Giuliani criticized by New Yorkers for not being a hater

Yes, it's really true:

Just read the venerable New York Post editorial entitled "Rudy the Yankee Flipper," subtitled "Mass.-kisser roots for Red Sox," and with the first sentence reading: "Call him Judas Giuliani."

You see, Giuliani "revealed yesterday that he is backing the hated Boston Red Sox in the World Series." Harsh? Not really. Part of the job description of being a Yankees fan is hating the Boston Red Sox.

His reasoning was pretty weak:

"I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team - maybe with exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't, because I'm loyal to New York."

Given that Montana Headlines is a Yankees-free zone and that we are Red Sox fans (same difference,) we aren't inclined to take it easy on Giuliani. The biggest reason why a Giuliani vs. Clinton matchup would be such a disaster for the country has nothing to do with the authoritarian streak that both share, and even less to do with their similar stances on abortion.

It is that no matter what, we would have a Yankees fan in the White House. And opportunistic fans of the Yankees are the worst -- Giuliani has proven that while he is still ahead of Clinton on that score, we're beginning to wonder.

So is all of New York:

Richard Gerber, 69, a retired garment salesman, said Giuliani was trying to peel away votes from GOP rival Mitt Romney, the ex-Massachusetts governor.

"It's hypocritical. He's a New Yorker," said Gerber.

Giuliani's siding with the Sox surprised even his New York campaign team.

"I question his Yankee credentials. If you're a big Yankee fan, you have to hate the Red Sox," said Guy Molinari, New York co-chair of the Giuliani campaign.

They've even figured this game out down in Tennessee, where they may talk slower than they do in New York, but apparently think faster:

"We thought Mayor Giuliani's endorsement of Democrat Mario Cuomo [in 1994] was rooting for the other team," Republican rival Fred Thompson's campaign said in a statement. "But for Yankee fans, this might be a new low."

Could it be that Giuliani may have to drop out for having failed to hate sufficiently? Stay tuned.

Sunday roundup and branding -- the Gazette, and beyond...

Image Courtesy of www.old-picture.com

He's the man: So show some respect -- and love.

GOP in for tune-up, oil-change, and lube: Or perhaps an overhaul. Something.

Craig Wilson, a political scientist from Montana State University-Billings, said he doesn't believe Republicans are as strong in Montana as they could be.

Quite an understatement. Wilson cites the failure of Republicans to identify credible challengers to Sen. Baucus and the governor. These are indeed problems, since it is not easy to gain state-wide name-recognition and political viability in a small-population state.

Rehberg could give a strong challenge to either of these Democrats in a well-run campaign. But the risk of losing the House seat would be unacceptably high, and chances of success would be less than even odds.

One thing that the GOP needs to work on is identifying and grooming good candidates at every level. And something that every GOP elected official needs to work on is preparing for the possibility of another run -- either for re-election or for a higher or different office.

Good candidates need to be willing to step "down," as well. If a good state legislator in Billings is term-limited, a run for the city council should be considered, for instance. Term-limited senators should go back to run for the House, taking their experience with them.

A lot is expected of new party chairman Erik Iverson -- he needs to succeed in making Republicans the party that Montanans trust and depend on.

The Gazette editorial page is number one: According to the Montana Newspaper Association's 2006 Better Newspaper Contest, that is. Opinion Editor Pat Bellinghausen won for the best editorial page and for the best editorial writing.

Those of us who found Missoulian's Steve Woodruff (unfortunately no longer at that paper) to be more balanced and to have a more engaging and less ponderous style of writing would disagree. He was also less condescending toward us ignorant peasants -- but that isn't the stuff that earns awards. It is, however, a bit surprising that Woodruff didn't get a few bonus points as a fraternal goodbye.

The problems with the Gazette opinion page are numerous, and tedious to recount. One can only be grateful for the fact that a large percentage of the Gazette's readers either don't look at the opinion page, or assume that if Bellinghausen is for it, then they should probably be against it. Loyal opposition and all that sort of thing.

France's move right continues: As noted before, MH doesn't understand the fine points of French politics, but the fact that Sarkozy's party won a clear parliamentary majority, allowing him to pursue his ambitious reforms, can only be a good thing.

The rest of Europe will be watching to see how Sarkozy implements his immigration-reform plans. Rather than eliminate family-reunification as the hard right in France had proposed, Sarkozy has proposed that family members must learn French and prove proficiency before coming to France, that the family member bringing them in prove that the means is there to support them (including having housing arranged,) and that would-be immigrants sign a declaration that they respect French national identity.

News organizations are portraying this parliamentary victory as a loss for Sarkozy, since it wasn't the landslide that had been predicted at one point, but it doesn't take away from the clear majority that will allow his legislation to move forward. Part of what cut into the vote were plans to reduce payroll taxes by shifting some of it to sales taxes -- more class-warfare stuff.

More show-voting from Sens. Baucus and Tester: This time a non-binding no-confidence vote on A.G. Gonzalez. Sen. Mike Enzi of WY voted against the measure.

What is it with these wimpy non-binding resolutions? If he's done bad things, then get on with impeachment proceedings. Otherwise get back to work rather than engaging in show-trials and show-voting.

One also hopes that Enzi voted against it because it was a silly non-binding resolution submitted only to play political games -- and not because Enzi has confidence in Gonzalez. If he does, then he's even further off-base than are Sens. Baucus and Tester, who at least recognize incompetence and cronyism when they see it.

Now we can go see the Cubs play more easily: Wrigley Field, ivy-covered walls, walking in downtown Chicago on those historic streets and across those great bridges. Now it's all a non-stop daily flight away from Billings on United Airlines -- but only for the summer.

The Canadians are coming: On vacation, that is. Those of us who enjoy traveling to Canada don't get the benefit of a strong dollar these days, but Montana is benefiting from the strength of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar. On a summer when high gas prices are going to keep a lot of American tourists home (to the great benefit of the environment,) our neighbors to the north may make up some of the difference.

Finally over for at least another year: It's enough to make anyone feel happy and gay. We will neither have the Gazette editorial page scolding us like children about tolerance (there sure were a lot of people downtown throwing eggs and shouting profanity at the Gay Pride parade in Billings, weren't there?... not)

Nor will we have to read angry letters to the editor reacting against the planned parade and Mayor Ron Tussing's enthusiasm for it. Montanans tend to be MYOB people -- which is both why there wasn't anyone downtown spewing hate against homosexuals, and why parades like this are silly.

It is odd that modern Americans obsessed with creating persecuted groups would simultaneously preach that what one does in the privacy of one's own bedroom is one's own private business -- and then have a big parade to celebrate and advertise what is done in the privacy of one's own bedroom (and that is nobody else's business.)

One can expect the Gazette to promote, and perhaps even organize a monogamous, married, 2.5 children-per-family Christian heterosexual pride parade later this summer.

Traditionalism comes out swinging

The crack of the bat: Traditional thinking comes in many forms. Edmund Burke liked to talk about "old affections" that hold a people together. He, like so many conservatives, was acutely aware of the fact that constructive progress can best happen under conditions of stability and settledness. Baseball is one of those "old affections" that traditionally has held Americans together -- rich and poor, country and city, east and west.

True, other sports are competing for our attention, and baseball doesn't hold the same central place that it once did. We actually even recently elected a President who didn't like baseball -- the real reason that so many Republicans couldn't stand him, if truth is to be known.

That's why his spouse has been at such pains to prove that she is a die-hard Yankees fan. Granted, this showed her ignorance of baseball politics by not realizing that being a Yankees fan (especially a carpetbagger Yankees fan) is a grave liability once one gets 75 miles out of Gotham. If George Bush had previously owned the Yankees rather than the Rangers, Al Gore would have blown him out of the water in a landslide in 2000. But still, it showed that Mrs. Clinton was trying, and one has to respect her for that.

We old-fashioned types tend to like baseball -- not so much watching it on television necessarily as being there with the smell of freshly mown grass in the air, the sight of that green expanse, that unmistakable smack of ball on leather, and the settled rhythm of the game.

For reasons not entirely clear, many baseball fans would even rather listen to a ball game on a crackling AM radio than watch it on TV. Go figure. We like the fact that Cobb Field is being restored, but worry about whether the experience will be the same (and whether it is or isn't will still be debated even as bond issues for Cobb Field III are being voted on.)

And how about that unmistakable and lovely "clink" of a metal bat on the ball in college and high school games? Well, there's always something to mar the joy.

But thanks to our neighbors in North Dakota, we may be seeing a move back to wooden bats. High school ball will be all with wooden bats this season, and according to the Gazette's AP article, "high school officials across the country are watching to see how this plays out."

While we curmudgeons would want to return to wooden bats on aesthetic grounds alone, the biggest selling point is of course safety. This season's legislative session in Montana saw a bill introduced to ban metal bats, spurred by the death of a Miles City player hit by a line drive.

That bill failed, but really, this is the job of schools and leagues to police themselves, and it can't happen soon enough. Now if MLB could just get rid of the D.H., steroid use, an interminable season, and wild-card spots in the playoffs.

But time to stop grumping and to go back to joy -- kids are hearing the crack of a bat again in at least one state.

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In other breaking news, the Pope is firmly opposed to abortion.