Giuliani's values

On Oct. 23, the Southeast Missourian published an article entitled: "Emerson endorses Giuliani, will serve as Missouri chairwoman of campaign." In it, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is quoted as saying, "I'm proud to support Mayor Giuliani for president because he offers the best vision for our nation. His commitments to protecting American families and advocating fiscally conservative policies are important to Missourians, and I know Rudy is the only candidate who can beat the Democrats next fall."

Guiliani has ties to the NAFTA Super-Highway project via the Texas Trans-Corridor. The TCC awarded the massive construction project to Cintra Concesiones de Infrastructures de Transporte, S.A, a foreign firm based in Spain. An article entitled, "NAFTA Superhighway Has Guiliani as Key Player," found at the Hulic.com Web site, details Guiliani's involvement, stating:

"At the center of negotiations for multiple legs of the superhighway corridor throughout Texas is none other than Rudolph Giuliani's law firm, which landed the comprehensive development agreement for a widening of Interstate 35, now referred to as the TTC-35.

"The NAFTA superhighway and its corridor will run from Southwestern Mexico through Laredo, Austin and Dallas, Texas, into Kansas City, Kan, [via western Missouri] serving as an inland customs port. ... Most interesting ... is not only has Mr. Giuliani's involvement in the NAFTA superhighway not ever been publicly addressed, but how a foreign company is awarded the building of a mass highway system, versus maintaining it, for the first time in U.S. history, and negotiated by the law firm of the top Republican candidate running for president of the United States. And truly disturbing is how such will not only have national and homeland security and sovereignty implications but how it is deliberately being kept away from the halls of Congress.

"Giuliani fancies himself as an expert on homeland security issues and a law enforcer. And he has amassed quite the portfolio since 2002, earning $20 million in that year alone, by selling himself as such. He owns Giuliani Partners, Giuliani Safety & Security and Giuliani Capital Advisors. In March 2007 he sold Giuliani Capital Advisors, a former Ernst & Young finance company he purchased in 2002, to Macquerie Infrastructure Consortium. Not coincidentally, it is a partner of Cintra's in its shared operations of toll roads in both Indiana and Chicago."

Information found at the Wikipedia.org Web site states, "Giuliani has been the target of criticism from many conservatives for some of his views, especially with regard to abortion, immigration, gay rights and gun control."

In 1999 Giuliani said, "I'm pro-choice. I'm pro-gay rights." On the partial-birth abortion ban, Giuliani said, "No, I have not supported [a ban], and I don't see my position on that changing." However, on April 18 Guiliani stated that the U.S. Supreme Court "reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial-birth abortion. Giuliani supported public funding for abortions when first running for mayor in 1989, and reaffirmed his support in 2007 while campaigning for the presidency."

On Oct. 22, the Huffington Post Web site published an article that stated, "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani beats all his Republican competitors hands down for contributions from prominent gay Republicans. ... Giuliani, as mayor of New York, was a strong supporter of gay rights, signing domestic partnership legislation, joining gay pride marches and, when he left his second wife Donna Hanover, living with a gay couple."

And Representative Emerson says Guiliani represents Missouri values? Who knew Missourians were so eager to give up their firearms, abort their babies, divorce their spouses, enter same-sex domestic partnerships and embrace a program that erodes the sovereignty of their country and their state?

Obviously, Emerson knows that Giuliani does not represent Missouri values, so what does she gain by endorsing him and running his campaign here? Perhaps a place in the Guiliani cabinet should he become president?

Clint E. Lacy resides in Marble Hill, Mo.