I'm one of the folks who thinks the Orange County Register has gotten better in recent years–more willing to go after once sacred cows. I especially like the work of the paper's OC Watchdog section. They've routinely done fantastic work.
And then a Reg story pops up that reminds me of the bad old days when the paper was little more than a subservient Republican Party instrument.
Today, we had the Grand Avenue boys fawning over Rudy Giuliani's appearance in Little Saigon for Republican candidates Van Tran, who faces Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, and Carly Fiorina, who hopes to upset Senator Barbara Boxer.
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The author of the article mentioned Giuliani's “stature,” more than implying how impressive it was that someone like the former New York City mayor would spend the time visiting Orange County. But he didn't explain his reason for injecting the “stature” line.
Was it because Giuliani couldn't muster one lousy Republican delegate in his 2008 quest for his party's presidential nomination?
Was it because Giuliani endorsed the liberal Mario Cuomo over Republican George Pataki in New York's 1994 governor's race?
Was it because Giuliani tried to severely limit New York City's liability to public employees exposed to toxic materials while cleaning up Ground Zero?
Was it that Giuliani earned the 2008 presidential endorsement of the Rev. Pat Robertson, one the most bizarre religious freaks in national history?
Was it when Giuliani said, “I don't agree with myself on everything?” or, “I'm probably one of the four or five best known Americans in the world”?
Was it when Giuliani said, “Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do”?
Was it because Giuliani associated himself with Bernard Kerik, a former high-ranking police official in federal prison now for his financial arrangements with the Mafia?
Was it because Giuliani was pro-gay rights as mayor and, at one point, lived with two gay guys, but when he ran as a Republican for president turned his back on that commitment?
Was it because Giuliani billed and tried to hide tens of thousands of dollars he charged taxpayers for alleged “security” while he secretly visiting a mistress?
Was it because Giuliani was buddies with the biggest disgrace in Orange County law enforcement history, sheriff-turned-convicted Mike Carona?
That's some stature.
But the Reg boys couldn't even bring themselves to mention a low-hanging irony: Tran, the politician happily bumping shoulders with Giuliani today, didn't even endorse the former New York City mayor in his presidential bid. Tran vigorously backed John McCain.
We end on the potential impact of Giuliani's and the stature of his Tran/Fiorina endorsements: zero, unless some shady figures start sending the pair big, underground contributions from the other coast.
–R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly
CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.
