Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

Rudy’s 9/11 Myth Meets 9/12 updated

“He’s not one of us. He never has been and he never will be. He never served in a capacity where he was a responder,” Sferazo said.

Rudy’s leading the
GOP pack by a huge margin. His candidacy is almost entirely wrapped up in his 9/11 aura.
There is nothing more damaging to his presidential hopes than the flood of stories
continuing to pour forth about the myth of this man. The firefighters
are pushing back, but that’s just the beginning.

The film above is heart wrenching. I saw it and reviewed
it wrote during YearlyKos. Funny thing is that when it comes to 9/12, Rudy’s
nowhere to be seen. But that didn’t keep him from stepping in it yet again.

Rudy Giuliani drew outrage and indignation from Sept. 11 first-responders yesterday by saying he spent as much time – or more – exposed to the site’s dangers as workers who dug through the debris for the missing and the dead. Speaking to reporters at a Cincinnati Reds ballgame he caught between fund-raisers, the GOP front-runner said he helped 9/11 families and defended himself against critics of how he managed the attack’s aftermath. “This is not a mayor or a governor or a President who’s sitting in an ivory tower,” Giuliani said. “I was at Ground Zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers. I was there working with them. I was exposed to exactly the same things they were exposed to. So in that sense, I’m one of them.” His statement rang false to Queens paramedic Marvin Bethea, who said he suffered a stroke, posttraumatic stress disorder and breathing problems after responding to the attacks. “I personally find that very, very insulting,” he said. “Standing there doing a photo-op and telling the men, ‘You’re doing a good job,’ I don’t consider that to be working,” said Bethea, 47. .. .. 9/11 workers outraged by new Rudy claim

Some of the words that appear in the article are self-absorbed, arrogant
and deluded. They all seem apt.

When Rudy stood at the microphone on 9/11, when Bush was running around the
U.S. and Dick Cheney was decorating his bunker, it was a welcome sight. No one
is taking that away from him.

However, the truth about Rudy’s actual leadership before 9/11 (link added, via Scott Lemieux) is far more damning and is
being documented daily, especially in how he let first responders down and so
many of them are sick
or disabled from the environmental
impact of the digging. Then there’s the reality of where Rudy
put the command center, as well as all the radios that failed that day. The stories that keep coming out all happened
under Rudy’s watch. That matters. People need to understand what that means.