Wow, Rudolph Giuliani sure stirred up a hornet’s nest by his remarks last week questioning Barack Obama’s love of this country. In case you missed it, the former New York City mayor, who has long been known for his outspoken bluntness, set off an uproar when he had this to say on February 18:
I do not believe — and I know this is a terrible thing to say — but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up, through love of this country.
Giuliani made his remarks at a fundraiser in New York for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. In a subsequent interview with the New York Times, he denied accusations that his remarks were racist:
Some people thought it was racist. I thought that was a joke, since he was brought up by a white mother, a white grandfather, went to white schools and most of this he learned from white people. This isn’t racism. This is socialism or possibly anti-colonialism.
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While you’re never get a Republican leader to admit it, the truth is that of course Obama doesn’t possess the traditional love of country you and I have always taken for granted. If he did, he would never have said that his goal was to “transform” this country.
If you love this country, you want to preserve what is best about it. You want it to continue to be an inspiration to others. You do not belittle it, apologize for it or try to tear it down. You want it to remain, as Ronald Reagan said so eloquently, a shining city on a hill. And you’re proud that it is.
None of that describes the words or deeds of our current president — or his wife, for that matter. Remember, it was Michelle Obama who said she had never been proud of her country until her husband was elected president.
Yes, Giuliani certainly delivered a “king isn’t wearing any clothes” moment. The liberal media went absolutely ballistic at the thought that a prominent Republican would dare to question the president’s patriotism. In no time at all, every Republican leader in the country had a microphone stuck in his face, with a reporter on the other end demanding his reaction to Giuliani’s impolitic remarks.
They were topic No. 1 on the Sunday morning talk shows, with virtually every guest disparaging what Giuliani had to say. On Fox News Sunday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said, “I just don’t think it’s helpful in the public debate to question motives or question patriotism.”
On ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham managed to include some criticism of Obama in his disclaimer. “I have no doubt he loves this country. I have no doubt that he’s a patriot,” the South Carolina Republican said. Then he added, “But his primary job as the president of the United States is to defend this country, and he’s failing miserably.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, former New York Gov. George Pataki took the same tack. “I don’t doubt that the president loves America,” he said. “But I do doubt that we’re focusing on solving the problems in Washington that we need to.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a potential 2016 presidential contender, pointed out the liberal double-standard at work here. “I don’t feel like I’m in a position to have to answer for every person in my party that makes a claim,” he said. “Democrats aren’t asked to answer every time Joe Biden says something embarrassing, so I don’t know why I should answer every time a Republican does. I’ll suffice it to say that I believe the President loves America; I think his ideas are bad.”
And on and on it went. But Giuliani himself says he wasn’t backing down a bit from his remarks — even though had received some death threats because of them. “I don’t regret making the statement,” he told CNN. “I believe it. I don’t know if he loves America. I don’t feel the same enthusiasm from him for America.”
In an op-ed piece in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, titled “My Bluntness Overshadowed My Message,” Giuliani wrote, “I hope the intention behind [my] words can be the basis for a real conversation about national leadership and the importance of confidence and optimism in framing America’s way forward.”
Nice try, Mr. Mayor. But it will never happen, so long as the liberal elite who dominate the media get to determine what we’re allowed to debate and what we’re not.
Until next time, keep some powder dry.
Chip Wood was the first news editor of The Review of the News and also wrote for American Opinion, our two predecessor publications. He is now the geopolitical editor of Personal Liberty Digest. This article first appeared on PersonalLiberty.com and has been reprinted with permission.
