Rudy's 12 Commandments
It seems that Rudy "9/11" Giuliani has gone all biblical and written up "12 Commitments" for his campaign.
Rudy's Commitments:
- I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists' War on Us.
- I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.
- I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.
- I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.
- I will impose accountability on Washington.
- I will lead America towards energy independence.
- I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions.
- I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.
- I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.
- I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
- I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.
- I will expand America's involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.
I suppose all that's left now is for him to come down off the podium, smash them, put the pieces in an ornate box, and have Steven Spielberg direct an action movie about Nazi's trying to find it. Actually Rudy might want to hold off on that last part, Spielberg endorsed Hillary Clinton today.
6 comments:
I fail the see the "biblical" tie. There were 10 Commandments, Rudy gave 12 commitments. Sounds more like the "Contract with America" from years ago.
I'll re-read his commitments to see if I agree with them. I like the fact that any candidate explicitly says what [s]he will do or won't do. If we could get all candidates to do that, it would be even better.
Just by issuing these commitments, Rudy has a plus mark in his candidacy from me. I haven't seen anything as clear from any other candidate.
The only real biblical tie was the name. As for the commitments themselves I'd much rather hear how they plan to do it. Rudy's listed some pretty nice things but I've heard it all before.
How is this any different from any other politician? When Al Gore makes a movie, Obama (and many others) writes a book aren't they doing the same thing? They're saying what they want to do. A lot of the book (or movie) is tied up with the reasoning. The how's are left out.
Hillary has said she wants health care reform, Edwards wants to bring the two America's back together, I haven't heard how either one wants to accomplish those things.
This isn't a Republican or Democrat thing, it's a political thing. Yes, we need more details. We need to hold them accountable. Rudy (and other politicians) need to start saying how. But give him credit for at least laying out his agenda.
Do you think he's got the right agenda? Are his goals good? What did he leave out? Those are the important questions.
As for the Biblical tie, I still don't see it. I read the ABC news account and it said that he began rolling out policy proposals Tuesday in what he called his "12 commitments to the American people."
Somehow, that's not at ALL like the 10 Commandments. The 12 commitments are what he wants to do. The 10 Commandments are what HE wants us to do. No where close.
It was just a humorous comparison, I'm not seriously trying to suggest Rudy thinks he's God. I wasn't even going to do it until I heard about the Spielberg endorsement. I'd watched "Raiders of the Lost Ark" earlier this week and thought it was a unique way to combine two minor stories into one post.
I know both Democrats and Republicans make campaign promises and I treat both sides with the same amount of skepticism. Both Edwards and Obama have both presented thorough health care plans though and that's more of what I prefer to look at (though I admit I haven't yet).
Rudy's commitments are way to vague to make an opinion on. "I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents." Sure, who doesn't want their kid's to get a good education? But how does he plan on doing it? There's several different paths to that goal and there's a lot of debate about which one to take. By making such a general statement Rudy's trying to get good publicity without having to put forth a plan that might be unpopular to some people.
True some of his commitments are vague. He hasn't been looking at this job for four years and hasn't written a book. This looks like a start.
#1 on his list was the Terrorists' War on us. Terrorism was also #10 on his list. Strengthening our image worldwide was #12. This man is serious about terrorism. Wheter he can accomplish anything is a question. Some folks want to just make nice with the rest of the world. Rudy is different.
#2 is illegal immigration. He hit the right talking points.
When I read #4, I laughed. I new a tax accountant who said everytime congress simplifies taxes, he got more business.
#8 was adoption/abortion. Actaully, I like this direction. Not argumentative against abortion fans, but pro-life.
#11 is education. Does it say school choice? Does that mean vouchers? I've learned it usually does. I differ from a lot of conservatives in opposing vouchers.
Looking at the items this way allows you to get some real feel on who he is and where he stands. I haven't decided about him yet.
So what's missing in his list of 12? What items would YOU add to your list? Which items do you see that you flatly agree/disagree with?
As I said his goals are pretty broad and easy to agree with. I'd support better education, but not vouchers. It all really depends on what approach he'll take towards achieving his goals.
As for me, I'd like to see something done about the economy. It seems like CEO's pay is rising exponentially but pay for the average person isn't even rising to meet inflation. It also seems that a lot of jobs are being lost to outsourcing. Sure cheap labor is good for corporations but it hurts everyone else in the country.
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