Rudy official resigns after Muslim comment
Posted: Saturday, December 29, 2007 2:02 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Matthew E. Berger
CLIVE, Iowa -- The New Hampshire co-chair of Veterans for Rudy resigned Saturday amid video remarks in which he suggested Giuliani would deal with the “rise of the Muslims” and that the United States should “defeat or chase them back to their caves”.
John Deady made the comments in a video interview to The Guardian newspaper last weekend, while attending a Giuliani house party at the home of Manchester, N.H., Mayor Frank Guinta.
“He has got, I believe, the knowledge and the judgment to attack one of the most difficult problems in current history, and that is the rise of the Muslims,” Deady said in the video interview, posted Dec. 27. “Make no mistake about it, this hasn’t happened for a thousand years. These people are very, very dedicated. They’re also very smart in their own way, and we need to keep the feet to the fire and keep pressing these people until we defeat them or chase them back to their caves, or, in other words, get rid of them.”
Deady later confirmed he made those comments in an interview to Talking Points Memo, adding that he did not believe there were good and bad Muslims. “They’re all Muslims,” he said.
Reached at his Bedford, N.H. home Saturday, Deady would not say whether he was pressured to resign. “This is not going to go any further with me,” he said. “I’m way beyond my depth with you people,” before suggesting reporters contact the campaign’s press office.
State Chairman Wayne Semprini said in a campaign statement Saturday that Deady resigned from his volunteer position.
The comments come at an interesting time for Giuliani, who has been actively courting support from veterans in recent days. He held three events for veterans in earlier this week in Florida before traveling to Iowa Friday.
Deady told TPM his comment to “get rid” of Muslims did not refer to genocide. “What I was referring to is, stand up to them every time they stick up their heads and attack us,” he said. “We can't afford to say, `We'll try diplomacy.' They don't respond to it. If you look into Islamic tradition, a treaty is only good for five years. We're not dealing with a rational mindset here. We're dealing with madmen."
