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The Rudy Giuliani-For-Mayor Movement Is Alive And <strike>Well</strike> Insane
By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 11, 2012
Modified Oct 11, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Oct 11, 2012
Modified Oct 11, 2012
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Between his “security consultant” work in Peru, his frequent shouty cable news appearances, his pricey public speaking gigs, and his fervent desire to spread the gospel of 9/11 to the four corners of the world, one might think Rudy Giuliani is a bit too busy to even consider running for political office again. But something is happening here, and we're not exactly sure what it is—because in today's NY Post, Cindy Adams suddenly floated the idea of Giuliani running for a third term as mayor. Could the Mayor of 9/11 Town really try to retake his throne?
This is a really, really hard idea to swallow, though it's possible that Adams could be introducing the idea on behalf of some pro-Giuliani NYC Republicans as a way to gauge interest for Rudy. Or perhaps they're just throwing darts at a wall in an attempt to find SOME Republican with enough popularity to possibly win the city. Her opening salvo certainly doesn't make us think she's got any real credible info to back herself up: she says Giuliani "might fleetingly far-flungedly casually lightheartedly consider" running again. We might fleetingly far-flungedly casually lightheartedly consider sky diving in the future, but we can also say we definitely won't.
Her five reasons for why it makes sense for him to run are almost entirely devoid of sense: she says that NYC loved him—even if we take into account the three honeymoon months after 9/11 when he was "America's Mayor," that seems like a stretch. Giuliani does love NYC, but he's spent more time living in Florida or running around the globe during the Bloomberg administration.
While he does seem itchy, he doesn't seem to be lacking things to do (see opening sentence above). We would agree that there is no favorite right now in the 2013 race, but there is still the legal question of whether Giuliani can actually run again—this part is a bit confusing, considering there have been at least three changes to the term limits rules in NYC over the last three decades. But it seems that after Bloomberg supported a return to two consecutive terms only, there may be a loophole that allows a candidate to run again several years later.
Also throwing some cold water onto all this: Capital New York reporter Azi Paybarah asked several of his sources about the rumors, and received a lot of curious responses. "Hadn't heard that one. It's been so long since we had a Republican mayor..." said one GOP lawmaker. "Id prefer a 4th term of Bloomberg than another term for Giuliani & people know how I feel about that," said The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union president Stuart Appelbaum.
One GOP consultant said, "another term or 2 as mayor now would likely pale in comparison to his 1st..." Even Mayor Bloomberg commented on it today: "Knowing Rudy at this point in his life, I'd be shocked if he wanted to come back."
So to counter Adam's five reasons why Giuliani could and should run, here are some of the reasons why he definitely shouldn't and wouldn't win: Amadou Diallo, Bernard Kerik, Russell Harding, his embarrassing presidential run, moving the Office of Emergency Management to WTC 7, shilling for Indian Point, and his gradual turn over the last decade toward more extreme beliefs. Oh, and of course, noun, verb, 9/11. And if he does somehow win, we can all blameDaniel Peterson.
Tagged
cindy adams
election
mayor
mayor bloomberg
rudy giuliani
rumors
term limits
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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