- Council Committee Passed the Freeze
- Carol Campbell Passes Away
- My first trip to the public library
- Fight digital exclusion
- What if half of Philadelphia didn't have roads?
- You know, let's not even worry about the City Commissioners office messing up voter registration processing
- Bold ideas to fix the budget
- Mayor Nutter's Town Hall Meeting Schedule
- City Releases Library Information to City Council
- Size of Philadelphia government?
Quote of the Day
Submitted by Ray Murphy on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 12:50pm.
Many thanks to Marcia Gelbart at the Inky for this from last night's Jefferson-Jackson dinner, where both Clinton and Obama addressed city ward leaders, from Obama:
He also cited Fattah as something of an inspiration to him when he ran for senator in Illinois. "I said to myself, if a guy named Chaka Fattah can get elected, so can Barack Obama."
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Ha
since it is vaguely on-topic (local appearances of national primary candidates), I'd like to say for the record that despite writing something sympathetic about the position Hillary Clinton is in, being a woman and running for president...
the controversy she is manufacturing over the "bitter" thing is so utterly depressing and wrong. It is wrong in exactly all the ways that almost everything about our political system and discourse is wrong. Whatever my sympathies with her and frustration with aspects of Obama's rhetoric and presumed positions, I can not and will not vote for her now.
Another local tie
I suspect that the main reason that Mayor Nutter is supporting Clinton in the primary is that Fattah, an opponent of his in the Mayoral priary, was one of Barack Obama's earliest supporters in the Philadelphia area.
-Z
Doesn't sound like Nutter
As a longtime observer of Michael Nutter who's had the privilege of hanging out with him a bit, even talking 08 presidential politics on a couple of occasions, I'd suggest that the Fattah theory is probably the least likely explanation of Michael's support of Hillary that I've heard.
Some people practice You-slap-me/I-slap-you-back politics. The slap/slap people are almost always negatively motivated, as their politics springs from their opposition to this thing or that group or some other person. If Obama supports you and you are opposed to me, then I am opposed to Obama, according to the slap/slap way of thinking.
Other people transcend that way of thinking. They practice more positive politics and make decisions based on their actual advocacy of the ideas, groups, or persons who they think will prove most useful or helpful.
Michael's politics have almost always been of the transcendent, positive sort.
I think the reasons for his support lie elsewhere.
OK...
Why do *you* think Nutter is supporting Clinton rather than Obama?
-Z
Conflicting things
1. Maybe she was more receptive to letting him guide the focus onto urban issues a little where Obama is forced to be more circumspect about heading in that direction because of the pressure he faces as a mainstream black candidate. To snap us out our bubble a little from today's City Paper.
2. A benefit for relations with Ed Rendell even as he prepares to stand toe-to-toe with him a little on the casinos
3. I've heard the "its part of the deal with Brady" theory
4. Maybe he just likes her. Maybe Michael is a tad more of a hawk than the rest of us
-Sean
MrLuigi, my cat, actually only types half as badly as I do.
Name Game
I love Rep Fattah's name! I've had some fun with it over the years: "Chak.. Chak... Chak... Chakah Fattah... Chakah Fattah let me rock you, let me rock you Chakah Fattah!!" Even though I wasn't supporting him in the Mayoral race last year, he's been a pretty decent congressman for my district. Plus he came to our rugby table at the 06 Equality Forum!
I don't have a catchy song for Senator Obama yet, though... maybe after Tuesday...
Obama 2008