Hero for Democracy
You may have heard about a story from across the country, about how a Green candidate for senate in Pennsylvania has been funded almost entirely by big Republican donors (TPM Muckraker has had some great coverage of this topic, for example), who obviously are using him to their own ends (to draw votes from the Democratic candidate).
Apparently you don't have to go all the way to Pennsylvania to find Greens lining up to serve as dupes for interests that, to be honest, don't really coincide with theirs. Check out this mailing list archive from January (do a search for "Longrie" to find the relevant posting). Without a trace of irony, the author suggests,
Consider this another data point for the power of Gladstone in the election, and for understanding why Cave needs to be seen hugging a tree now and then.
Apparently you don't have to go all the way to Pennsylvania to find Greens lining up to serve as dupes for interests that, to be honest, don't really coincide with theirs. Check out this mailing list archive from January (do a search for "Longrie" to find the relevant posting). Without a trace of irony, the author suggests,
[Mayor Longrie] seems capable of keeping a collar on corporate greed and corruption, and it would be wise for St. Paul Greens to form an alliance with her administration. I do not know her political affiliation, but she seems too be a hero for democracy.The writer notes in support of this belief that Longrie "gave the old City Council a hard time on her TV show over its plans for the Gladstone installations in the recent past" (the writer refuses to use the word "development" because that implies improvement of nature by humans, which in her ideological view is not possible).
Consider this another data point for the power of Gladstone in the election, and for understanding why Cave needs to be seen hugging a tree now and then.
posted by Frostbrand @ 12:55 PM
2 Comments:
At 12:21 AM,
nihilix said…
I have a friend who's linked to your post - a pissed off Maplewood Democrat - and he's been filling me in on what's been happening in your fair city.
As far as I can tell, the fecal matter has started hitting the rotary airpusher hard in the last couple of months. So to be fair, one person's opinion on the matter half a year ago shouldn't matter too much, don't you think?
Anyway - keep up the good work. Sounds like Maplewood really needs it.
At 2:33 PM,
Frostbrand said…
You're right, it's not really fair to pick on the Greens, who have every reason to want to look for champions for their cause -- heck, we all should look for such champions, since our health and future depends on being good stewards of the environment. (Then again, What's Left of Maplewood isn't exactly the poster child for "fairness," and it doesn't bug me to dole out the occasional snark to sympathetic parties as well as foes.)
My real point is that I think a lot of people in Maplewood may find themselves with buyers' remorse. At a distance, it can be hard to discern thoughtful environmentalism from simple NIMBYism (not-in-my-back-yard). My sense is that the new council, while they may have drawn some sincere support from people of the former persuasion, are themselves practitioners of the latter.
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