11/24/06

Pot, Kettle - Kettle, Pot.

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know."- G. Marx



Well, now that we can safely put the 'Additional 6 inches we weren't expecting' weather report behind us, time to move onto (or back to) some timely news.



News Flash: Local Democratic Leaders and City Council Members slated to form new powerhouse law firm; Dewey, Cheatem, Howe, PLC/PAC/WAC/WKRP (Cincinnati only)



Boy, when the city banded together to vote this past election, I don't think anyone could have predicted the outcome would have far reaching implications. I mean not that the votes recorded favored saving Victory Stadium when counted across all canidates - not just the blocks VS. Trinkle, Mason, And Dowe. But que sera, sera - that is one for the history books. Another example of governmental illiteracy, in a place that needs no reminders. But no, even further reaching implications than that.



We are talking Excommunication here folks, and apparently - talking it seriously.



Now, far be it from me to tell a political party how to conduct business, but I thought excommunication was for the church only. I thought political parties either shunned those they wanted to oust, or 'whacked' em politically. In a town that thrives on rumor, I would think that one or two well placed rumors would be enough to destroy a politician's career, but considering the politics practiced here are in no way reflective of normal politics - I guess thats not enough. A public spectacle is whats called for.



Again, I feel the need to explain that Harris and Bev were backing a losing team from the start. In a race that hinged on a single issue, Victory Stadium, TMD (Trinkle, Mason, and Dowe) were for it's demolition. The Democratic candidates were against it, as well as 2/3rds of the voting population. But in a race with 3 sets of main contenders (Dem, Repub, Ind) and 2 truly independent canidates - thats a 5 way split for votes. Harris and Fitzpatrick, both on the City Council which wanted an end to the decades long Victory Stadium issue - and on their terms, were bound to support the candidacy of those who ran in favor of the city's unspoken plan.



In a nutshell, the self-serving politics that they practiced is exactly what came back to haunt them in the end. The same politics they practiced as part of the Democratic Party.



And now, for whatever reason (perhaps to quash an internal power struggle featuring those two), the Democratic Party seeks to cast them out into the night - send them packing on the wave of a win by their candidates, the demolition of the stadium, and the psychological comfort given by both.



What does it really represent? A loss of funding when the elections come around, the loss of ground troops to work the yard-sign drives and mail campaigns. But there is still the darker side, as we come into a new election cycle. The possibility that in a town that runs on rumors, the mayor and fmr. vice-mayor might be in for a rough ride come this election - when they find themselves orphans in the darkness, no spin machine to help stem the backwash of public opinion when the party they used to be part of turns its hooks on them.



This could be an interesting watch... but its amazing how things can come back to you when you least expect them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You complain endlessly and uselessly and do nothing to ease what you see as negative in Roanoke.

Until you do something other than sit and mumble half-cocked opinions online, shut the hell up.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that nothing was done to the two and countless other supporters when they did it. Instead they wait until Mason and the two Independant sympathizers showed up for a democratic rally for Webb at the downtown fire station. What Bev and Harris did is undermine the people who put them where they are when they backed/formed the Independant ticket. I think the committee has every right to do what they are doing. What ever happened to Loyalty.