Drop in Polls Show Americans Not Buying Rudy Giuliani's 9/11 Rhetoric

September 12, 2007, Washington, DC - While he travels to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia today, new polls show that Rudy Giuliani's attempts to make 9/11 a cornerstone of his campaign is faltering. After months of protests by first responders angered with his leadership in the aftermath of 9/11, the "dramatic erosion in his support" is not surprising. Protests will likely grow as Rudy continues to duck questions about his role in exposing firefighters and recovery workers to debilitating toxic air at Ground Zero and as doctors who treated Ground Zero workers testify before Congress today.

Records show that Giuliani's administration was aware of the toxic levels of asbestos in air samples of Ground Zero but he "sidelined" federal agencies with "extensive disaster response experience." Giuliani's administration assigned clean-up to an unknown city agency and re-opened sections of Manhattan "despite knowing the air was toxic," "overruling" the city's Department of Environmental Protection which found high levels of asbestos in 27 of 38 tests conducted before Giuliani refuted concerns about the air quality and said the "air quality is safe and acceptable." [The New York Times, 5/14/07; UPI, 9/7/06; Giuliani, 9/28/01; New York Post, 9/7/06; Daily News, 9/6/06]

As firefighters and 9/11 family members noted in a recent video, Giuliani also has not taken responsibility for neglecting the needs of city firefighters or his poor decision to put the emergency command center in the shadow of the World Trade Center. [www.rudy-urbanlegend.com]

Rudy Giuliani also recently angered recovery workers by claiming that he was at Ground Zero "as often, if not more" than the recovery workers at the site, which The New York Times later proved to be factually inaccurate. For the period of September 17 to December 16, 2001, Rudy logged a total of 29 hours at Ground Zero, while many brave rescue and recovery workers worked 12-hour shifts every day.

"Given the way Rudy Giuliani has turned his back on the health problems of 9/11 fire fighters and recover workers, it is not surprising that Americans are rejecting his shabby brand of leadership," said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Dag Vega. "It is time for Giuliani to truthfully answer their concerns, take time to advocate for those who are suffering today, and forgo making the tragedy the cornerstone of his campaign."

Giuliani Misled Public, First Responders About Ground Zero Conditions, Leading To Widespread Health Problems; Now He Bucks Responsibility
Giuliani Touts Accountability. On the Giuliani Partners website, Giuliani is quoted as saying, "Nothing builds confidence in a leader more than a willingness to take responsibility for what happens during his watch." [Giuliani Partners, http://www.giulianipartners.com/accountability.aspx, accessed 6/25/07]

But, When the Truth About The Air Quality at Ground Zero Was Revealed, Giuliani Passed The Blame. Responding to former EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman's charges that the city didn't adequately address air quality problems, the Giuliani campaign passed the buck and blasted Whitman as the one at fault, issuing a fact sheet entitled "Setting The Record Straight" and saying that "Administrator Whitman never voiced any of these concerns at the time." [http://www.joinrudy2008.com/news/pr/318, accessed 6/25/07]

Giuliani Dismissed Test Results, Exposing Workers And Public

Giuliani Said Air Was Safe In Late September '01. In late September 2001, Giuliani flatly denied that air quality at Ground Zero was an issue, saying at a press conference: "The air quality is safe and acceptable. And I know there are people that are concerned about it and people that are worried about it, but that's just the reality." [Giuliani, 9/28/01]

But Giuliani Already Knew That The Air Was Toxic, After 27 Bad Test Results. Investigations by the media and the public interest groups revealed documents showing that "Giuliani re-opened sections of downtown Manhattan weeks after the 9/11 attacks despite knowing the air was toxic," and that he "overruled" the city's Department of Environmental Protection. According to the Daily News, 27 of 38 tests before his statement that the air was safe showed elevated levels of asbestos. [UPI, 9/7/06; New York Post, 9/7/06; Daily News (New York), 9/6/06]

Giuliani Did Not Enforce Safety Standards. The Daily News reported, "Giuliani and the city failed miserably to enforce federal safety rules at the site. For weeks, the city did not ensure that every worker used proper respirators and decontamination methods - something federal inspectors noted in a highly critical report on Oct. 6, 2001." The New York Times wrote that official documents, interviews and legal testimony show that the city "never meaningfully enforced federal requirements that those at the site wear respirators." [Daily News (New York), 9/6/06; The New York Times, 5/14/07]

Firefighters, Public Falling Ill By The Thousands

WTC Dust "Clearly Linked" To A Serious and Fatal Diseases. The WorldTradeCentertoxic dust was directly linked to sarcoidosis, a debilitating and potential fatal disease that firefighters developed at 5 times the rate after exposure to the toxins. According to The New York Times, in a 2007 "clinical study to clearly link World Trade Center dust to serious and sometimes fatal diseases, doctors have found that the number of New York City rescue and recovery workers with a rare type of lung-scarring condition soared in the year after the trade center collapsed." [The New York Times, 5/8/07, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/nyregion/08lung.html]

Several Firefighters Later Died and Thousands Fell Ill. Thousands of firefighters developed illnesses and what has become known as World Trade Center cough. "Beyond all doubt" the deaths of at least four responders were "a direct consequence of their service" at the WTC site according to the Daily News. [The New York Times, 2/27/07; 5/14/07; Newsday (New York), 1/31/07; Daily News (New York), 7/25/06]

Healthcare Costs Estimated At $250 Million Just For Workers. The Bush Administration, after "impassioned pleas" by members of New York's congressional delegation, agreed in 2007 to spend $25 million to care for rescue workers, a down payment towards total costs estimated at $250 million. [The New York Times, 1/31/07]

New York City Facing Lawsuits for Giuliani's Actions

City Facing Lawsuits For "Inexcusable Violation" Of Safety Laws; Giuliani Administration Was Concerned About Lawsuits in 2001. Groups of recovery workers and first responders are suing the city. "Lawyers representing the workers argue that after the first two weeks the city was guilty of an ''inexcusable violation of basic safety laws'' because it did not ensure that the workers had proper protective equipment, like half-face respirators, and the training to use them."[The New York Times, 6/23/06]

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Source: Democratic National Committee

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