Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Election/Media Notes
On a personal note, just began a new job with very little personal computer time and I still have six weeks of peg-intron affecting my overall energy level, so I'm not sure how posting will go for the next several weeks, or afterwards for that matter.
Though I thoroughly endorse The Oyster-Adrastos theory, I suspect that the national GOP is aiding and abetting the state party. The front page of today's Picayune certainly provides a motive. Katrina fatigue or no Katrina fatigue, the issue still comes up. Witnessing the rapid change in the mayor's attitude between the Garland Robinette interview and his Sept. 11 Meet the Press appearance, I suspected that the mayor believed he reached an understanding with the administration. I've since seen nothing to allay those suspicions. If I'm even partially correct the mayor is:
a) The most naive cynic in politics
b) A Sado-masochist
c) Utterly oblivious to what most Republicans are saying
d) Totally bought and paid for
I recently heard C.Ray say that he can play finesse ball or he can throw elbows--after he had already thrown the first hard elbow. Mitch needs to realize that C Ray's elbows and the refs aren't calling him on it. Mitch needs to elbow back. Over a week after the Chicago fundraiser, C. Ray won't say how much it raised. He's being more secretive about his campaign finances than city finances, yet he's somehow financed a barrage of attack ads questioning where Mitch's money comes from. He's got this clown, whom he could have replaced at the S&WB, illegally spending money on Nagin's campaign (without mayor trust me's knowledge, of course). And there's the sewerage contract to a new firm, formed by a prominent supporter. Mitch needs to start elbowing back. I can understand why Mitch doesn't want to mention the ministers, but he had a golden opportunity tonight when the fundraiser came up. Mitch should have merely asked C. Ray to reconcile that new round of attack ads with the continued secrecy about his own campaign finances.
In a similar vein, glad to see Landrieu hitting back a little with this Nagin Timeline, but on the part I've looked into pretty thoroughly, city pay, he greatly understates the case. As Lolis Eric Elie wrote (on Martin Luther King Day):
Though I thoroughly endorse The Oyster-Adrastos theory, I suspect that the national GOP is aiding and abetting the state party. The front page of today's Picayune certainly provides a motive. Katrina fatigue or no Katrina fatigue, the issue still comes up. Witnessing the rapid change in the mayor's attitude between the Garland Robinette interview and his Sept. 11 Meet the Press appearance, I suspected that the mayor believed he reached an understanding with the administration. I've since seen nothing to allay those suspicions. If I'm even partially correct the mayor is:
a) The most naive cynic in politics
b) A Sado-masochist
c) Utterly oblivious to what most Republicans are saying
d) Totally bought and paid for
I recently heard C.Ray say that he can play finesse ball or he can throw elbows--after he had already thrown the first hard elbow. Mitch needs to realize that C Ray's elbows and the refs aren't calling him on it. Mitch needs to elbow back. Over a week after the Chicago fundraiser, C. Ray won't say how much it raised. He's being more secretive about his campaign finances than city finances, yet he's somehow financed a barrage of attack ads questioning where Mitch's money comes from. He's got this clown, whom he could have replaced at the S&WB, illegally spending money on Nagin's campaign (without mayor trust me's knowledge, of course). And there's the sewerage contract to a new firm, formed by a prominent supporter. Mitch needs to start elbowing back. I can understand why Mitch doesn't want to mention the ministers, but he had a golden opportunity tonight when the fundraiser came up. Mitch should have merely asked C. Ray to reconcile that new round of attack ads with the continued secrecy about his own campaign finances.
In a similar vein, glad to see Landrieu hitting back a little with this Nagin Timeline, but on the part I've looked into pretty thoroughly, city pay, he greatly understates the case. As Lolis Eric Elie wrote (on Martin Luther King Day):
Nagin deserves praise for the pay raises he budgeted for city workers in his first two years in office. But those raises are a distant memory. Not long after the hurricane, when it was clear the city had little money and few prospects for an infusion of capital, Nagin fired most city workers.
What about his top staff members, the ones he awarded substantial pay raises in better times? They kept their jobs and weren't even asked to accept symbolic pay cuts.
