DNC RESEARCH DEPT.: Convicted Felons For Giuliani!

The Daily Flipper
Read what the Republicans Wish You Wouldn’t …
December 19, 2007

TOP HEADLINE: Convicted Felons For Giuliani! Another Shady Character Emerges From Mayor’s Past. . . And He’s Bringing Ammo

Ray was one of Kerik's closest friends and the best man at his 1998 wedding. As Kerik was rising to become New York's police commissioner, Ray was in touch with him regularly -- lending him money, discussing possible business opportunities, and using Ray's contacts in Russia to arrange a meeting for Giuliani with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Much has changed since then. Giuliani is now a leading Republican presidential candidate. Kerik has pleaded guilty to state ethics charges and is under federal indictment. And Ray, a convicted felon now in prison on a parole violation, has turned on his former friend. He has provided to state and federal authorities half a dozen boxes of e-mails, memos, faxes, financial statements, photographs and other materials about Kerik's alleged wrongdoing.

That evidence, reviewed by The Washington Post, shows that Kerik brought Ray into contact with Giuliani on a handful of occasions documented in photos and that he invoked Giuliani's name in connection with a New Jersey construction company with alleged mob ties that is now at the heart of the criminal cases.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121802333_pf.html

Giuliani’s Sordid Past Keeping Him From Closing the Deal in NH

Giuliani's policy positions shouldn't be as troublesome for him in New Hampshire, which is more secular and socially moderate than Iowa and South Carolina. But it's personal issues, not policies, that are dragginghim down. When pollsters asked New Hampshire Republicans in the December survey which candidate was the most believable or the "most likely to keep the same positions on important issues," Giuliani trailed both Romney and McCain. On the question of which candidaterespondents saw as "least likely to act like a typical politician," Giuliani came in last, at just 9 percent (Romney and McCain were tied at 18 percent). Voters mayagree with what Giuliani has to say, but they just don't know if they can trust what he's saying.

That makes it difficult not only for Giuliani to sell himself, but also to criticize other candidates. Consequently, it was McCain, not Giuliani, who was the first to send direct mail to New Hampshire voters attacking Romney as a flip-flopper.
http://nationaljournal.com/members/buzz/2007/onthetrail/121907.htm

Conveniently Suppressed? Romney ‘Doesn’t Recall’ Attending Planned Parenthood Fundraiser

Mitt Romney, who has taken hits from his Republican presidential rivals for his change of heart on abortion, waved off a photo, sent yesterday to several news organizations, that shows him at a fund-raiser for Planned Parenthood.

Nicki Nichols Gamble, a former president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said the photo shows Mitt and Ann Romney at a private home in Cohasset in June 1994. At the time, Romney was hoping to unseat US Senator Edward M. Kennedy and was eager to show his support for abortion rights, said Gamble, who is pictured in the photo with her back to the camera.

Romney dismissed any significance of the photo.

"I attend a lot of events when I run for office. I don't recall the specific event," Romney said while campaigning in South Carolina, according to the Associated Press. "I think I've made it very clear. I was prochoice, or effectively prochoice, when I ran in 1994. As governor I'm prolife and I have a record of being prolife and I'm firmly prolife today."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/19/romney_dismisses_photo_taken_at_fund_raiser_says_he_is_firmly_antiabortion/

Tax Evaders For Mitt!! Romney Helped Clients Avoid Paying Taxes in US

While in private business, Mitt Romney used shell companies in two offshore tax havens to help eligible investors avoid paying US taxes, federal and state records show.

Romney gained no personal tax benefit from the legal operations in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But aides of the Republican presidential hopeful and former colleagues acknowledged that the tax-friendly jurisdictions helped attract billions of additional investment dollars to Romney's former company, Bain Capital, and thus boosted profits for Romney and his partners.

In the Cayman Islands, Romney was listed as a general partner and personally invested in BCIP Associates III Cayman, a private equity fund that is registered at a post office box on Grand Cayman Island and that indirectly buys equity in US companies. The arrangement shields foreign investors from US taxes they would pay for investing directly in US companies.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/19/romney_utilized_offshore_tax_havens_to_help_investors/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+2008+campaign+news

Huckabee Hits Romney On Non-Pardon Of Iraq Vet

Mitt Romney's new TV commercial questions the judgment of Mike Huckabee, his fellow Republican presidential contender, noting the rival issued 1,033 pardons and commutations as governor of Arkansas while Romney issued none while leading Massachusetts.

Left out of the spot is perhaps Romney's most noteworthy pardon denial: his rejection of the request of an Iraq war veteran who was trying to become a police officer after his National Guard service.

Anthony Circosta's offense? Shooting a friend in the arm with a BB gun as a 13-year-old. The impact didn't break the skin.. . .
Huckabee, appearing yesterday in Houston, was questioned about the ad. He said he exercised discretion and acted responsibly in reviewing the requests.

The former governor added: "People need to understand the real record here. Did Mitt Romney act in the best interest of Anthony Circosta or in the best interest of Mitt Romney? If you're gonna be elected to the job you need to be elected to do the job that's best for the citizens, not for your own political future."
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Romney+no-pardons+boast+forgets+war+vet&articleId=1970b114-92c7-41a8-af4d-a4fbe35e37a7

Romney Aggressively Courted Iowans While Governor of Massachusetts; Used PAC Contributions to Aid Campaign

Romney was not always the dominant force in Iowa that he became. In mid 2005, polls indicated that Romney's support was in the single digits, within the margin of error of zero. He was virtually unknown.

So he started building relationships on the ground here early, and it paid off. In a series of interviews with 37 of Iowa's 99 Republican county chairs conducted by Huffington Post's OffTheBus project as part of a collaboration with Iowa Independent, it was revealed that Romney made quite an impression on key GOP activists across the state before some other candidates were even paying attention.

"The Romney campaign did an event in Fall 2005," said Mitch Hambleton, chair of the Republican Party in Dallas County, which contains many of Des Moines's heavily Republican suburbs. Romney was only halfway through his second term as Governor of Massachusetts when he gave the keynote speech at the Dallas County GOP's annual steak fry fundraiser. "He was just getting ... established in the state. I had the opportunity to meet him and share views," said Hambleton.

Romney did not announce his candidacy until February 2007 -- nearly a year and a half after the steak fry -- but that did not stop him from building the beginnings of his Iowa organization. "We saw Romney a whole lot. He was in Iowa quite a bit from 2005 to present day," said Hambleton.

Steve Schmitt, chair of the Blackhawk County GOP, said Romney's campaign first began courting him in the spring of 2006, about a year before he declared his candidacy. "If I remember correctly, the first conversation that I had [with a presidential campaign] was with the Romney campaign," he said. "[Romney] actually came and spoke to our county convention, which would have been in February, March of 06."

But Romney's strategy did not rely entirely on personal visits. He also made strategic donations to local Republicans across the state in the same timeframe, and he developed a bit of a reputation for it. One county chair, Kelly O'Brien from O'Brien County, said the Massachusetts Governor sent checks to everyone he could reach.

Ann Trimble-Ray, who chairs the GOP in Sac County, said "Gov. Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PAC was the first [presidential candidate's] organization to contact our county -- with a $250 donation in 2006. The contact was via mail and they had no requirements for the donation they sent to build the party."
http://iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1674

Where in the World Is Rudy Giuliani?

The national frontrunner, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, is not here in Iowa this week. Giuliani's not competing to win in first-in-the-nation caucus state Iowa and first-in-the-nation primary state New Hampshire, instead focusing on big delegate-rich states that hold their primaries and caucuses later in the nomination process.

As Giuliani's pursued this strategy he's dropped to third or fourth place in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Perhaps of greater concern for Giuliani is his steady drop in the polls nationally, from 53% in February to 26% today.

His greatest decline has been among men, conservatives and those following the race very closely - voters who might be award of some of his baggage. A danger for the former Mayor his absence from a continued presence in these early states means that the media and his opponents are the ones deciding what voters are hearing about him.

Republican strategists and ABC News contributor Matthew Dowd thinks Giuliani's strategy carries some risk. "His destiny will begin to be out of his control when the voting starts in Iowa as people go to the polls and a candidate wins," Dowd said. "He won't be able to dominate the news coverage."
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/politics/national_elections&id=5843788

Stepping It Up. . . Giuliani To Face More Criticism From NY Firefighters

A group of New York firefighters who lost sons in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks is organizing a political committee to take on former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani in Republican primary states.

A leader of the 9/11 Firefighters and Families group met Tuesday with union leaders and political consultants, readying plans to set up a tax-exempt committee that would fund appearances and a media drive against Giuliani.

Jim Riches, a New York deputy fire chief whose firefighter son was killed during the attack, said the group aimed to raise doubts about the central premise of Giuliani's presidential campaign -- his leadership role on Sept. 11. "If we have to follow him around all 2008 we'll do it," Riches said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-antirudy19dec19,0,2935502.story?coll=la-politics-campaign

Huckabee, Making Bill O’Reilly Proud

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on Tuesday defended his Christmas ad amid suggestions that the ordained Baptist minister had gone too far mixing religion and politics.

Huckabee is courting evangelical voters and other religious conservatives in his bid to win the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3. In Texas for a fundraiser, he said the ad was a harmless holiday greeting even though it excludes other religions.

"If we are so politically correct in this country that a person can't say enough of the nonsense with the political attack ads could we pause for a few days and say Merry Christmas to each other then we're really, really in trouble as a country," Huckabee said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071219/ap_on_el_pr/huckabee_christmas_ad;_ylt=AnraLAjEzavNbuMPiKCc4x1p24cA

Apparently We Missed His Stint As Secretary of State; Thompson Swears He’s Got The Top Foreign Policy Credentials

Most of the top Republican candidates for president don't have the foreign policy experience to handle the dangers the United States faces, Fred Thompson told Gannett News Service Tuesday.

"The fact of the matter is that among the so-called top candidates, John McCain is the only one with any experience in these areas," Thompson said in an interview.

"I'm not sure where some of these other guys are. When I read that Mr. Huckabee believes that if we played nice with other people they'd like us, (that) causes me to consider whether he understands the world that we live in."
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/NEWS09/712190365/-1/caucus

Ron Paul: Pro-Obesity?

Unlike other presidential candidates who want to control obesity and smoking to cut health care costs, Republican candidate Ron Paul said he would not promote preventive medicine.

"I wouldn't promote it," Paul, a Texas congressman, said after a meeting Tuesday with the Linn County Medical Society. "I want the patient to make the decision."

Paul, a 72-year-old former Air Force flight surgeon and obstetrician who has delivered thousands of babies, had a lot in common with several of the 10 medical society members he spoke with in Cedar Rapids.
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071219/NEWS09/712190378/-1/caucus
If You’re Saddling Fred, Better Bring The Spurs

Republican Fred Thompson says if he can be a presidential horse for conservatives to ride in the campaign, "All I've got to say is saddle me up."
http://www.examiner.com/a-1111739~Thompson_Says__Saddle_Me_Up__in_Campaign.html

What Is It About Fred Thompson? Maybe That You Can Always Get Him On The Phone?

What was it about Fred Thompson that made Condoleezza Rice, after he left the Senate ask him to help her go through, decipher issues of nuclear proliferation. What was it about Fred Thompson that made President Bush call him to help be the shepherd for now, thank goodness, God bless, Chief Justice John Roberts. What is it about Fred Thompson?
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/289532.aspx

All We Found Is A Case of Snickers Wrappers And A Dog Collar, But We’re Saving That For 2008

For Huckabee, becoming the front-runner also means being more closely scrutinized.

"We've got a lot of people doing Dumpster diving in Little Rock right now," Huckabee joked to reporters, referring to a recent spate of critical news stories examining his record.

Romney backer Collins welcomed that examination. Most voters assume Huckabee is a conservative on taxes, spending, crime and ethics, he said, "but that's incorrect. The guy could essentially be a pro-life Democrat."
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_7739744?nclick_check=1

Being Dogged By Scandals Can Be Ruff: Michael Vick and David Huckabee . . .

http://shotpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/huckvick.jpg

What do these two men have in common?

It certainly is not a sub 4.3 forty-yard dash and the ability to elude top NFL defenders.

Actually, it appears both these men have abused and killed a dog. While you probably recognize Michael Vick, the other person pictured above is David Huckabee, son of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. According to Newsweek:

As Mike Huckabee gains in the polls, the former Arkansas governor is finding that his record in office is getting more scrutiny. One issue likely to get attention is his handling of a sensitive family matter: allegations that one of his sons was involved in the hanging of a stray dog at a Boy Scout camp in 1998.
http://shotpolitics.com/the-huckabee-dog-killing-cover-up.htm

Don’t Touch The Phone …NH AG Says Anonymous Push Polling Legal Despite State Statute

As a telephone poll floods the state with positive comments about one Republican candidate and "factual information" about his rivals, the state's deputy attorney general said yesterday the state law banning "push polling" does not apply to the presidential primary.

Orville "Bud" Fitch noted in an interview that he has testified before lawmakers in favor of expanding the law, but the provision he supported failed to pass the Legislature.
. . .
Fitch's comments came as the director of a Virginia-based conservative non-profit called Common Sense Issues promised to continue making nearly 100,000 calls a night in the Granite State this week to support Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee and to provide "factual information" about other GOP candidates.

Patrick Davis said that before the end of the week, he expects the telephone marketing firm his group has hired to have called 430,000 households in the state, which he said is about 100 percent coverage. He said the calls will then stop during the week of Christmas and may begin again after Jan. 1.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Political+'push+poll'+probed&articleId=8d2932da-b53d-4fcc-ac4e-3eabe5e1ad7c

The Daily Flipper is distributed by the DNC Research Department. Items are not intended for attribution to the DNC, its chair or spokespeople.