Last night, Howard Nemerov at the Media Research Council’s NewsBusters blog reviewed Governor Romney’s record on violent crime and found that “the overall [violent] rate dropped 7.8% from 484.9 in 2002 to 447.0 in 2006.” He concludes, “No matter the comparison––total incidents or rates per 100,000 population––Giuliani was wrong to state that Massachusetts saw a violent crime increase while Romney was governor.”
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/howard-nemerov/2007/11/25/who-s-tougher-crime-romney-or-giuliani
And this morning, in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Mayor Giuliani distorted Governor Romney’s record again. While Mayor Giuliani has apparently recognized his earlier error and dropped any reference to overall violent crime, Mayor Giuliani did claim that “aggravated assault … went up while he was governor.”
RUDY GIULIANI: Boston Herald had a big piece on this about two months ago; crime, murder, aggravated assault, burglary all went up while he was governor. In the case of robbery, it went up 12%. And those are all areas in which while I was mayor of New York, those categories went down by 70%. So there’s a big difference in his record as a governor, which in the area of these violent crimes was very poor as the Boston Herald pointed out, and my record as mayor was one of the best records from the point of view of safety and security in the country.
On the contrary, as the same NewsBusters post points out from FBI data, “aggravated assault decreased 14.8%” during Governor Romney’s term. Just another example of Mayor Giuliani’s “fuzzy math.”
Yesterday, Mayor Giuliani falsely claimed that “violent crime” went up in Massachusetts during Governor Romney’s term. According to FBI statistics, the overall violent crime rate in Massachusetts decreased by over 7% under Governor Romney. The violent crime rate was lower than the national average. Prior to Governor Romney, the violent crime rate was increasing.
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Romney_Record_Reducing_Crime
A RECORD OF REDUCING CRIME IN MASSACHUSETTS
GIULIANI’S INCREASINGLY “FUZZY” STATS
Giuliani Falsely Claims That “Violent Crime” Went Up In Massachusetts:
Yesterday, Giuliani Falsely Claimed That “Violent Crime” Went Up In Massachusetts. “‘Gov. Romney did not have a good record in dealing with violent crime.’ Giuliani pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket that listed FBI crime statistics for Massachusetts while Romney was governor. Murders were up 7.5 percent, robbery was up 12 percent, he said. ‘He had an increase in murder and violent crime while he was governor,‘ Giuliani said. ‘So it’s not so much the isolated situation which he and the judge will have to explain _ he’s kind of thrown her under the bus, so it’s hard to know how this is all going to come out. But the reality is, he did not have a record of reducing violent crime.'” (Charles Babington, “Romney Calls On Judge He Appointed To Resign After Washington State Murders,” The Associated Press, 11/24/07)
FACT: According To The FBI Statistics, Overall “Violent Crime” Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:
Under Governor Romney, the violent crime rate in Massachusetts decreased by over 7%. The violent crime rate was lower than the national average. Prior to Governor Romney, the violent crime rate was increasing.
Violent Crime Rate Per 100,000 Residents
|
Massachusetts |
National Rate |
2002 – 484.4 |
2002 – 494.4 |
2003 – 473.1 |
2003 – 475.9 |
2004 – 458.8 |
2004 – 463.2 |
2005 – 457 |
2005 – 469 |
2006 – 447 |
2006 – 473.5 |
Source: FBI Crime in the United States Website, “Crime in the United States, 1987-2006,” http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/data/table_01.html, Accessed 10/12/07 |
FACT: According To FBI Statistics, The Overall Crime Rate Decreased In Massachusetts Under Governor Romney:
Under Governor Romney, The Overall Crime Rate Fell By 8% Over His Four Years In Office. “Car thefts and larcenies also were down, in line with national trends, and helped contribute to an overall 8 percent decline in crime during Romney’s four years, according to the FBI stats.” (Dave Wedge, “Crime Up During Romney Tenure,” The Boston Herald, 9/26/07)
FACT: According To FBI Statistics, Other Crimes Were Down Under Governor Romney (2002-2006):
- Motor Vehicle Theft Down 32%. (FBI Crime in the United States Website, http://www.fbi.gov/ucr, Accessed 10/12/07)
FACT: This Isn’t The First Time Giuliani Has Used “Fuzzy … Math”:
ABC News: Giuliani Uses “Fuzzy Healthcare Math” In Radio Ad. “To hear Rudy Giuliani describe it in his new radio ad, the British medical system is a scary place. ‘My chance of surviving prostate cancer – and thank God I was cured of it – in the United States: 82 percent,’ Giuliani says in a new radio spot airing in New Hampshire. ‘My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England: Only 44 percent, under socialized medicine.’ But the data Giuliani cites comes from a single study published eight years ago by a not-for-profit group, and is contradicted by official data from the British government. According to the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics, for men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1999 and 2003, the ‘five-year survival rate’ – a common measurement in cancer statistics – was 74.4 percent.” (Rick Klein, “Rudy’s Fuzzy Healthcare Math,” ABC News, 10/29/07)
The Annenberg Public Policy Center: Giuliani Wrongly Claims He Left A Budget Surplus. “Giuliani’s radio ad also asserts that he ‘turned a 2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus’ in New York. Well, not if you’re comparing what he inherited with what he left, which would be a logical way to look at it. When he took office in 1994, Giuliani was indeed facing a $2.3 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. But Giuliani’s last budget, issued in May 2001 – before 9/11 – for fiscal 2002, projected a deficit of nearly $2.8 billion in fiscal 2003, the first budget year the new mayor would face. The IBO estimated the deficit would be even larger, about $3.3 billion.” (“Giuliani’s Tax Puffery,” FactCheck.org Website, www.factcheck.org/, 7/27/07)
The Washington Times: Giuliani Exaggerates Tax Cutting Number. “Mr. Giuliani repeated his claim that he ‘cut taxes 23 times when I was mayor of New York.’ It turns out that many of those cuts were instigated by Republican Gov. George Pataki and the state legislature. One of several glaring flaws in Mr. Giuliani’s record on taxes was, as the Club for Growth says, his 1994 ‘opposition to Republican [gubernatorial] candidate George Pataki’s proposed cut in the state income tax,’ whose rates were among the highest in the country.” (Editorial, “Romney And Giuliani,” The Washington Times, 10/14/07)
Read Full Post »