First up, we have the case of Oscar Goodman, the Democratic mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, who's demanding the President Obama should retract and apologize for Obama's remark during a town hall meeting in Indiana that criticized the idea of the corporate recipients of federal bailout money using those funds to pay for junkets to Vegas or the Super Bowl.
President Obama's remark, courtesy an AP story (via AZCentral.com) about the Vegas mayor's indignation -
Obama made the remarks Monday during a town hall meeting in Elkhart, Ind., wherethe president traveled to muster public support for economic stimulus legislation.
"You can't get corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime," Obama said.
Mayor Goodman's response, from the same story -
"That's outrageous, and he owes us an apology," he said. "He owes us a retraction."
Goodman has some credibility problems (he's a former Mob lawyer, wants to "de-thumb" and cane graffiti vandals, and ethics issues to name a few), but at least he's trying to stand up for his city. It's actually part of doing his job. He may have done so badly, but his motivation is somewhat understandable. Something that cannot be said for...
...Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
Yesterday, Mayor Gordon and the Phoenix City Council selected a replacement for former Councilman Greg Stanton, who had resigned in order to take a position with the Arizona Attorney General's office. Stanton is a moderate Democrat who represented Phoenix's District 6.
With Gordon's support of him, they selected former councilman Sal DiCiccio.
He's not a Democrat, nor is he "moderate" by any reading of the definition.
From the Phoenix New Times' Valley Fever piece on yesterday's events -
Before the vote, DiCiccio was questioned by Councilman Michael Nowakowski about an op-ed he wrote for the Arizona Republic two years ago, warning of the dire consequences of allowing Mexican culture to take root in this country.
DiCiccio's column began, "The current debate on immigration reform leaves out the most important issue: the importation of a corrupt culture. South of the border, you have a governmental system that allows and sometimes encourages bribery of local officials. It is no wonder that more heinous crimes follow. It is only a matter of time before a wave of violence will be coming our way. The gun battles with police; the beheadings of journalists, the kidnappings of families -- these are a line in the desert away from our country and state."
Hmmm...I guess Gordon's desire to run for a statewide has waned. There was some speculation last spring that his public tiff with nativist Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was motivated by a wish to win over some of the Democratic grassroots base in preparation for a run for AG or Governor in 2010.
Putting the likes of DiCiccio back in office signals that Gordon has no intention of running for statewide office.
Well, not as a Democrat anyway.
Tedski at R-Cubed has his take on events here.
Later...
1 comment:
Donna has also posted about it at Democratic Diva. The thing is, it's not like there were a lack of qualified candidates. 22 people applied for the position. Why does he feel he always has to cave to the Republicans on the council? They should have at least picked someone who is more closely aligned w/Stanton's positions. I hope the voters boot him out in the election. Go Dana Kennedy!!
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