Primary Place Online

Last month Rudy Giuliani visited a packed audience at the Exeter, NH Town Hall. See/hear him in his own words. He was engaging and humorous in spite of playing fast and loose with facts. Having seen several Republican presidential candidates, and having watched both Democratic and Republican debates….if I were a thoughtful Republican or an Independent (I’m not), Rudy Giuliani would probably be the candidate I would hold my nose and vote for. However, here are some of the problems I have with his words:

• He relies on the generic, weary-worn Republican pabulum of referring to Democrats as “tax and spend liberals” Hello !!! Want to compare federal spending, the federal deficit, or how much of our debt is held by China under President Clinton vs President Bush ?
• I’m sure the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barrack Obama would like to question Rudy where he heard that each of them plans to raise federal taxes 24%-26% if they are elected President.
• Rudy’s Hillary “bashing” displays his weakness. Rudy appears to minimize the role of any government entity (except the military) and gives all the credit for the American economy to the private sector. How about the role of a large middle class in stimulating the American economy after WWII ? And, how about the role of the GI Bill in helping create that large middle class ? What about the role of the FDA and the NIH in helping protect our food supply and eliminate some diseases? Businesses benefit greatly from the infrastructure created by government institutions. Rudy knows that but is pandering to the knee-jerk Republican “right”.
• Rudy’s plan to cut 21% of all federal employees by attrition (half of those expected to retire soon) is dumb. Who would you not replace when they retire ? Mine or bridge safety inspectors ? Food safety inspectors ? He thinks you can make-up the personnel reductions by increased use of technology. Of course, new technologies will surely be evaluated by government institutions to determine their usefulness, but the military’s record of implementing newer technologies as a cost-saving strategy for increasing security has been dismal at best and occasionally criminal. His comment that businesses have reduced staff to become more productive AND that the result is MORE jobs is contradictory and counter-intuitive.
• Rudy at least recognizes that Global Warming is a problem, if not an emergency, and that is to his credit. However, he thinks that nuclear power needs to be increased as a means to combat Global Warming. He compares the dangers associated with nuclear power on a par with those of the electric, coal and oil industries. How many billions has the American taxpayer subsidized the nuclear industry and the nuclear waste-solution effort ?

  And, to my knowledge, the Price-Anderson Act gives the nuclear industry the only accident-liability exemption of any industry. That means, in a nuclear accident Congress has absolved the nuclear plant which has caused this future catastrophic accident that makes your home or business uninhabitable and worthless, of any compensation beyond a minimal industry insurance pool. Wouldn’t the cigarette, asbestos or automobile industries like to have limited liabilities for the damages they have caused ? (I feel certain that a nuclear accident scenario will come to pass somewhere in the US future, because the nuclear industry has old plants and components susceptible to failure, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is just an industry cheerleader less concerned about public safety than about industry promotion).

• “Big government doesn’t solve economic and social problems. People do”. He did acknowledge the importance of government in dealing with disasters. Too bad our President and this administration didn’t realize that before President Bush put incompetents or industry cronies to oversee FEMA, mine safety, the EPA and transportation…..and before Katrina, mine and bridge collapses happened.
• “Health care can be solved by a big consumer market, not by a big government program.” Of all his positions, this one will probably be his least popular with Independents. Granted, health care problems do not seem to be on the radar screen of most “well-off” Republicans I have seen at political events, and the other Republican candidates barely talk about this if at all out on the stump. But, mark my words; no Republican Presidential candidate who ignores the health care crisis will win the NH Primary (and certainly wouldn’t deserve to).