Rudy: Mitt trying to change subject
Posted: Saturday, November 24, 2007 10:39 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ’s Matthew Berger
GIULIANI WEEKEND CAMPAIGN NOTEBOOK
Giuliani supporters accused the Romney campaign Saturday of trying to change the subject away from a judicial controversy and towards Giuliani’s fiscal record. Between stops on the Giuliani bus tour, former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci and Massachusetts state Treasurer Joseph Malone came aboard the press bus to defend Giuliani’s fiscal record and attack Romney’s as governor of Massachusetts. The rhetoric was not new, but the suggestion that Romney was trying to steer attention away from his appointment of Judge Kathe Tuttman was.
“When you have a day where you want to change the subject, maybe the best defense is what he thinks is a good offense,” Malone said. “Maybe he’s going down this path for that reason.”
Cellucci added that Romney had some explaining to do about the appointment of Tuttman, who overturned bail for a convicted killer, Daniel Tavares, who admitted a week ago to a double murder in Washington State. Romney called on Tuttman to resign Friday. Cellucci added that Romney had been quite critical of Bernard Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner and Giuliani confidante that was recently indicted.
Malone and Cellucci attacked Romney’s fiscal record, saying he did not lower taxes as governor, and placed additional burdens on cities and states in the states, which caused them to raise taxes.
Later in Laconia, N.H., Giuliani went after Romney on the appointment of Tuttman himself.
“The governor is going to have to explain his appointment and the judge is going to have to explain her decision, but it's not an isolated situation,” Giuliani said in an Associated Press interview. “Governor Romney did not have a good record in dealing with violent crime.”
Giuliani cited an increase in murder and violent crime while he was governor, and contrasted it to the decreases in New York City crime when he was mayor. The AP was granted an exclusive interview, and the campaign has not made Giuliani available for questions.
Romney today called for the resignation of Tuttman, whom he appointed as governor in 2006. She overturned a bail request for Daniel Tavares, who allegedly assaulted two prison guards while serving a 16-year sentence for killing his mother. Tavares fled to Washington and allegedly confessed last week to killing a man and a woman.
"He had an increase in murder and violent crime while he was governor," Giuliani said. "So it's not so much the isolated situation which he and the judge will have to explain — he's kind of thrown her under the bus, so it's hard to know how this is all going to come out. But the reality is, he did not have a record of reducing violent crime.
"More than one isolated appointment or one isolated decision by a judge — which is truly tragic and the real sympathy here should go to the family who had to endure this — the governor had what can only be described as a poor record on violent crime,” Giuliani said in the interview.
