He Should Start Watching Out Now

It took a while to count all the votes in the write-in campaign of Tipton County GOP head Antonio Lopez. He's trying for a berth, as they say in the papers, in the November elections against the truly formidable but apparently not-unbeatable anymore House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. The Commercial Appeal has the story today.

But as usual, the CA can't just report it straight:

Naifeh, of Covington, was unopposed in the Democratic primary. When
no one qualified for the Republican primary, Lopez mounted a write-in
campaign.

Lopez only went into the primary after the budget showdown/shutdown of July. In talking with the folks of Tipton and Haywood Counties, District 81, he apparently saw enough discontent, and willing voters, to believe there was a chance of his election! It wasn't a case of, say, being the John Jay Hooker to Naifeh's Sundquist. It was a case of realising the emperor had no clothes. Naifeh showed to the State what political junkies have known for years, that Naifeh is an old-style Daley/Crump/Tammany Hall politico who isn't at all afraid of intimidation, threats and whatever else is necessary to achieve his objectives.

Half-Bakered wishes Lopez the best of luck. He'll need all of it.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

It's All in The Point of View

In this story in today's Commercial Appeal, good ol' Richard Locker writes about the "GOP Unity Rally" held by Republicans in Nashville Saturday. The story is titled, "Republican 'unity' drive spurns Sunduist." As the blogpost title says, it's all in your point of view.

Notably absent from the GOP unity gathering was the party's titular
head in Tennessee, Gov. Don Sundquist.

Party officials said he was invited and downplayed his absence, but he
also won't be aboard a Republican Party "Unity Fly Around"...

But Wilson didn't know why the governor won't be on the airplane
Monday.

Thompson, who arranged the fly-around, said he didn't ask the
governor but added, "I didn't ask anybody. I was told what to do."
Asked whether he would like Sundquist to go along, he said, "Sure," as
he walked away.

Fully a quarter of the story isn't about the rally, but about trying to nail someone down on the reason for Sundquist's absence. Even less space was given to what attendees actually said on the podium.

But then there's this:

Sundquist has been given chilly receptions at GOP functions for
supporting a state income tax. His support for Alexander and Henry in
their primary election battles was used against them in television
campaign ads by their opponents.

Sorta answers the question for most folks, doesn't it? But not the CA, where they see Sundquist as the Lone Hero and other Republicans as stubborn obstructionists and political cowards. And so all stories involving Sundquist, it seems, must be reported this way.

Most Amusing Sideswipe of the Week goes to this line:

Democrats had their unity rally Friday.

And that is all that is said. Will the CA eventually begin to report on Democratic activities in the current election cycle? Why the seeming secrecy? Are Democrats that hopeless? Or does the CA not want to let their readers know what's happening "behind the scenes?" Why?

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Slightly Off-Topic, I'll Admit

In an unsourced story in the Sunday "U.S. & World News In Brief," column--a daily summary of wire reports--there's an interesting bit from Chicago.

The daughter of Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a police officer early Saturday, police said.

Ashley Blazer Biden, 21, of Wilmington, Del., was with a group of people on a North Side street where several bars are located when someone else threw a bottle at a police officer, police said.

When officers went to arrest another person, Biden blocked the officer's path and made intimidating statements, Officer JoAnn Taylor said.

Biden was arrsted on suspicion of obstructing a police officer.

She was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 20.

First of all, what's this "someone else...another person" business? Was it someone with her, or some total stranger? Sounds like a friend, but they wanted to obscure that for some reason.

But best of all is "...made intimidating statements." Like, maybe, "My dad is a US Senator and I'll have your job if you don't stop!"

Ahhhh...the new American aristocracy, same as the old. Same as it ever was.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Wasting No Time

He was elected Thursday night. The Commercial Appeal interviewed him on Friday, but the story doesn't hit the paper until today. New Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton has some things to say, and so does the CA.

From the first sentence "Sitting in the library of his private law practice..." we are off. Private practice? I don't recall the CA discussing this. I do know they pasted George Flinn for not "understanding the public defender's job," though. Why wasn't this, and which of his many controversial cases were handled privatedly, discussed before voters decided?

Among those priorities, Wharton said, is working to pass a
comprehensive plan to change the way Shelby County's two public
school systems are financed.

Interesting.... So Herenton's plan covered everything about consolidation but the schools and now Wharton will concentrate on the schools. Good tag-team we have. And they're even going to use the task force Herenton already has in place! How thrifty.

And aspects of the plan, like an 81-cent property tax hike for county
residents, as well as an extension of the county's capital funding
agreement, will get closer scrutiny, he pledged.

Meaning the tax increase might, or might not, get reduced. A bit.

One issue that likely won't rear its head in the early months of the
Wharton administration is the hot-button topic of consolidating city and
county government, an issue Herenton has championed.

See above, under "tag team."

[Wharton]reflected on his hard-fought
campaign against an extremely well-financed foe - Dr. George Flinn,
Republican, businessman and radiologist.

"Extremely well-financed?" Wharton underspent him by roughly 10%. Does that make Wharton "extraordinarily well-financed?"

"Just because your name is out there, it's not enough," Wharton said of
Flinn's million-dollar campaign, which focused heavily on radio and
television advertising. "You cannot buy genuine appeal to a broad and
diverse group of people."

It was only a few weeks ago that the CA, especially Susan Adler Thorp, was wailing and moaning about Flinn "buying" votes with his money. Should Flinn demand a refund from the papers and television stations? Such hypocrisy on the part of the CA is par for the course, though, and will be carefully forgotten from now on.

"We can no longer keep wallowing in the misery of 'Broken homes!
Broken homes! Unstable homes!'" he said, his voice becoming pained.

"We've wallowed in it long enough. Let's get out here and come up with
surrogate networks, build a web, a blanket of protection around these
children . . . .

"If we do more at the early childhood stage we won't have any failing
schools. I'm convinced of that."

Watch for Wharton and Herenton to team up with our Democratic State legislators, and with US Representative Harold Ford, Jr., to start lobbying for more government money and programs. Not that education isn't important--it is, obviously--but such language as is in the next-to-last paragraph is Demo-speak for "social safety net."

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Mr. Baker in Fine Form

In this week's column, our namesake, Jackson Baker, proves why this blog was needed. I am happy to provide the needed correctives. Here we go:

Sundquist's standing among fellow Republicans statewide
can best be gauged by the fact that, when the governor last
week admitted to reporters in Nashville his preferences for
Henry over Hilleary and Senatorial candidate Lamar
Alexander over 7th District congressman Ed Bryant,
Hilleary and Bryant trumpeted the fact, not the two
endorsees. A Hilleary press release, in fact, greeted the
news with the classic headline: "Sundquist Seeks Third
Term."

Sorta tell ya what you need to know about Sundquist, doesn't it? But the newpaper reporters keep reporting it as though they are baffled. Note also Baker's use of "admitted" for Sundquist's endorsements. Nothing of the sort. He proudly proclaimed them, thinking some Republicans might listen. Or else he's gone Clinton on us, psychotically believing his defenders, living in the dream and not the reality.

But the classic Jackson Baker emerges in the column's second section, about Flinn's missing party support. He also uses the buzz-phrase of the season, "robo call." Baker quotes David Cocke as "a Demoocrat heavily involved in Wharton's election effort," without noting that Cocke is a former party leader and upper tier insider.

Then begins the fun:

Not implausibly, Flinn suggested that persons in the Wharton
campaign might have been instrumental in helping to
publicize the two suits (although Wharton himself would
strenuously deny having any knowledge of such activity).

Meaning that Wharton's campaign most likely did. A long-time insider like Wharton would automatically know to have plausible denial for something like this. Notice, though, how Baker hangs that from Flinn and not Wharton. As well as this:

In a statement later on, Flinn acknowledged that the calls
should have been identified as coming from his campaign but
stood by the allegations, which he said primarily had to do
with Wharton's defense of child-care entrepreneurs under
challenge for violations of state codes. One of Wharton's
primary opponents, state Representative Carol Chumney,
had made the same charge but was denounced by Wharton's
defenders, as Flinn has been, for not properly respecting an
advocate's role in the American legal system.

Reread the last part of Sentence One: "child-care entrepreneurs under challenge for violations of state codes." Such bland language covers over the deaths of more than half-a-dozen children. How heinous. And in Sentence Two, see how he, again, cleverly tries to hang the problem on others, by saying that "Wharton's defenders...denounced [Flinn]," making clear where his point-of-view is.

I especially love that last part, accusing Flinn of dissing the "American legal system." Whoo! Flinn, you so bad!

In the longest and final section, Baker does his duty-- approving and ass-covering--for Rick Rout, the former County Mayor's son and head of the Shelby County Young Republicans. Bear with me, as this one is dense with evasions, misdirections, and falsities.

In a kind of second front to the mayoral war, Rick Rout, son
of incumbent Shelby County mayor Jim Rout and chairman
of the county Young Republicans as well as a declared
candidate for the local party chairmanship, became embroiled
in controversy regarding an e-mail he sent last week to fellow
YR board members.

Remember that war metaphor stuff I mentioned before? Here it is again.

In the e-mail, Rout advised the board members that their July
meeting was being canceled and wrote, "We all are going
nuts trying to get 95 percent of the Republican ticket elected
and should focus on that." He said further that his father,
saying his farewells to the group as mayor, would be the
speaker at the regular YR August meeting. He continued,
"The September meeting, we will hopefully be able to get the
new Shelby County mayor to come and speak to us. So I will
give A C a call today and ask if he will do it."

In an interview with the Flyer, Rout said it was only being
realistic to assume that Wharton would be the mayor in
September because of his current 23 percent lead in the CA's
most recently published poll. "That's pretty impossible to
overcome," Rout said, adding, "[T]he tactics that George
Flinn is using right now are backfiring greatly. People just
don't like negative campaigning. I, for one, am not endorsing
anyone."

If I were a possible Republican candidate, I'd reread that paragraph again, with great concern. This is the kid who wants to lead the Party? Would I want him "fighting" for me? Would he even fight, or just write me off?

Flinn, he said, was "using smear tactics." Citing the arena ad
with its allegations of back-room politics and "deals," Rout
said, "My dad is the most honest public servant anyone has
ever seen, and I don't appreciate [the allegations]." (Mayor
Rout, who has kept his distance publicly from the mayor's
race, was a firm advocate of the publicly funded arena
project.)

Sounds more like a Democrat. I can see pretty clearly which part of the Party he's lined up with; and which group of "civic leaders," as well. He's learned his father's lessons quite well.

Elaborating on his view of Flinn's candidacy, Rick Rout said,
"To be honest with you, I feel that he doesn't know what he's
talking about. As a member of the Republican Party, I'm
actually embarrassed. I don't think Dr. Flinn knows anything
about running county government. It's a shame we've got a
nominee that won't make speaking engagements and won't
make debates. I am really disheartened at the way this
election has gone."

No wonder Baker writes so approvingly and so without subtle slander. He's parroting the lines by the City's "elite."

To those YR members who had contacted him to express
their disappointment with the invitation being extended to
Wharton, Rout said, "That's a little narrow-minded. We have
to work with public servants across party lines. And we've
had Democrats like [Memphis] mayor Willie Herenton speak
to us before."

Again, Rout seems to listen more to others outside his Party than to his own people. Or maybe he just listens to a certain subgroup of them....

Rout said he had not known that his sister Sherry Rout, who
was in the group accompanying Wharton to a mayoral debate
at WHBQ-TV last Thursday night, was taking an active role in
the Wharton campaign but said, "We disagree on many
things, politics being one. But if you have to choose between
two candidates, you've got to pick the candidate you think
will do the better job." Most people look at "the man, not the
party," Rout said.

Again, if I was a possible Republican candidate, I'd have serious second thoughts about this guy being in charge of my re-election chances. Like his father, he's "transcended" party politics, to serve the elites.

Flinn spokesperson Cary Rodgers denied that the arena
commercial had impugned Mayor Rout's integrity or
suggested he was dishonest. "The whole point is that
anything the voters don't get to vote on is perceived as a
back-room deal. Nothing more, nothing less." Rodgers said
that "numerous calls" had been received at Flinn
headquarters from "people who are outraged at Rick's
approach." She said, "They disagree totally with his
reasoning, his conclusions, and his future as chairman of the
party."

So would I. Notice once more that Baker has aligned the reader's viewpoint with the Democrats--saying Rodgers "denied" and "impugned." And notice the use of scare quotes, the tactic of putting a short phrase into quotes in order to cast doubt on them, here with "numerous calls."

This last was a reference to Rick Rout's active campaign to
become the next Shelby County Republican chairman,
succeeding the outgoing Alan Crone. Other names have
been mentioned as potential candidates -- including those of
businessman Kemp Conrad, who Flinn said had been an
active supporter, and county commission member Marilyn
Loeffel. Only Rout, who has already printed up campaign
material, is declared, however. He said last week he didn't
think his campaign would suffer from the current controversy
or from his position on the mayor's race.

Translation: I'm with the power in-crowd. I'm covered.

This week, however, GOP activist Denise Martin, one of
those who objected to the e-mail's content last week, said
she, too, may seek the chairmanship.
This week, as one election day neared, and as his own
loomed several months down the pike, when Crone will step
down, Rout began to couch his e-mail in somewhat different
terms. "Really, I was just using my sense of humor," he said
of the "95 percent" reference. "The polls have made it pretty
clear that Flinn's not a real possibility to win; that's mainly
what I was saying." But then he repeated his earlier
displeasure with the party nominee.

Apparently, some folks are beginning to get through. Or his arrogance was brought to heel somewhat. And once more, this guy wants to lead? Who would follow him?

There was no joke about one thing. The public estrangement
between the Routs and Flinn was not an isolated affair; it
highlighted a schism that had been foreshadowed by several
prior circumstances, including the heated primary race which
saw John Willingham unseat county commission chairman
Morris Fair in May.

Note what's not said, though. Willingham is a Flinn supporter, to the point of paying for his own pro-Flinn ad. Maybe all hope is not yet lost.

As do the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races, each in a
somewhat different way, the Shelby County mayor's race has
pointed up a serious division in the ranks of Republicans --
between those who, like Mayor Rout, operate comfortably
within a bipartisan, nondogmatic structure of opinion and
those who, like Flinn, Willingham, and others, represent the
feelings of populist, anti-tax insurgents.

As some commentators point out, Rush Limbaugh for one, "operate comfortably within a bipartisan, nondogmatic structure of opinion..." aside from being a far-too-airtight intellectualism also shows that some Democrats view "agree with me and defer to me" as the only acceptable kind of cooperation.

This particular paragraph also shows us something about Baker himself, more than his politics. Notice how folks like him "operate comfortably within a bipartisan, nondogmatic structure of opinion," while his opponents "feel.," are "populist" and insurgent. That says worlds about where Jackon comes from. Folks who live in their heads, and I say this from experience, can easily find themselves staring sophistry in the face. Folks who don't trust their feelings also don't usually trust the "masses." Feelings, like the masses, are not to be trusted and must be controlled by the elite, by dispassionate thinkers. Like Jackson Baker.

Whatever the outcome of the current mayoral battle or of that
over the chairmanship, this is a war that will go on for some
time.

Once again, as I've pointed out before, Baker uses military jargon. Coming from someone on the far-liberal Left, where they typically view the military as bare-restrained heathen hordes eager for rape and pillage and repression of civil rights, you have to laugh.

Except that Baker is the lone voice in the Flyer in these matters. There is no counter-balance, no representation of the spectrum of thought; only the Allowed, Approved Voice that masquerades as the One True Voice. Let another paper only present one conservatice columnist-cum-journalist and the howls would be loud and sustained, the disdain severe. Let the Flyer have only one Far-Left "analyst" and it's alright, because he's a "professional." He's been "trained," he's "OK."

He's full of it, and proud to shovel some your way.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Public Service Announcement

This site has election results information for Southwest Tennessee, for those of you who threw away your paper already. If you click on the Tennessee flag on that page, you will be taken to the official State results site.

Always looking out for you, dear reader,
Your Working Boy

Sometimes, I'm Completely Baffled

The Commercial Appeal reports one story very oddly and avoids another.

In reporting on State Senator John Ford's race and victory, the CA manages to squeeze in, at the bottom of the story, this interesting bit:

In District 17's Democratic primary, write-in candidate Sherry Fisher defeated 20-year veteran Robert Rochelle, whose late decison not to run left his name on the ballot. If Rochelle had won, he planned to withdraw from the race, which would have given the election to Republican challenger Mae Beavers.<

Where to start? First, Sherry Fisher self-recruited to spare Rochelle the embarrassment of either having to ask folks not to vote for his name in November, or of not having a Democrat on the ballot. And it turns out that she is not who she claims, nor a first timer as the press reported. She was originally known as Sherry Cumming and has run for two other offices under that name and a similar one. Tax Free Tennessee ran an expose on her last week. Check the archives.

Second, Rochelle's "late decision not to run" happened a bit differently than that. He was fully in the campaign. But after the income tax defeat in July he suspended his campaign; when informal polling showed he was losing to Beavers, he quit. But would the CA run "late decision to quit" about their hero? Not likely.

In fact, Rochelle received votes, even though it was widely known he'd dropped out! Fisher was hoping to generate enough write-in votes to get on the ballot in November. Which tactic is what Tipton County GOP President Antonio Lopez is waging against the 800-pound gorilla--House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.

There were so many write-in votes in that race that they were still being counted into this morning. The last count I saw had Lopez with over 1100 write-in votes. That's a very impressive number, considering who he's up against and that he only had 22 days to organize the whole thing. Lopez is claiming that he's got the votes to be on November's ballot.

But none of that David and Goliath story made it into the CA. I suspect it was the same reason--not embarrassing their hero, Jimmy Naifeh, nor given comfort to their enemy, Lopez.

Until next time,
Your Working Boy

Another Pundit Tells You What He Thinks

A strange day for Shelby County. We get our first ever black mayor, and the first Democratic mayor, AC Wharton. But every other office goes to the Republicans. The County Commission keeps its Republican majority, with the loss of Joe Cooper, who was willing to sell off Shelby Farms to repay the County's debt, to Chris Thompson.

Some random thoughts:

* Mayor Dr. Herenton was uncharacteristically reticent in this election. He seemed to deliberately stay out of the race, even to the post-election victory party at AC Wharton's headquarters, where he showed up late and avoided the limelight. The conspiracy thinking is that he didn't want his presence to raise questions about City-County consolidation--a political landmine still.

* Speaking of not raising questions, notice how Flinn was always referred to by the Commercial Appeal as a "local radiologist" or "broadcasting magnate?" And they never missed a chance to remind people of his wealth and self-financed campaign. But when it came to Wharton, he was always the "public defender." Little to no mention was made of his extensive history with the controversial Ford family, nor his long association with Democratic party activities, nor the fact that he was campaign manager for two of Herenton's campaigns! Nor did the paper ever detail his many controversial cases as public defender. The CA studiously avoided all this, whether to attempt to deflect questions of his "insider" status or to paint a false picture of the man is a question that will go unanswered.

* I think I may miss County Sheriff candidate Randy Wade. His comments after his concession to Luttrell, where he talked about going golfing, riding off into the sunset and having a boat waiting for him, as well as his style of speaking, were refreshingly direct and disarming. He seems like a pretty good guy, maybe even the "first African-American good ol' boy" as he demurred in the first debate.

* Speaking of the new Sheriff, why was the report on the deplorable conditions at the jail released only days before the election? The timing smacks of someone's effort to spur real reform, and to embarrass someone, but who? There was a story randomly and spottily reported on election night that the deputy jailers were threatening to walk out en masse if Luttrell was elected! Wade took a moment to elliptically address that after his loss, and he stressed unity and coming together. A class departure.

* Did you know there were some Democratic primaries on Thursday? Sure enough, although most weren't reported. Some were unquestioned walk-aways, as in Harold Ford , John Tanner, Carol Chumney, and the rest of the black Democratic delegation to the State Legislature. But there were some, like John Ford's run where he had opposition not unlike Hilleary had Henry, and they got almost no attention. Why were Democrats given such a remarkable lack of attention? The conspiracy theory is that the CA wanted to paint the Republicans as fractious, to gin up disagreements so as to force more campaign spending.

* The execrable Mike Fleming was again reporting about voting precincts where efforts were made to keep polls open past the 7PM limit. No details, of course; this is Fleming after all. He also reported that, according to his reliable sources, the day after Wharton's inauguration there would be an announcement about consolidation, and a commission to move forward on it, headed by former mayor Jim Rout.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

The Beat(ing) Goes On

In this story about Marsha Blackburn's victory, in the Friday Commercial Appeal's post-election reports, the digs just seem to continue.

Anti-tax warrior Marsha Blackburn rode
voters' anger and dissatisfaction to victory
Thursday in the race to succeed Rep. Ed
Bryant.

"Warrior?" "...rode voter's anger...?" But wait, there's more! The story goes on:

After claiming victory about 9 p.m. outside
a party in a Franklin bistro....
Meanwhile, Blackburn seemed to sidestep allegations in a mailer by a
group called Tennesseans for Accountable Government that questioned
her spending habits as head of the state's Film, Entertainment and Music
Commission.

"Claiming victory...?" Like it wasn't hers? Like she took it unfairly?

Quick detour: Notice that they still drag up this half-worked story! As I reported here, in a revelation I have yet to see followed up on anywhere else (Is this my first scoop?), Bruce Eastin, the former Executive Director of the Tennessee Republican Party, is behind this mailer and group. Why didn't anyone look into this? And why does the CA mention this again?

Why? Because the bashing must continue. She was one of the prime movers behind the anti-IT forces, willing to "rally the troops" in her famous words to protest Naifeh's attempts at underhandedness. That makes her an enemy of the CA and so the bashing will not stop.

Blackburn, a retail marketing consultant and second-term state senator
known for rallying tax protesters....

See? What did I say? The story ends with this strange, gratuitous swipe:

But her hilltop home in Williamson County, named ''Up Yonder'' by
former owner Minnie Pearl, was drawn into the Seventh District this
winter when congressional district lines were reset.

Yes, for the CA, the torture never stops.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Oh, Didn't We Mention That?

In an AP story about Katherine Harris, the Secretary of State for Florida who was thrust into the national spotlight in the 2000 Presidential elections, run by the Commercial Appeal in Friday's edition, there's a crucial omission. The story talks about Harris' failure to follow Florida election law by resigning her position before she took up her run for the US Congress in a North Florida district.

The story ends:

"I made a mistake in not filing the letter," Harris said.
Harris said she thought the law did not apply to her office.

Seen in that light, it makes her sound high-handed and imperious. But what the CA's truncated version leaves out is the fact that her elected position is being eliminated. She thought, since the position would cease to exist, to be replaced by an appointed position, that no resignation was necessary.

Changes the meaning of things a bit, doesn't it?

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

You Don't Say!

In the lead editorial in today's Commercial Appeal, the editors bring up sprawl--the unchecked and unrestrained growth on the edges of the county and beyond.

They blithely let fly with this whopper:

Land developers, who enjoy inordinate influence on the Shelby County
Commission, have blocked proposals for impact fees here. The real
estate industry has been equally successful at preventing a local real
estate transfer tax. That has increased the pressure on county property
taxes to help pay for explosive growth, to the ire of many taxpayers.

You don't say! Too bad the CA doesn't look into this, huh?

The Comical Appeal has long turned a blind eye, many would say willfully so, to developers, realtors and bankers. Can you recall the last story to look into any of these groups? As the downtown redevelopment plans have shown, there's an inordinately cozy relationship between City Hall and Banker's Row. It's long past time they did their job and brought this sordidness to light.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Flinn Concedes

At shortly before 9PM, George Flinn called AC Wharton and conceded the campaign for Shelby County Mayor. The count at this hour is running 65% to 35%.

It has always been Wharton's campaign to lose and he played it well, with strategic support from the Commercial Appeal and the television stations. He played calm and friendly, and mostly stayed quiet. His sole wrong move was losing his temper on the Fox13 debate.

Flinn just played it wrong. The demographics of Shelby County played against him. Blacks are simply unlikely to support a white at that level when there is a credible black candidate, especially an insider like Wharton. So that's fifty percent of the vote gone right there. Then there are the white Democrats, which is another 10-15% of the vote.

Flinn's other problem was tipping the Republicans' applecart with his primary win. I believe that Larry Scroggs was never intended to be more than token opposition. Most of Mayor Rout's administrative staff had already gone to the Wharton campaign. Many other prominent Republicans, either publicly or privately, refused to support Flinn; some, including the president of the Young Republicans, actually supported Wharton! I believe that a lot of wealthy Shelby Countians simply see the writing on the demographic wall in the County and hoped for a smooth transition, one that left them with good relations all around. Flinn wrecked that; Susan Adler Thorp claims he's wrecked the Republican Party for some time to come.

Flinn seriously miscalculated with his appoach in the past month. He apparently tried--or more appropriately, his managers and handlers tried--to set up, without looking guilty, a situation requiring a response from Wharton, at which time Flinn could play aggrieved and smeared. But Flinn failed to carry it off, mostly because it doesn't seem to be in Flinn's character to act that way. He looked like a bad amateur actor. And the CA actively worked to turn it against him. It all failed and cost him dearly.

I think it's accurate to say that AC Wharton may be the last Shelby County Mayor. Expect to see Memphis Mayor Dr. Herenton's plan for consolidation to go forward, with AC's support and help. Also expect to see unusually close collaboration between the two governments--more so than you'd expect from two Democrats. It's more like puppet-master and puppet. AC has no constituency to hold together and appease. His constituency is Herenton's. Herenton you can expect to act even more imperial.

And watch white flight into Mississippi, Tipton and Fayette Counties, even Hardeman County and beyond, to go into overdrive. Jobs which require the successfully educated will begin to follow. Accuse me of racism, but a lot of jobs held by whites cannot be picked up by many Memphis blacks. The educational gap is too large and well-settled. The cultural gap between black Memphians/Countians and corporate America will also continue to be a problem. Memphis/Shelby County will continue to be mired in problems for many years to come.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

We'll See What Happens

In an AP story the Commercial Appeal reports here, it's noted that the first 135,000 letters have gone out to verify TennCare recipients. One hundred thousand are expected to be cut.

What's missing from the story is another report, which I can't find right now, that expects as many as 600,000 to be eligible for cutting from TennCare. We'll see how many actually end up trimmed.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

The Crone Speaks

Speaking of SAT, as I will be below when you read the next post which I already wrote, her latest column continues her rails against George Flinn, although in a less direct, more "why you should vote" sort of way.

She writes:

People don't vote for a variety of reasons, but mostly it's because
they don't think the results of an election will affect their lives,
John Ryder, a local Republican strategist, said.

Surprised? Look at what's going on in the City. How often do you feel consulted or part of the decisions being made? How many of those decisions do you think were made in quiet, unadvertised meetings by commissions made up of "civic leaders," or by public servants in closed meetings?

How often does the CA try to penetrate those commission meetings, or even report what they already know?

Even though it's been around for centuries, that doesn't make
negative campaigning more palatable to voters, particularly in
this high-tech era when in a matter of minutes it's possible to
take an opponent's record, distort its content and meaning, and
bring it into our living rooms during prime time.

Or discover obfuscated and hidden truths and then put them on tthe Internet, as, for example, Tax Free Tennessee has done. Oh, wait, no, not there. Too "raw," too "unfiltered," too "not controlled by us."

She goes on to moan about how, even though negative campaigning is very effective, it's "unpalatable." That doesn't seem to stop the CA from covering every little bit of it, though, does it? Or from trying to dig up more, as in the two suits involving George Flinn and Mary Norman. You can't complain about it and then try to profit from it, Thorp. It doesn't work like that. It's...unpalatable.

As a wise person once said, "Live the kind of world you want and it'll happen." That advice could go for the CA. Instead of wasting three columns pasting George Flinn because his campaign manager snubbed her, she could have extolled the virtues of AC Wharton. She didn't and that begs a lot of questions.

The CA could also give more and more serious coverage to the independent candidates running. This election cycle, they seem to have improved some, which is heartening to see. But there is a long way to go there, still.

Practice what you want to see, SAT, and maybe you'll see it start to happen. But live by the nasty, cutting column and don't be surprised when candidates follow along.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

My Eyes, My Eyes!

I cannot believe it! I'm...shocked. And appalled. Shocked and appalled.

Last primary election, I idly flipped onto NewsChannel 3 and their election coverage. Imagine my surprise to see the CA's own Susan Adler Thorp, the Crone herself, pontificating with Jerry Hayes, as their "expert." I was surprised, until later when I discovered that Channel 3 and the CA have entered into some agreements regarding reporting. Apparently one of the benefits for Channel 3 is they get SAT's "expertise" and sage wisdom. It's a change from the CA's old "closed shop" rule, where they even yanked a reporter who was a regular on the PBS program, "Tennessee Roundtable." Like anyone saw him....

Well, SAT pretty much repeated what she says in her columns, sometimes almost word for word. But it was her appearance that enthralled me. She had long, straight dark hair liberally (get it?) sprinkled with grey, lots of grey. At one point, she made to scratch her face, something broadcast pros learn never to do, but hey, she's new. One thin finger arced up and carefully poked into her cheek. I was immediately struck. "Don't let that woman near the children," I thought. "She'll treat them like Hansel and Gretel." And so her nickname, the Crone, was born. It was also a play on the modern-day use of the word, as a badge of pride for women of a certain age who are revered for their wisdom, who are sought out and respected by younger women, who have great power within. Yes, I'm using sarcasm.

So imagine my shock tonight when I tune in to Channel 3 and there she is again--with dyed hair and a weird, new cut! I almost had to laugh. Her hair is very dark now, no grey, and wavy in a feathered, Eighties style.

Ah vanity. Let those reporter types get on the television and look what happens....

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Not Sure of This

I happened to catch the top of the 7 AM hour of NewsChannel 3's morning broadcast, which I usually avoid except for the weather forecast. They opened with a reporter speaking to US Representative Harold Ford, Jr. at a Memphis voting precinct, then brought in AC Wharton! Both spoke of the campaign and Election Day, with Ford clearly endorsing Wharton.

I thought State law prohibited any campaigning within 100 yards of a voting precinct, much less a live interview within sight of voting booths? Or do the TV stations get special permission from the Election Commissioner?

Call me picky, but it just seems wrong.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Oh, So Now You Want To Talk About It?

Complaints about the Shelby County Jail have been going on for, well almost all of AC Gilless' term as Sherrif. From the Federal government all the way down through the layers of bureaucracy to local citizens, the stories are shocking and horrifying. The County Jail, 201 Poplar, is a mess; a scary, metastasizing sinkhole. I work with a lot of people who have first hand experience with the jail--not Your Humble Working Boy, though, I assure you!--and it's worse than anything you've ever heard.

Stories have all focused on the jail itself, and the population within, and sometimes the guards. But this story in today's Commercial Appeal reports on a well-timed study's results and the testimony of a newly-hired assistant security chief.

Everything we're hearing has been there all along, but the source of the problem--upper management at the Shelby County Sherrif's office--has largely been given a skate. Only now, as Gilless' term ends and a new Sherrif prepares to wade into this, is real examination occuring. It's sad that this all had to wait, for whatever reason, for so long. The CA can marshall and deploy considerable resources and effort when it's something important, like the Grizzlies, but for things like the jail mess, they are content to let it get regular treatment.

It's a shame that AC is now at his retirement cabin in Arkansas, where it's said he's been for over a year now. Of course, it's probably also good that he's out of reach of Shelby Countians, at least for him.

Now, if only the CA would spend as much time and effort digging there into the jail problems as they do digging into political candidate's private lives.

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

Tanned and Fit

I didn't intend to take the whole day off from posting yesterday, but it worked out that way. I got some personal things done, and got a good night's sleep. Thanks for understanding.

I generally work on this blog from 3 to 6 hours daily, reading included. It's a huge workload, though great fun that's paying off, and I still don't have time for other things I want to get to on this blog, like the Memphis Flyer. I've also been thinking about the Memphis Business Journal, though that one will be a long way down the road, I assure you. I've been rethinking some things and will come to some decisions over the weekend.

Don't worry! I'm not quitting. But some reorganization, refocusing and prioritizing is in order. Your thoughts and suggestions are welcomed.

And don't tell me you didn't vote today, OK?

Until next time, that is all.
Your Working Boy

A Quick One Before I Go

Tomorrow I have a busy day in real life, and I will be saving up energy for the big push on Thursday night and Friday, so posting may be light. I hope you understand.

REMEMBER TO VOTE!

Ok?

Until next time,
Your Working Boy

Hi, I'm Andy Rooney

A few stray items:

* The lack of controversy over the Commercial Appeal's comics page still puzzles me. Doonesbury and For Better or For Worse get press for their politics and gay-friendliness, respectively. But any number of other cartoons have other problems that rarely draw attention.

For example, how many comics never feature a black character? You'd be surprised. Fourteen by my count. And more have a token black character introduced many years ago, and never joined by others in the strips. In light of that, the fuss that sometimes arises over Boondocks seems silly.

There's also the Johnny Hart strips, BC and Wizard of Id, which regularly proselytise for Christianity. I'm not taking a position on that, only noting it.

* Ever notice how much John Rosemond, of the CA's Affirmative Parenting resembles WREC's Mike Fleming? Spooky.

* Whoever is doing the ads for Clear Channel radio needs to remember that listeners aren't just ad targets, but also listeners. The constant bombardment of "advertise on Clear Channel" and cross-promotional ads is wearing.

By the way, if someone listening to Clear Channel needs "info detox" you don't send them to News Radio WREC; that's like sending a drunk to a bar for detox. Chumps. Oh, and whoever did the ads for their big franchise shows--Rush, Dr. Laura, Paul Harvey--seems to have a very mean streak. Those loopy ads used to have a real nasty side hidden in them, suggesting Dr. Laura / Paul Harvey sex relations and making fun of Rush's weight. Then there was the ad warning about possible nuclear attack, and the anthrax ad...you get the idea. Who do they think their target audience is and is the ad person responsible hostile to them?

* Why are newspaper websites so poorly designed? You can go to most corporate websites and find clean, simple, easy to access layout. You go to the CA, Memphis Flyer or WREC sites and find cramped, cluttered design so heavy on flashy visuals and graphics, polls and other boxes, that my browser regularly chokes on them. It gets frustrating, to be sure. They seem to assume that everyone has the latest, most powerful computers with all the flashy plugins and the latest versions, and a big fat T-3 line like they do. GET A CLUE FOLKS!

Until next time,
Your Working Boy