The weird gloating over Chicago losing the Olympics has been covered pretty well in general and while I was skeptical of the bid, I found the gloating about the loss kinda weird to say the least.
But what it really reminded me is that conservatives always ruin a good target. Take for examples:
1) France. France was long the favorite in political science to kick around for being a pain the ass. Whether it be ruining the post-war financial system to hampering NATO, France was always a fun target for ridicule until moron right wingers decided to get in on it weren’t funny. Worse, France actually got something right in opposing the Iraqi war.
2) ACORN. ACORN Housing is a very effective and incredible non-profit that mitigated the impact of the housing crisis in low-income neighborhoods and even coined the term predatory lending. ACORN, the general organization, wore out most of its usefulness years ago at least in Chicago and Saint Louis. In Saint Louis I ran fairly consistent criticism of them when they were turning in bad voter registration cards without auditing them. While they had to turn over all of the cards, the organization was not checking them first to give local election boards a heads up on the problems potentially in there creating extra work for underfunded and overworked election boards. Additionally ACORN often didn’t discipline the workers and acted as if it was all out of their control. That turned around in about 2005 in Saint Louis.
On top of all of this was a general incompetence. We used to see blast faxes come out of the ACORN office in Saint Louis that were for the Yaphett El-Amin campaign and Lizz Brown’s crusades which the first is certainly a violation of Missouri campaign finance law, and the second has several issues since Lizz Brown often was pay-to-play for campaigns. Finally, they couldn’t have organized a lunch run at a fat farm.
All of a sudden conservatives started hearing about them and we get outlandish attacks not tethered to reality. Calling local ACORNS a part of a large criminal conspiracy as organizations assumes they quality as organizations and not train wrecks.
3) The Chicago Olympics. Did anyone think Daley’s allies wouldn’t receive kickbacks and sweetheart deals? Hell no. Did anyone think it would make a strict profit (not including spillover effects for the tourism industry). Hell no. Did anyone think it would be fun to watch Richard Daley try to be eloquent before the world? Hell yes. I wasn’t strongly against nor strongly for the Olympics, but saw it is one of those Daley projects that ranting against just gets my blood pressure up for no reason. But the great humor involved in a potential Chicago Olympics was rich.
Until the conservatives started trying to make Chicago sound like a giant conspiracy headed by Barack Obama. Obama was an outsider in Chicago politics who Daley wanted to see win the Presidency because the worst thing that could happen was if Obama decided he wanted to be Governor, or something really powerful like Mayor. Daley and Obama cooperated out of convenience, but Obama was never a machine guy, but a guy who the machine was able to tolerate while being wary of him. So again, in a humor target rich environment, wingnuts couldn’t find the actual humor and instead found weird conspiracy theories, many with DeLeo at the center which is even weirder.
“Daley and Obama cooperated out of convenience”
Yes, and no. It is certainly true that Richard J. Daley was fond of the “up and out” strategy, most famously with Adlai Stevenson. I can’t think of too many instances of its use by Richard M., though I don’t doubt it has been.
But there’s another side to this, and its totally borne out in the Olympic Bid – Richard M. Daley is a bona fide, dyed-in-the-wool, 100% Chicagophile. Of COURSE he wants a Chicago president.
BTW, Richard J., was the same. A strict Catholic and lover of his country, Daley acceded to Pablo Picasso designing a public statue because people told him Picasso was the best, and -godless commie or not, apparently- Chicago was to have the best.
By the way, I am a little surprised that it has largely avoided notice that conservatives were cheering for an American city to lose to one in a country whose president is a legitimate Marxist.
Why do they hate America?
That’s true, but it’s also true because a Chicago President isn’t going to forget his home town.
It’s actually one of the reasons I get tired of some of the Daley critics. Daley doesn’t run the city to make his friends rich. That happens to be a happy by-product for sure, but he sees the system as the way to make the city work. He didn’t want the Olympics to support his machine-he wanted it to showcase the city he sees as the best city on Earth. You can argue it was a bad idea, but Daley wasn’t doing it for some amorphous goal of enriching his pals, he was showing off the city he and his father have created.
==Why do they hate America?
Because America has a black President.
I have understood in the past that you are/were not a fan of my show.
That’s fine and dandy. However when you have stated things in the past that have been grossly inaccurate and profoundly nonfactual I have felt compelled to say something. This is one of those times.
Your attempts to somehow tie me into ACORN by association and placement of an assessment of my show into your self congratulatory “story” on ACORN is both amusing and inaccurate.
Your statement claiming “pay to play” on my show is wrong. I never ran a pay to play show. Where is your proof of that?
With respect to ACORN I was the only African American criticizing this organization for years. What blasts faxes are you talking about? They certainly did not find my show to be a friendly supportive place to visit.
Many years ago I challenged you on this same issue asking for the proof. You responded that you were on vacation and as soon as you got back you would provide the proof—-are you back yet? And if you are could you send me one of those ACORN blast faxes that you are referring to.
Back to the pay to play…I had politicians running for office on both sides of the aisle that never bought a single commercial. In fact many, many politicians ran spots on my show and insisted that I not receive any commission for those spots.
I get how sometimes in this City there is unfortunately an urge, instinct or just desire to lump groups of people you do not care for into a single category.
That’s well and good for for the average person.
But you seem to be a fella that is profoundly in love with the sound of your own pen…Good for you….however you might want to take some time away from yourself to get your facts straight—as it seems that you want the world to fall for your pen the way you have.
Lizz, I posted the contract with the SLPS that was pay to play back in 2005. That site is now down, but if you really want to do this I can submit another freedom of information request. Or I can get any number of politicians and campaign workers approached by you for pay to play to spill now that you aren’t on the air. Actually that might be kind of fun.
And yes, right after your show was cancelled several of us were getting faxes from SEIU 880/ACORN from FIRE. And then in an e-mailed one you showed up as the creator.
http://www.pubdef.net/2007/10/fire-calls-georges-demotion-lawless.html
What’s fucking sad is how stupid you are and despite having been shown to the contract more than once, you still can’t recall it and decide to claim it was never produced. Or perhaps that crazy bipolar bit on your show wasn’t an act afterall.
Deja vu all over again—This is the same written nonsense that you offered as “proof” years ago “I put it up on a website” that now no longer exists” blah blah blah–You never had it and you never will
Back then however, you offered to produce it when you got back from vacation that never happened either.
You also said back then that you had names of people who would confirm your lie—you didn’t list them then and still don’t—how odd for a writer with all kinds of words and accusations at the tip of your pen.
Perhaps you don’t list the names is because all of those who would have supported your lie then are in jail now.
As to your foul language—settle down son….it’s not that deep—lean into your dishonest and name calling Journalistic style. I’m certain that those who raised you are very proud.
Finally your “evidence” of a fax blast from ACORN connecting me to ACORN all I can say is huh? Did that response really make sense to you or were you so excited to get your bi-polar slam off that you did not re-read it. In either case, a single email that was authored by me after my show was canceled and faxed by someone else is proof of this?:
“We used to see blast faxes come out of the ACORN office in Saint Louis that were for the Yaphett El-Amin campaign and Lizz Brown’s crusades”
Again huh?
You need a nap, a good editor, a dictionary definition of “truth” and maybe your mouth washed out with some soap—-
Take care now
One more thought and I will put this to bed as I am certain you will never come forward with any evidence supporting your foul accusations.
Your intention is to gather people who were too scared to lie when I was on the air and get them to lie now that I am no longer on the air?—-nice “reporting” Woodruff—you probably need to start dusting off your mantle for that Pulitzer