Gloves Will Come Off in Mayor’s Race
Posted September 18th, 2009 at 8:33 AM by Jeff A. TaylorVery telling moment in the interview with Anthony Foxx on WBT yesterday morning when Foxx ducked Al Gardner’s attempt to get Foxx to answer the question, does racism play a role in the motivations of Obama’s opponents?
Foxx said that is not a “yes or no” type question, but that there are people who get involved in issues just to start a “brush fire.” In other words, probably yes, but please lets talk about something else. This is because for the next few weeks Foxx will try to walk the fine line of keeping the local Obama machine primed and ready to roll without running off suburban Obama voters who might have a problem with some of the administration’s more Leftward lurches, yet don’t want to be called racists for thinking so.
If John Lassiter is smart, he forces Foxx to pick a side, either full-on with Obama and the activists or with the local do-good liberal crowd. For that to remotely work, however, Lassiter has to stop talking about dedicated funding sources for the homeless, job creation, and other Left wing tropes. My guess is that happens once Lassiter gets some polling showing that most voters are worried about crime, taxes, and quality of life. Then we’ll hear that Foxx is Obama II, the activists will flip-out, national money and attention will flow, and it will be well and truly on.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Yawn. No offense, Jeff, but at this point, I really couldn’t care less about the mayor’s race. Lassiter and Foxx are two of a kind: they’re both for expansion of government and central economic planning. The only difference this election will make is that whichever party loses will be able to shift blame from themselves when the unfortunate economic consequences of such policies come home to roost.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Well, that is certainly a fair cop up until this point. I’m just saying that IF Lassiter really wants to be mayor for the next two years — by definition a tough and daunting job — he’s gonna hafta move the needle as they say.
Oh, and I should add unless you enter office with SOME sort of mandate to do something other than try to spend city money to fix all the problems the city faces, you are pretty much doomed.
September 18th, 2009 at 10:54 am
>> there are people who get involved in issues just to start a “brush fire.”
Like, um, Al Gardner.
Seriously, the entire point of Charlotte’s Morning News interviews is to give Larson a jumping-off point.
Al is a smart guy who I think “gets it” to a certain extent, but he also won’t ask substantive questions for fear of being blackballed off the Black Tie Dinner circuit by the Chamber crowd.
As far as the mayor’s race, I predict a Foxx win. Lassiter will attract very few of McCrory’s Democratic supporters while alienating the GOP base with his FoxxLite yammerings, while the Cannon, Foxx and Obama machines will result in black turnout nearly matching last year’s.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:10 am
He’s got to want the job more than John McCain wanted the one he was running for, these two races are eerily similar (and will probably have the same result). I might end up voting for the guy because I’ll show up to vote for (at least one of the) GOP council candidates and all I have to do is punch an extra button, although I think these Uptown GOP types need to go pound sand at this point.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Well, I ain’t voting for Lassiter, for the same reason I didn’t vote for McCrory in 2007 (I actually voted for Beverly Earle): They’re both RINOs who don’t have any problem with spending tons of forcibly-extracted tax dollars on stupid projects I don’t agree with. I would almost be happier with Foxx being elected, because (as with Obama) having a Democrat in charge effing things up will set the stage for a real conservative/libertarian to come into office. Having Lassiter follow McCrory is like being told that your pancreatic cancer miraculously went into remission, only to be replaced by an inoperable brain tumor.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I’ll definitely show up to the polls to vote for Ridenhour, but I cannot in good conscience reward Lassiter for betraying the Tea Party activists who showed up to the City Council meeting a few months back to lobby against another half-cent sales tax for more transit. I won’t be casting a vote for mayor, period.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Here’s the only way the local GOP and media will get the message:
1. Enter polling place.
2. Touch button next to RIDENHOUR.
3. Touch DONE.
4. Exit polling place.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
One thought that occurred to me: My likely course of action in November will be to vote for the GOP council candidates (esp. Ridenhour), but not for mayor. If the mayor’s race comes down to a recount, is some idiot elections official going to decide that my failure to vote for mayor constitutes an “undervote” and add one to the Lassiter column? Because I’ll be headed down to the BoE to make sure that doesn’t happen with MY vote.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Clay–
I take care of avoiding an election’s official voting for me by voting for myself as a write-in.
September 19th, 2009 at 3:43 am
Musicmax, if you want to send the GOP establishment a message, in addition to voting for Ridenhour (and Bokhari, perhaps) vote for Libertarian Travis Wheat. Now, THAT would panic the RINOs into a stampede!
September 19th, 2009 at 7:26 am
And here’s the point where I lament, curse, and wail about the LP failing to come up with a mayoral candidate this year. Grrrr………
September 19th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Vote HAVERMEYER!
September 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Jeff, I concur. Life is like that, sometimes.