Rudy's 12 commitments

[Lyion]

During a speech at the Old Bedford Town Hall in New Hampshire today, Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced Twelve Commitments to the American people, a bold vision aimed at moving America forward through change and reform, overcoming new challenges and increasing accountability in Washington.

Rudy’s Twelve Commitments are based on the principles of giving people more freedom, more power, and more responsibility over their own lives, while protecting our nation, strengthening our economy, and improving the quality of life.

“I believe America solves its problems best from strength, not weakness, and from optimism, not pessimism,” Giuliani said. “My Twelve Commitments are a promise to this generation and generations to come that we will keep the American dream alive. I believe it’s the kind of leadership and common sense accountability the American people need in Washington.”

Mayor Giuliani will travel the country this summer to detail each of his Twelve Commitments.

The Twelve Commitments:

1. I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us.
2. I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders, and identify every non-citizen in our nation.
3. I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.
4. I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.
5. I will impose accountability on Washington.
6. I will lead America towards energy independence.
7. I will give Americans more control over, and access to, healthcare with affordable and portable free-market solutions.
8. I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.
9. I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.
10. I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
11. I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.
12. I will expand America’s involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.

[Naethyn]

He scares me more than bush.

[Spazz]

Yea dude not a big fan of rudy at all.

[araby]

Yea dude not a big fan of rudy at all.

[Narrock]

So... we're coming to the realization that there are no perfect candidates on either side of the political fence. Voting for a third-party candidate is not going to get you anywhere either. I learned my lesson from when I voted for Perot in 92. I voted my conscience, and basically threw my vote away and gave it to that assclown, clinton.

I think Giuliani is the best candidate the republicans can come up with at this point, and I think he has the best shot at winning. For those of you who are going to vote republican in the next presidential election... think hard about who you're going to vote for. A republican vote for anybody but Giuliani is probably going to be just like throwing your vote away.

Giuliani, to me, is the lesser of all the evils running. Vote for the lesser of all the evils and you will most likely not regret it. Yes, there are a few candidates running that stand for good things, sound good in interviews, and even have what appears at the onset to be a good plan for America... Ron Paul from Texas sounded pretty damned good too. The problem is that he just doesn't have the popularity of Giuliani. I don't agree with everything about Giuliani, but he certainly sounds like he's got some great ideas, and I think he's ready for this job. His 12 commitments sound awesome to me.

[Spazz]

Get outta here with that bullshit. If you like Paul get all your lil republican buddies into him so it will be him that gets the nomination. The country needs a real candidate not more of the same ol shit.

Rudy is not someone I would be willing to vote for.

[Narrock]

Get outta here with that bullshit. If you like Paul get all your lil republican buddies into him so it will be him that gets the nomination. The country needs a real candidate not more of the same ol shit.

Rudy is not someone I would be willing to vote for.

Rudy is very different from Bush, and he's not a puppet for big oil and other corrupt corporations. Just out of curiosity... what don't you like about Giuliani?

[Arlos]

Honestly? That sounds like a typical politician "promise everything" speech. Hell, all he needed to add was "A car in every driveway and a chicken in every pot", and you practically could've lifted the thing from Hoover's campaign speeches.

Furthermore, there is no practicable way, period, that anyone, REGARDLESS of who is president, that you're going to identify every illegal alien within the borders, even if you truly descend to an absolute fascist state. If the Nazis couldn't identify every Jew, how is Giuliani going to identify every illegal mexican from every legal one? Absolutely un-fulfillable promise.

The rest of his 12 points are nearly as flawed. Either they're pie in the sky points that no one but a sociopath with an IQ of 12 would disagree with, or they're so overly simplistic that ever implementing them would be utterly impossible.

Sorry, not a fan of Giuliani in general, though I do like SOME of what he's stood for. Then again, his competition isn't exactly stellar. You have the religious cultist from Massachusetts, the guy who completely reversed himself over the past 8 years just for another try at the brass ring, and who is seen as staunchly pro-Iraq war, which is, of course, wildly unpopular. Then you have the Flat-Earther trio, the retired actor who may want to emulate Reagan but doesn't have a chance in hell of doing so, and then a bunch of no-names.

-Arlos

[Lueyen]

Narrok assuming you can vote in the Rep. primaries vote for who you want, you won't be tossing your vote away at all voting for a "lessor evil". Polls are only an indicator and can be biased intentional or otherwise, who knows there could be a big upset.

[Yamori]

He's either a a much creepier facist than I would've thought (since you'd need to expand the executive branch at the same pace the Bush administration has been to actually reasonably accomplish most of this), or just callously blowing smoke up peoples' butts with a bunch of big empty promises.

What a dick. ;(

[Darcler]

I do, however, like that he said "decreae abortions" not "completely do away with".

I agree that those are a bunch of pretty things to say and, if voted into office, might accomplish 1...maybe 2...

Having said that, he might be getting my vote, out of no other real good options.

[Shneider]

"Abortions for some, miniature American flags for others!"

[Lyion]

Just as a follow up, here's Rudy's article for this. I like Rudy, even though I differ with him on many stances, such as his pro choice support

My Contract with America
By Rudy Giuliani
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I am making 12 Commitments to the American People. They are intended to lift our vision from the rearview mirror to the road ahead. If I am elected president, I want to be held accountable for the progress we make as a nation.

1) I will keep America on offense in the Terrorists’ War on Us.

Winning the terrorists’ war on us is the greatest responsibility of the 9/11 Generation. We need to continue taking the fight to the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists by increasing the size, strength, and support of our military — beginning with ten new Army combat brigades.

2) I will end illegal immigration, secure our borders and identify every non-citizen in our nation.

We can end illegal immigration with tough but realistic laws that put security first. We need to secure the border with a physical fence and a technological fence. We need to require a tamper-proof I.D. card for all non-citizens coming into the United States and tracking their entry and exit. And we need to encourage Americanization by requiring new citizens to read, write, and speak English.

3) I will restore fiscal discipline and cut wasteful Washington spending.

Over the next two presidential terms, 42 percent of the federal civilian workforce is due to retire. We should only hire back half, replacing non-essential workers with technology. I’ll ask agency heads to identify annual budget cuts of 5 to 20 percent. With entitlement costs scheduled to explode, we need fiscal discipline to avoid passing an unsupportable burden on to the next generation.

4) I will cut taxes and reform the tax code.

Pro-growth policies lead to broader prosperity. The next president needs to simplify the tax code and keep taxes low — including the personal income tax, the capital-gains tax and the corporate tax. And we can eliminate double taxation and protect family businesses by giving the Death Tax the death penalty.

5) I will impose accountability on Washington.

We need to restore Americans’ faith that government can work again. That’s why we’ll implement the first constant measurement of government effectiveness, known as “FedStat,” and put the results online so the public can hold agencies accountable.

6) I will lead America towards energy independence.

We must decrease America’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil. We can meet this challenge through diversification of our energy portfolio, innovation, and conservation. We must increase public and private investment in nuclear power, clean coal, and alternative-energy sources across the board. America must lead the world in energy-efficient, environmentally responsible, commercially viable innovation, including wind, solar, geo-thermal, ethanol, and biofuel technologies.

7) I will give Americans more control over their health care with affordable and portable free-market solutions.

We can improve the quality of health care while decreasing costs through increased competition. Solutions can include reforming the tax treatment of health care, expanding portable health-savings accounts, encouraging state-by-state innovations, and reforming the legal system.

8) I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions, and protect the quality of life for our children.

We need to take advantage of the common ground in America to reduce abortions by increasing adoptions and assuring that individual choice is well informed. We need to measure our progress toward these goals. We need to reduce the high costs of adoption. And we need to protect our children against sexual predators and online pornography.

9) I will reform the legal system and appoint strict constructionist judges.

America must reform its legal system. We need to eliminate nuisance lawsuits through “loser-pays” provisions. Tort reform can help us reduce costs passed on to the consumer, such as higher insurance premiums. Activist judges threaten to expand the power of the courts beyond the bounds established by the Constitution; we must reassert the proper balance.

10) I will ensure that every community in America is prepared for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

Homeland security and national security are now inseparable. We need to ensure that local first responders are trained to meet natural disasters as well as terrorist attacks. We must improve information-sharing between local, state, and federal authorities. And we need to repair vulnerable infrastructure to minimize the impact of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

11) I will provide access to a quality education to every child in America by giving real school choice to parents.

Education reform is a civil-rights struggle and the key to improving America’s competitiveness in the global economy. We need to empower parents and children by expanding school choice. We need to promote math and science, while ending the digital divide.

12) I will expand America's involvement in the global economy and strengthen our reputation around the world.

We need to strengthen our country by engaging aggressively the global economy. The mission of the State Department needs to be focused on acting first and foremost as an advocate for America. Fostering trade and educational and cultural exchange will promote the expansion of freedom.

These 12 Commitments offer an action plan to focus America on the future. Over the course of this campaign, I’m going to present each policy in greater detail. And when we get to Washington, we’re going to put these ideas into action. Guided by these 12 Commitments, we will hand our nation over to the next generation far better than it was handed to us.

Rudy Giuliani is the former Mayor of New York City, and currently a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of United States. Learn more at http://www.joinrudy2008.com.

[Naethyn]

Rudy has gained far to much financially from the attacks of 9/11. He is using it as a stage to propel himself into the presidency. He also is very ignorant about what the 9/11 commission reports and what the CIA explinations for 9/11. He is very much into the pockets of many interest groups.

Ron Paul is the only candidate I can honestly say I trust.
* He has never voted to raise taxes.
* He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
* He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
* He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
* He has never taken a government-paid junket.
* He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
* He voted against the Patriot Act.
* He voted against regulating the Internet.
* He voted against the Iraq war.
* He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
* He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Please, do not vote for somone just because the biased media, not the true opinion, have told you. It is a far bigger waste to vote for somone you do not believe in just because you have the illusion of "wasting" your vote. In fact, im sure that you have just defined the perfect way to truly waste it.