Rudy Keeps Telling Same Fib About Hillary -- Because Media Won't Call Him On It
October 9, 2007 -- 6:04 PM EST // //

During the GOP debate this afternoon, Rudy Giuliani attacked Hillary as a Marxist over a quote she gave in an interview back in 1996. Take a look:

Rudy said:

"The leading Democratic candidate once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America. I mean, just get an idea of where that philosophy comes from."

Rudy uses this line on Hillary frequently. But as has been conclusively proven, it's an almost comically dishonest distortion of what Hillary actually said in a 1996 interview with Brian Lamb.

In that interview, Hillary quoted another author saying that the unfettered free market had been radically disruptive, not destructive, and actually went on to praise free markets, saying "that the market is the driving force behind our prosperity ... but that it cannot be permitted just to run roughshod over people's lives as well."

Yet Rudy continues to use this distortion with abandon. He's hauled it out again, and again, and again -- and again today. Why? Simple: He knows he can count on the media not to call him on it.

As a public service, I've compiled a list of instances in the past few months in which reporters or commentators gave Rudy a platform to say this without letting their poor readers or viewers know just how comedically grotesque a distortion it is.

Here's Larry Kudlow letting Rudy skate with this distortion on Kudlow and Company on August 13:

MR. GIULIANI: Well, I make of that it's very consistent. I mean, she's the one who agreed with the statement that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America. The unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America? That's got to tell you her ideology, right? She agreed with that statement a few years ago.

MR. KUDLOW: Do you disagree with that?

MR. GIULIANI: (Laughs.) I sure do.

Associated Press, July 6:

In a debate in Columbia, South Carolina, Giuliani argued that Clinton was an apostle of big government. "The leading Democratic candidate for president of the United States has said that the unfettered free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America," the former New York mayor said.

And, the trio piled on when Clinton voted...

Fox News, May 20:

GIULIANI: The comment that I used was one that she agreed with actually on C- SPAN. It was in a book. She agreed with it. It was that the unfettered free market is one of the most destructive forces in modern America.

I can think of some pretty destructive forces in modern America. I don't think of the unfettered free market as being the most destructive force.

HANNITY: Let's go to the one issue that I guess probably everyone would say has been most troublesome for you in the campaign...

CBS, The Early Show, May 16:

[ANCHOR HARRY] SMITH: First, I want to talk about Rudy Giuliani. As Jim was talking about, the last debate, he was trying to straddle the fence on abortion, and that came up clearly in the debate last night. Let's listen to his response.

Mr. GIULIANI: We're looking at a race here in which the leading Democratic candidate for president of the United States has said that the unfettered free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America. That's a quote. That's a quote she agreed with. She's also said with regard to taxes that we have to take money from you in order to give it to the common good.

SMITH: So one of the things that Rudy's tried to do last night was to differentiate him especially from the Democrats. Jeff, why was that important?

Time magazine, May 8:

Giuliani was having a good debate even before he reduced Paul to history...And he launched into what a threat to the republic Clinton would be because she believes "an unfettered free market is the most disastrous thing in modern America." When Tancredo accused him of being soft on immigration...

And on and on. Rudy wants to win an election. He doesn't care if he has to dissemble and distort in order to make this happen. Why on earth would Rudy stop using this silly fib when so many in the media will grant him a platform to broadcast it and when so few in the media call him on it?

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