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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Monday Evening Open Thread: The Schadenfreudelicious Perils of Nepotism

Monday Evening Open Thread: The Schadenfreudelicious Perils of Nepotism

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For entertainment purposes, and as an example of the fact that Olivia Nuzzi is an equal-opportunity reputation assassin:

Andrew Giuliani was holding a silver spoon. He just was. There’s no getting around it. Sitting in a booth at Mansion Diner on 86th and York — about a thousand feet from each of the two homes in which he was raised: his mother’s apartment and Gracie Mansion — he poured a thimble-size packet of Farmland whole milk into his third cup of coffee and used the symbolically charged but otherwise ordinary instrument to stir. “New York means something to everybody,” he said. “It evokes a reaction.”

Ten days earlier, the Son of Rudy had announced his campaign for governor on the grounds that New York needs a Giuliani restoration to recover from the other dynastic Andrew — and that he can achieve it by scaling his father’s blueprint for the city of the ’90s to address the needs of the entire state in the ’20s. “I think the name Giuliani evokes a reaction in most people, too,” he said…

… A country may not be the sum of whom it elects, but a party is no more or less than its nominees — making Giuliani’s run a test of what “unqualified” means to the Republican electorate now. Giuliani, who is 35 years old, spent his early childhood on the Upper East Side, attended prep school in a tony Jersey suburb and college in North Carolina. Fully a third of his official campaign biography is devoted to his good grades at Duke (where he majored in sociology), a few internships in finance and real estate, his time as a “surrogate relations” volunteer on the Trump campaign, and his marriage. He cites as qualifying work experience his stint as a professional golfer; the four years he spent in the Trump administration, where he served in the Office of Public Liaison and as a special assistant to the president; and the seven weeks he was professionally a pundit on Newsmax, a network for people who think Fox News is too moderate, before he quit to join the gubernatorial race….

Like many villains and politicians, Giuliani has a vaguely unsettling quality. His hair and skin are a similar shade of muted strawberry blonde. He looks like Rudy only when he smiles, and he sounds like him only when he yells. He talks in cliché. “In this day and age, politics is front and center,” he told me. When he charms, it’s often premeditated. Upon his announcement, he was roasted for saying he’d “spent parts of five different decades of my life” in politics (reminder: He is 35), but the remark was part of a Buddy Hackett–style shtick he’s developed for public settings. He tried some of it out at Mansion Diner. “Career politicians are generally not my favorite,” he said. Beat. “I’m worse.” Beat. “I’m a politician out of the womb.” Beat. “I get up in the morning and I try to wash the filth off of me.” Beat. “And it’s still on!”…

Hating on some clueless trust fund jackass for having the gall to suggest he should be making decisions for others on a scale larger than a bachelor party is an exercise that often transcends partisan ideology. When a son of privilege seeks political power, it often seems that entitlement offense rages brightly in the moments just before private acceptance or approval kicks in: Parts of the population are reminded on a psychic or genetic level that they yearn for monarchy, while other parts decide they like the comfort of continuity under the guise of a democracy. The other form of entitlement, maybe a bit less galling, is assuming a right to patience and attention, to the willingness of a public to serve as an audience before which to work out familial psychological trauma. When I sat down with Andrew, it was the eve of Mercury’s retrograde and, he noted, his father’s 77th birthday (a Gemini, of course).

“There’s pain and daddy issues that exist beneath this,” one longtime Rudy associate said. A second longtime Rudy associate was gentler: “What Andrew is doing is less about Rudy than it is about what Andrew is doing to process Rudy.” There is something uncomfortable about Giuliani’s campaign. If you watch him for long enough to ask what might compel a person to do a thing like this, you get the sense that the act of running is one of self-harm, of lashing himself in the void left by his father. Is he out to prove something to Rudy or to show him — show us — what being Rudy’s son has done to him? Does he subconsciously want to hurt Rudy? You can’t tarnish a legacy that’s already been shattered, then lit on fire, then burned to a heap of ash, then sprinkled into the swamp and dissolved into a toxic vapor. Or can you?…

Reader Interactions

157Comments

  2. 2.

    germy

    SCHENECTADY – Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani’s late afternoon visits to an Italian restaurant and bakery Wednesday weren’t sanctioned by the businesses, their owners said.

    “I wasn’t aware that Andrew Giuliani stopped in my restaurant,” said Maria Perreca Papa, who co-owns the bakery with her brother.

    “Apparently, what happened was a frontman called the bakery this morning, not identifying themselves with the candidate or a political campaign of any kind, just very vaguely said, ‘I have a friend who’s coming to town and I’d like to show him around your business,’” Papa said.

    The owner said the worker who answered the phone said they couldn’t visit without the owner’s approval, but the frontman insisted on stopping by to say hello, and the employee didn’t object.

    When they arrived, the employees “put two and two together and realized it was a candidate,” the owner said.

    Perreca’s has a more than 100-year-old policy of not involving its businesses in politics, Papa said.

    https://dailygazette.com/2021/06/02/andrew-guiliani-stumps-for-votes-in-restaurant-bakery/

  3. 3.

    Brachiator

    If you watch him for long enough to ask what might compel a person to do a thing like this, you get the sense that the act of running is one of self-harm, of lashing himself in the void left by his father. Is he out to prove something to Rudy or to show him — show us — what being Rudy’s son has done to him? Does he subconsciously want to hurt Rudy? You can’t tarnish a legacy that’s already been shattered, then lit on fire, then burned to a heap of ash, then sprinkled into the swamp and dissolved into a toxic vapor. Or can you?…

    Now that’s what I call a third degree burn.

  4. 4.

    Mary G

    And a whole thread disappears while I was struggling to phrase a comment. Probably for the best. Please nobody quit. I need you all.

    This is something I was happy to see:

    Gov. Newsom says California will pay off all the past-due rent that accumulated in the state because of the fallout from the COVID pandemic, a promise to make landlords whole while giving renters a clean slate. https://t.co/8jVQckLZv9— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 21, 2021

    Recall that, Republicans. Investing in regular citizens instead of oligarchs, what a concept.

    In happier news, after four solid days of prep, the first row of tile has finally gone up onto the walls of my bathroom remodel and it is freaking gorgeous.

  5. 5.

    debbie

    @Brachiator:

    I never thought his children would ever embrace their father after the way he treated their mother, but Andrew seems to have. I don’t think this is him lashing out; I think he’s looking to get in on the grift.

  7. 7.

    dlwchico

    Here in Chico CA we have a city council with 2 more liberal members and 5 members that are less liberal.

    We also have several Facebook groups with names like “Chico First” that are basically anti-homeless grievance echo chambers and they hate the two liberals on the council.

    They managed to get rid of one of them by harassing him online, calling the employer he had for a summer job (he lost his job during the pandemic) and making suggestions that his wife’s employer should also be contacted and harassed.  So he resigned from the city council.

    It’s infuriating.

    https://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/chico-city-councilman-resigns-following-summer-job-controversy

  8. 8.

    germy

    I think Andrew G’s ultimate goal is to score his own show on WABC talk radio or something.

  9. 9.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    These people need to take their daddy issues and work them out somewhere they’ll have no power to hurt someone else.

    @Mary G: We’ll want pictures! I loved seeing Narnia’s kitchen remodel.

  10. 10.

    Mike E

    I merely comment that Russian bot farms have hacked the BBC and then the whole friggin post goes poof… I’ll take the L on that one, mea culpa

  11. 11.

    Mike in NC

    The consummate asshole, as befits Rudy’s spawn. Wonder what they paid him to sit around doing nothing for the Orange Clown?

  13. 13.

    HinTN

    I got to the business about Duke and majoring in sociology and almost choked. My best friend from childhood, now deceased, went to Duke seeking a Master’s degree in that subject (following a good liberal arts education) and quit to become a carpenter because, as he said, he discovered that Sociology was a self licking ice cream cone. He was a damn good carpenter, too. Poor Andy G, not even smart enough to figure out he was the mark.

  17. 17.

    Wyatt Salamanca

    Chris Jones is running for Governor of Arkansas and while I expect Sarah Huckster Sanders to win, this is one of the best political ads I’ve seen in years.

    Jones has a truly compelling story to tell and who knows maybe he’ll get lucky and pull off a miracle.

    h/t https://www.mediaite.com/politics/spectacular-campaign-ad-goes-viral-among-journos-celebs-top-dems-weve-seen-this-movie-before/

    Also too, WTF is the deal with Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse belonging to an all-white club in 2021?

    h/t https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sheldon-whitehouse-member-all-white-club_n_60d0fe24e4b038d5b9ab494

    Andrew Giuliani is just as repulsive as his dad.

  18. 18.

    E.

    Isn’t this the guy who sued Duke because he got cut from the golf team for not scoring high enough to remain on the golf team? I used to use the complaint, which was like 200 pages long or something, as an example of how not write a complaint.

  21. 21.

    Ohio Mom

    Mary G @4:

    I was confused by your comment about disappearing posts/threads so I took a look — POOF!

    The Adam post I was saving for after dinner (I was too hungry to fully comprehend it when it first appeared) has completely disappeared.

    What happened? It couldn’t have been good, whatever it was. I hope all the ruffled feathers can be smoothed.

    Also, so much for my new effort to not bring my phone to the table.

    ETA: I’ll respect your desire “not to out it.” But now I know it was bad.

  22. 22.

    Chris Johnson

    @Mike E: Is that what happened to Adam’s post? That was a weird one to suddenly vanish on us.

    He was really hot to convince us there was NOT going to be a vote on the For The People act and it was some sort of procedural something, that wasn’t what we thought. I must admit I didn’t really follow it.

  23. 23.

    HypersphericalCow

    @debbie: I have a half-written blog, “The Worst Andrews in the World”, about terrible people who share my first name. These are a couple new entries.

  26. 26.

    Anoniminous

    ““NO MORE THAN MERE SECONDS” of exposure in 10-60 centimeters where one man triggers several #DeltaVariant infections with brief “fleeting” contact.”

    Cite

    Author is an Epidemiologist & Health Economist.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    @E.: Isn’t this the guy who sued Duke because he got cut from the golf team for not scoring high enough to remain on the golf team?

    Think I see his problem, he believes a high score is better. Yo, Andy, buddy, we need to talk.

  28. 28.

    Steve in the ATL

    @E.: or maybe not scoring low enough because, you know, that’s how golf works.

    Either way, definitely how not to draft a complaint!

  30. 30.

    NotMax

    It’s not a campaign intended to become governor, it’s a campaign to increase after the fact perceived remunerative market value among right wing media and right wing personal appearance agents.

    Four Seasons Total Brandscaping.

  32. 32.

    Mike E

    @Chris Johnson: Like Mary, I was plunking out a snarky comment (to Baud, of all people) when everything went plaid… I was actually staying out of the fray, I swear!

  33. 33.

    Mary G

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Since my plans to go all kinds of places during the plague confinement have run into the brick wall of my hermit tendencies, and now that I stay home by choice I no longer wish to go out, I have decided to submit my remodel pictures as a OTR and in your backyard post. The bathroom is close to the backyard.

  40. 40.

    germy

    Very disappointed with @united, which asked for volunteers to gate check bags for ORD to BTV flight, claiming space was tight in overhead bins. I volunteered. Once on board, plenty of space in bins, and I have to go to the carousel to reclaim my bag. Boo! Won’t volunteer again.

    — Adam Silverman (@Wej12) June 10, 2021

    Never volunteer.

  42. 42.

    The Thin Black Duke

    I guessed I missed a genuine clusterfuck, huh? I’m glad I dodged that bullet.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Baud: I am willing to help cause problems.  What do you have in mind?  We could be mean to Steve in the WTF, but that’s sort of a normal night.

  44. 44.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @germy: I just wish the airlines would make up their minds on this.  They used to encourage you to check your bag, now they charge for it.  Then they realize that folk will just bring their bags as carryon and there’s too many carryon bags for the flight.  They need to make up their fucking minds.

  45. 45.

    zhena gogolia

    @Mary G:

    I miss Paul Bronks, whose twitter has been suspended for some reasons. He would have set that to some good music.

  46. 46.

    E.

    @Steve in the ATL:  touché, yes, but if I remember the team had a scoring system to determine the overall rank of the players on the team, and this was the basis of his case. He didn’t like the ranking system.

  47. 47.

    HRA

    @Mary G: I thought something happened to my desk top and yes it was probably best. Glad you are happy with your tile. I am reminded about wanting an upgrade on mine.

  50. 50.

    Another Scott

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The last time I flew, in the Before Times, the staff were always screaming that there was no space in the overhead bins, that people needed to drop their bags on the jetway to be checked, etc., etc.

    And there was always plenty of space in the bins.

    In a way, I feel for the staff because they don’t set the prices.  But they shouldn’t tell people things that aren’t true.  It makes their customers even more cynical.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  57. 57.

    NotMax

    @BillinGlendaleCA

    And the people who did shell out $XX to check a bag must feel right twits when those who later volunteer get theirs checked for free.

    Not mention also loaded in the hold last, so among the first to get to the carousel.

  60. 60.

    Van Buren

    We lost a dog in September, and a second one June 5th.  Can’t continue with only 1 dog, so we are getting a pup Saturday. Will be my first one in over 30 years that is not a little ball of fluff. Little balls of fluff right now are  Canis Unobtainius. This one is quintessential mutt.  They are claiming a Bichon mix on the father’s side, but my wife says the closest this pup ever came to a Bichon was maybe they waved a picture of one at the mom when she was preggo.  She’s a Jersey girl, so wife -who always gets naming rights- has decided she is Rosalita.  I would have preferred Crazy Janey, but I don’t get a vote. Can’t wait.

  67. 67.

    Ruckus

    @debbie:

    I can imagine quite a few with no more or no better qualifications for gov. Pretty much anyone in the rethuglican party.

    What I’m saying is that he’s one of them, a box stock, pompous ass with a diploma and a few expensive suits, and the personality of manure. Which BTW is more useful than he is.

  68. 68.

    pluky

    this is a level of catty shredding that only can be achieved after decades of gossiping in upper east side cocktail parties. i’m impressed.

  72. 72.

    dww44

    @Mary G: ​
     Well, I was away for a bit and came back to discover that post was missing. I thought I’d misremembered that it was here earlier.

  78. 78.

    NotMax

    @Van Buren

    Saw this when you first mentioned it and remain stumped about a connection between Jersey (presumably NJ) and Rosalita.

    Can’t grok where on the Jersey spectrum that would land between Candi or Laverne and Gertrude or Ethel.

    ;)

  80. 80.

    Mary G

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I have also met Ruckus. They think I would slap them back inside their mama? Ruckus would transport them back in time, then write a brilliant post about why they deserved it.

  83. 83.

    Suzanne

    I need to hate Andrew Giuliani more. I feel like I used up everything that wasn’t spent on Trump on JARED.

    FUCK, I really hate Jared.

  84. 84.

    Mary G

    @NotMax: Rosalita is a song by Bruce Springsteen, includes “a little cafe down San Diego way, where they play guitars all night and all day,” an actual place I have actually been, though not when Bruce was there, unfortunately. It is epic live.

  94. 94.

    John Revolta

    First time I saw this yutz was on TV at Rudy’s inauguration speech. For some reason little Andy was standing next to the podium, talking and gesturing the whole time like he was pretending to be Mussolini or something. I said it then and I’ll say it now…………that boy ain’t right.

  97. 97.

    NotMax

    @Steeplejack

    Okay. Beloved here but he’s never been my cuppa; voice like a struggling cement mixer to these fleshy aural appendages. Aware he exists, that’s about the extent of it.

  103. 103.

    Ken

    I was sure everyone would already have jumped all over the line “I think the name Giuliani evokes a reaction” but I appear to be in luck.  Ahem.

    “Technically it’s a reflex, not a reaction.”

  111. 111.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I give Andrew five years after Rudi’s will is read. Broke and either dead or seeking/selling redemption on some religious channel

  112. 112.

    Suzanne

    @NotMax: I’m getting real sick of working-man-down-on-his-luck shit. Some of his songs feel a little too Cletus Safari for me now.

  113. 113.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, …

    The indigenous population of Easter Island always said these statues were "walked" to their destinations but Europeans didn't believe them and came up with all kinds of other theories. https://t.co/9pcEQb27kJ

    — Michael Hobbes (@RottenInDenmark) June 20, 2021

    Clever, and why wouldn’t they be?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  117. 117.

    Steeplejack

    @Mike E:

    Nice cover by the Liverpudlian lads—Buddy Holly via the Everly Brothers. Dunno what the algorithm was thinking, though.

  118. 118.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Suzanne: this blog is for the idle rich, my dear poppet.   I’m sure there’s a prole blog somewhere that’s more your speed.  Something more downstairs than upstairs, if you know what I mean.

    Has anyone suggested being mean to Suzanne tonight?  Probably a bad idea—she’s carries a figurative stiletto.

  124. 124.

    Anotherlurker

    @Suzanne: Guilt?  I went to catholic school and I love dating Jewish women. I could teach St. Agustine a thing or 2 about guilt.

    Oy!

  127. 127.

    Suzanne

    @Anotherlurker: Protestant guilt = feeling bad about being lazy.

    I started looking up doctoral programs and everyone I know is like WTF STOP but I feel lazy.

  128. 128.

    Steeplejack

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    My god, man! There is a murderous clown in that video!

    But an excellent version of one of my least favorite Beatles songs. (Apparently an opinion shared by every Beatle not named Paul.)

  137. 137.

    Suzanne

    @Steeplejack: I don’t know, I don’t think I remember anyone calling Adam a dick. I mean, we all give Cole a pile of shit…. but that’s, like, love.

  138. 138.

    Anotherlurker

    @Suzanne: Wow. Take your time making the decision weather or not to pursue your Phd.  It is a big decision and not to be taken lightly.  Taking your time is NOT being lazy.

    Good luck , whatever you decide.

  140. 140.

    Suzanne

    @Anotherlurker: I have a toddler. And a few-hundred-million-dollar hospital kicking off. Now is not the time.

    But yes: I get neurotic and do shit like that. My poor husband.

  141. 141.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Suzanne: Protestant guilt = feeling bad about being lazy.

    One just needs to make a project of doing nothing.  Puttering.  It fixes the problem.

  143. 143.

    Poe Larity

    John should just post something contrarian, like why we shouldn’t abandon the AUMF. Or dogs are better than cats. Or Mac Buckets was better than Darrell.

  150. 150.

    Lyrebird

    @Mary G: ​And a whole thread disappears while I was struggling to phrase a comment. Probably for the best. Please nobody quit. I need you all.

     

    I missed it all, but here I am to thank YOU for lifting me up at various times. Yay tile!

    I need to go deal with ordinary home situations and get away from doom scrolling, but I wanted to post this first.

  154. 154.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Steeplejack:

    I had dinner with them. In the parking lot afterwards, Marilyn sang the “Alleluia” from Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate for me, which was a treat.

  157. 157.

    mrmoshpotato

    he can achieve it by scaling his father’s blueprint for the city of the ’90s to address the needs of the entire state in the ’20s.

    NYPD veterans will show New York state troopers how to stop and frisk everyone statewide!

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