Remember what everyone was talking about seventeen months ago? At the end of 2007, every mainstream journalist and pundit was claiming that the 2008 general election was going to come down to Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. That single fact stands alone as one of the most important statements of the circle-jerk nature of the media today.
Scoot ahead seventeen months to present day, and let‘s see what’s happening with Presidents Clinton and Giuliani. Hillary Clinton’s approval ratings as Secretary of State are skyrocketing, and now people are starting to wonder whatever happened to that dude who married his cousin. Just in time, here’s a little human interest story right out of New York.
When Giuliani was mayor of New York, he famously had a rather disastrous marriage to his second wife Donna Hanover. Donna kicked him out of Gracie Mansion, and Guiliani went to live with two of his closest friends, Howard Koeppel and Mark Hsiao, a nice gay couple who let him sleep in the guest room of their multi-million dollar Manhattan apartment. Back then, Mayor Giuliani was a big fan of homosexuals, and under his mayoral tenure he expanded gay rights and stood up for gay civil unions. The Rudy Giuliani of today isn’t so interested in gay rights, not even bothering to attend the legal Connecticut wedding of his old friends:
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was a last-minute no-show at the wedding of his former roommates — a gay couple — yesterday.
It was a disappointment for Queens car dealer Howard Koeppel and his longtime lover, Mark Hsiao, who tied the knot in a double-ring ceremony before 10 guests in Westport, Conn.
The couple famously let the ex-mayor crash at their luxury $2.37 million three-bedroom Manhattan apartment while he was going through a nasty divorce with Donna Hanover in 2001. Later, Giuliani married the “other woman,” Judith Nathan.
“Rudy and Judith were both invited with a beautiful written invitation by mail,” said Koeppel. “His secretary called Thursday and said he was not able to come to the wedding and wished us all the best.”
Koeppel once quipped that Giuliani was a perfect roommate who “always made his bed” and “called me mother.”
At the time, Giuliani ducked the question about whether living with a gay couple had changed his longstanding opposition to gay marriage.
“I don’t relate to people as white, black, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, gay, lesbian, heterosexual,” the then-mayor told reporters at Gracie Mansion.
Giuliani has stated he has no problem with civil unions but told The Post he’d speak out against gay marriage if he runs for governor. Connecticut in November allowed gays to marry.
[From The New York Post]
Obviously, this isn’t really political hypocrisy because Guiliani has never been a proponent of gay marriage, only civil unions. But to not even attend a wedding held by two of your closest friends? These are the two men who took him in and helped facilitate his affair with his now-wife Judith Nathan. They took care of him and helped him out when he was getting bad press all over the place. Is Rudy not capable of separating the politics from the people?
Here’s Rudy and Judith Giuliani at the premiere of ‘Grey Gardens’ at The Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on April 14th. Images thanks to WENN.com .
The problem is if he attended and then ran, he’d be a hypocrite. I truly believe he wishes his friends well and supports them in heart-but as he is a politician he cannot jeopardize that.
This from a man that carried on an affair while still married.
He is a hypocrite of the worst kind.
Guiliani thanks himself everyday for 9/11 happening. If it wasn’t for that he would have been remebered as a very hated Mayor. Just because he cleaned up the streets does not mean he was a good Mayor. He has been riding on the coat tails of 9/11 for almost 8 years now. Thank God it didn’t get him anywhere in the Presidential election.
Sorry for going so off topic and a little crazy. I just really hate this man and everything he stands for.
Congratulations to the newly weds!!!!
Self-righteous adulterer 🙂
Agreed.
This opportunistic slimeball has been using 9/11 for years.
Giulani might have cleaned up the streets, but only at the cost of incarcerating many for petty marijuana possession. 1/9 of all arrests in NYC during his “reign” were marijuana-possession related. Knowing these politico types, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually having sex with that gay couple. I wonder if he knows that adultery is considered as high on the list of sins as homosexuality. Hypocrite.
Can he separate the politics from the people? A resounding NO. I’m so over this debate. What does a gay couple getting married have to do with anyone else? Why do some people care so much?
Good for Rudy for standing up for what he believes in! Gays have the right to get married. People have the right not to like it.
How do you not attend your own close friends’ wedding???
I don’t care about the politics! What about the loyalty??
Ever give any consideration to the fact that maybe something came up or maybe the man had a bad batch of burritos for dinner? I mean fgs it was a last minute pull out as they said so maybe he wasnt well or something important came up preventing his attendance.
And as for the whole “friend” thing…how can you say someone is your friend but not support their right to get married? That smacks of condescension to me. I wouldn’t *ever* want a friend who was judging my sexuality and thought I shouldn’t have certain rights because of it.
How can a group of people refuse to accept the right if churches and other people to determine who and how they will conduct marriages? That is so closed minded! Churches need to fight for their rights and stand up for their freedom to chose!!
Sad. This story reminded me of a time that supposedly good friends of the family-staunch Catholics who will not ever use birth control-blacklisted my gay brother from their son’s wedding. The boys played together when we were little, much more than he and I ever did.
Whatever, they will get theirs. Now the groom and his wife just had their second child in 2 and a half years–I wonder how they feel about birth control right now. Have fun with that little prison of your own making.
“Churches need to fight for their rights and stand up for their freedom to chose!!”
Um, its not just an issue of church. While many people sign their marriages OUTSIDE of a church’s foyer, our government has violated the separation of church and state by making legal unions an issue defined by religion.
Christian’s aren’t the only people in this country. The sooner they concede that and let it go, the better.
Some people happen to be consistent with their values (whatever they are)….
I didn’t go to my brother’s wedding (to a woman) because I didn’t endorse his hypocrisy and lies (he betrayed her multiple times, hid a lot of stuff from her, etc). Similarly, I wouldn’t go to my friends’ homosexual wedding because I don’t support it. I could go to a civil union ceremony because I do support it.
It’s too bad that you didn’t include the wedding picture from the Post Kaiser. Howard & Mark look so happy!
Rudy should have handled the RSVP better. Having your secy. do the dirty work is cowardly, declining at the last minute is inexcusable.
what a friggin a-hole. these men took him into their home when donna kicked his ass out of gracie mansion; and in the process bringing attention to themselves. and that phucking scumbag can’t even call them personally to decline — he has his secretary do it!
and to the clueless who thinks rudy’s doing this for principle — you don’t have a clue. rudy had no problem with gays until he decided to go for national office.
america’s mayor, my ass.
Of course Rudy “doesn’t relate to people as white, black, gay”, whatever! He’s a true politician. He relates to people in terms of what they can DO for him.
His “mother” should spank his sorry ass.
Similarly, I wouldn’t go to my friends’ homosexual wedding because I don’t support it.
That’s awful. Especially when there’s been proof that marriage and civil unions do not give the same rights. By not wanting to go to their wedding, you’re saying you agree that they SHOULD have less rights.
I’m glad I’m not THAT kind of “friend”.
Rudy only stand up for what’s best for Rudy at any given time. The “friends” that are getting married are obviously being used in a political move. If this is what your “friend” would do to you, he was never your friend. And Rudy Guliani has been a colassal failure at every sanctified marriage he’s entered into. What a pig.
obviously he doesn’t understand the definition of marriage. what about “to death do us part”? what gives him the right to even speak out on marriage? The fool is on his 3rd marriage.
It was not stated as to why he didn’t attend. I don’t understand why we’re turning this into a “he didn’t go because they’re gay” thing…
Congrats to the couple.
However, we don’t know why Guiliani couldn’t attend. Let’s not judge and label him just yet.
His view towards gays is one of the reasons I liked him over the other Republican candidates. I was a hardcore RG fan because he was pro-choice and because he shacked up with his gay buddies! He was conservative where I wanted him to be conservative — fiscally and regarding national security.
Hypocrite and douche of the first order. And by all appearances, one of the lizard aliens, too.
Also, Pop it Up, how can you say that someone thanks themselves everyday that over 3,000 people died on 9/11? What a sick statement. Even if 9/11 hadn’t happened, he still would have been known as a mayor who cleaned up Times Square.
God forbid if you had some halfwit like Bloomberg as mayor if another 9/11 happened. He’d be wandering around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Lemme guess, Pop it Up…you voted for Obama.
Why make the automatic assumption that he didn’t attend because it was a gay wedding? Maybe he really wanted to attend, but an emergency came up, and he just couldn’t make it. I’m so tired of whiny people who go through life just looking for reasons to be offended so they can have something to complain about.
He has been milking 9/11 for all it’s worth since day one and it is disgusting. His entire campaign when he actually thought he could become President was 9/11. He does thank God everyday for 9/11. Otherwise his career would have been over in 2002. Just because he cleaned up the city does NOT mean he was liked. Most people hated him before 9/11.
Let me guess meowmeow…your an asshole who has no idea what they’re talking about? That’s what I thought
while I do feel that I’d like to bash Giuliani for this, I agree that we don’t know why he didn’t go to the wedding. it certainly could be political (my guess) but yeah, he could have been sick or something much more innocent.
regarding how Giuliani sees 9/11…as much as it may seem to be a “sick” statement, 9/11 is what propelled him to the national stage and made him a household name. The ONLY thing he could point to as a “qualification” in the primaries was his handling of what happened that day. Did he come through? sure he did, but before that day, he was NOT very well liked in NYC. Respected as a leader, but not well liked. Yeah, he would have been known as the Mayor who cleaned up Times Square, but that would only hold any cache in NYC, not in the rest of the country. so yeah, if not for 9/11, he wouldn’t have any name recognition out of NYC.
http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2007/02/09/was-giuliani-a-bum-on-91001/
Lemme guess, Pop it Up…you voted for Obama.
Lemme guess, you like to make sweeping generalizations about a group of people you so clearly have a bias towards?
Or you enjoy looking like an ignorant conservative?
I vote both.
Be fair people! Maybe Rudy sent a nice gift – like matching boxers with prepunched entrance into the exit only slot.
Civil Unions – separation of church and state that should be equal for all
Marriage – a religious connotation that should be free to chose its’ values; Christain or not
i don’t know how you can be friends with someone and not support their basic civil rights. it’s not as if his friend was marrying a goat, or a cousin or something. as for his support of “traditional marriage” i’m uncertain how having an affair and being married 3 times is better.
@Annie – LMAO – love it! What a perfect response!
This from the guy who went on network TV and told the whole world he was divorcing his wife — before he told his wife?
This from the slimeball who told his wife to haul ass out of the Mayor’s mansion so he could bring his mistress in? (You want out of your marriage, buster, YOU get out.)
Giuliani is a bottom-feeding sack of shit. I’ve lived in New York all my life and I’m proud to say I never voted for that jerk.
Who cares? Everyone knows that Rudy is a Conservative, and he is sticking to his beliefs! Last I checked, it wasn’t against the law to not want to celebrate homosexuality every 20 seconds, even though it seems like there are plenty of people out there who wish that it was. I don’t think that ANYONE should have to compromise their ethics for the sake of anyone else: gay, straight, whatever.
Well he is a great friend to have.
Annie your response was good until you added; “…Or you enjoy looking like an ignorant conservative?”
Nice sweeping generalzation yourself.
Pop, try chewing on a couple xanax followed by a deep breath.
Why so much anger when someone disagrees with you. It’s opinion, not fact skewing.
patrice, what “conservative” beliefs would those be?
morality when it comes to marriage?
In that case, he gets a BIG FAT FAIL.
Giuliani would not even meet with elected officials if they were black, so he lied about that too. He was not respected as a leader, he was despised. And he has milked 9/11 way too much to not love what it did for his political career. Without it, most of you would never have heard of him. As a New Yorker, I had the misfortune to have him as a mayor. He’s disgusting, and his using of this couple is abominable. He approved of living with them, but can’t show up or give his regrets himself? Giuliani has no ethics. Defending him is defending the indefensible.
First of all, Giuliani in retrospect wasn’t that great of a mayor. Then he runs around on his wife, she kicks him out, he lives with two gay men who decide to get married and he doesn’t have the courtesy to attend? And then let’s the secretary respond for him? Like his schedule is soooooo booked? I attended a gay wedding last year in Canada, one of the couple was a long-time friend of my son’s and invited me. It was a good ceremony. I don’t know what all of this fuss is about? I am sure that Rudy eats fish on Friday, doesn’t go to mass every week, committed adultery on his wife and still considers himself to be a good Catholic too!