Rudy Giuliani: Crime and Racism

Will Innuendo Affect His Presidential Candidacy?

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City and current Presidential Candidate, has one unflinching, steadfast policy; he is tough on crime. Mr. Giuliani has a distinguished career as a crime-fighter. According to the Academy of Achievement, Giuliani was a clerk to a Federal Court Judge, an Assistant United States Attorney, Chief of the Narcotics Unit, Executive U.S. Attorney, Associate Deputy Attorney General, partner in a prestigious law firm, Associate Attorney General, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and, of course, Mayor of New York City.

Mr. Giuliani has a reputation for prosecuting mob bosses, corrupt politicians and Wall Street inside traders. During his career as U.S. Attorney he was highly regarded as the most effective prosecutor in the United States. During his eight years as Mayor the crime rate in New York declined by 57 percent and the FBI rated New York City as America's safest large city. This is not bolstering; these are stone cold facts.

However, there is a cold consequence to these stone cold crime fighting facts. Giuliani's critics allege his lifelong penchant for the pursuit of crime is tainted by racism.

According to the City Journal, Giuliani's critics claim that he lowered crime in New York City by allowing police officers to oppress black and Latino New Yorkers with brute force. The magazine, In These Times, published Steve Wishnia's review of the movie Giuliani Time which states, "But the racial subtext of Giuliani's policies eventually caused his political downfall. The 1999 police killing of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant shot 19 times because he pulled a wallet during a police stop, cracked the mayor's invincibility. Giuliani dismissed the ensuing protests as "silly," which translated to many as callous and racist."