed. Oh, and aside from the brainwashed radio mega-dittoheads, the pathetic pygmies™ who are vying to personify a third term for Bush, are also backing the Bush policies. And no one is worse than (though some are as bad as) Giuliani. He has nothing to run on but fear-mongering and ugly xenophobia. So he's declared war. On MoveOn.org.

Like most Republicans, Giuliani is used to Democrats who think of themselves as punching bags or with Democrats who agree with their reactionary approach to problems but who think they need to be a little less reactionary. He was knocked off balance when he met up with real Democrats and real progressives who fit into neither category-- and who hit back. Hard. I hope everyone has already read Arianna's brilliant push-back against the far right's newest cause célèbre, MoveOn's "Betray Us" ad.

Does anybody really believe the problem with the war in Iraq is too much questioning of those in authority, too much bluntness, and not enough deference to those who have been in charge of the war for the last four years?

That's apparently the feeling of all the conservative talk-show hosts and GOP presidential candidates who came down with the vapors over the MoveOn ad that had the temerity to question Gen. David Petraeus. Tens of thousands of dead civilians, nearly 4,000 dead American soldiers, half a trillion dollars spent, and the squandering of America's moral authority-- none of that seems to have ruffled their feathers very much. But the ad? Now that has got them royally steamed.

Rudy apparently thinks that demagoguery on this is the way to save his faltering campaign for the presidency. He's up with an anti-Move On radio advertisement in Iowa today. Don't ask why Iowa; you know why. And don't think it's odd that he doesn't even mention the issue Rove has told Republican candidates to never, never, never bring up: Iraq. Do you think it was just an oversight? Or is Rudy-- like Thompson and Full o' Mitt-- running away from the biggest issue on the minds of all Americans?

Here's the ad that flipped Giuliani out yesterday:



And here's what the NY Times had to say about it this morning:

The spot is a direct hit on Mr. Giuliani and could severely undermine his argument that he is the best person to lead the nation in a time of war... It is a searing ad, especially when it shows the silhouetted image of the soldiers, with the voiceover: “Where were you when it counted?” A possible beneficiary of the spot among his Republican primary opponents is Senator John McCain, whose military credentials are solidly intact. If Mr. Giuliani becomes the Republican nominee, this spot will no doubt re-emerge to the benefit of the Democratic nominee."

MoveOn just announced that they're going to double-down and run even more of the ads in response to Giuliani's attacks on them. Great idea! If you want to chip in and help MoveOn, you can do it here. I want to see this ad running all over CNN and MSNBC. People need to know who the real Rudy Giuliani is-- even people who don't read DWT!