MONEY, POLITICS, TRUST FUNDS, AND TRUST
So, what is the difference between George Bush saying he did nothing wrong, and the CEO of WorldCom (or ENRON or any of the others) saying he did nothing wrong? I honestly don’t see a difference. One thing I do know is that this country’s got a problem, and that problem is money in politics.
Is it any wonder that people don’t want to vote? Is it any wonder that FERC screwed California when they needed price caps on electricity? We don’t see that screwing on a day-to-day basis because it’s tied up in long range debt. On the federal level, money is so intertwined in politics that it is really hard to tell who’s calling the shots, corporate interests or politicians. Bush and Cheney say they did nothing wrong. Even the stock market didn’t believe that.
Let’s see… Davis or Ashcroft…errr, I mean Simon. I always get those two mixed up. Simon is the one with the offshore accounts, right? Davis? A sellout who grants political favors to groups who give big money to his campaign. He’s got a proven track record of doing that and it’s so blatant. What’s a poor boy to do? This is one hell of a big mess we’re in. Money in politics is pervasive; everyone does it. Democrats have to take money because if they don’t, the Republicans will take it. There’s got to be something wrong with that logic. The more it’s done, the less we think that there’s anything wrong with it.
Have our senses been dulled by seeing this scenario so many times as to make it okay?
Pavlov would have a field day with this. You have to look no further locally than our own mayor to find political patronage by the ton. Is he going to ask his “special assistants” to take a leave of absence this campaign cycle to work on campaigns? He could get away with that in a surplus budget economy, but the sadness hits home when he submits a budget that lays off working class laundry workers. His true, patronizing attitude shows only too much.
His antics with respect to the Planning Commission is one more reminder to the citizens of San Francisco that he is in bed with developers and big money. The way the citizens voted in the changes to the Planning Commission is not a power grab by the Board of Supervisors as he spins it. The Federal Government is set up the same way; the President nominates, and the Senate approves. It can’t be said any better than in the July 17th issue of the SF Bay Guardian. In testimony at the Rules and Audits Committee, the following exchange took place between Chair Tony Hall (he’s a Supervisor) and nominated and previous Commissioner William Faye:
TH- What is your background in planning?
WF- I’m an orthodontist.<
TH- Did you have any experience at all in the
planning role?
WF- No, I don’t.
TH- Did you put your name in for that commission
or were you selected?
WF- I was selected by Mayor Brown.
TH- Did he give any indication why he was selecting
you for that commission?
WF- No.
Why in the world would the Board okay that selection for the Planning Commission?
It is so evident that the reason he was selected was to do the Mayor’s bidding. And that is money mixing in politics, in your face style.
So much for the preamble. I’m going to make only one endorsement this campaign season, and it’s going to go to incumbent District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly. I know, I know… trust fund baby; hothead; small property owner-hater. I’ve heard them all. I’ve read all the press. I know why everyone is pissed off at him, and that’s the very reason I’m endorsing him. The man just refuses to be bought off! In this day and age, this man actually stands on principle. No wonder Willie Brown hates him. Yes, I read the article in the Examiner that quoted the Supervisor, “Imagine that, a landlord doesn’t like me.”
I know all the arguments about small property owners. But if you owned a small tobacco product manufacturing plant — making a substance that has been proven to harm humans — I’m against you, even though there are huge manufacturers out there making thousands of times as much as you.
The landlords and the real estate industry in this town are flat-out ugly, and like it or not, small property owners are a part of that industry. Chris Daly has put forward legislation to stop some of the uglier practices. The people would be better served if the Examiner did a story of a large property owner and how this legislation is thwarting some of his greedy games.
I witnessed, first hand, Daly’s arrest at the Hasting’s garage hearing. I was registered as a reporter for STREET SHEET. The truth of that matter is, who knows if Senator John Burton would have gotten involved if it wasn’t for all the histrionics. The fact is that the right outcome (even by San Francisco Chronicle standards) happened. Way to go Supe! The same could be said of Daly’s fight with Redevelopment.
That famous quote is still out there, and is superlative in its simplicity: “They didn’t build the housing.”
Chris Daly is an enigma; he works for The People in a government that doesn’t. Sophie Maxwell thanked him at a committee meeting for being the conscience of the board saying, “He (Daly) brings voices to the Board that would not otherwise be heard.” That describes him pretty well; you can count on him to do the right thing. That will get a lot of people mad at you and a lot of ugly politicians and their corporate bankrollers working against you. Kind of makes those politicians look bad, you know.
If you take the time to look at legislation and his voting record, the choice to re-elect him would be obvious. How quickly we forget what this town was like with the previous Board.
The question is not whether to endorse Chris Daly, but where in the hell can we get more like him?!?
Gross