[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Dennis S. Tifft wrote,WM: Not everyone who becomes a candidate or a delegate is granted equal intelligence, good manners, or common sense.
<<Since no endorsement was given it seems that some of the delegates and/or candidates have not only accused me of blocking an endorsement but of being a "white nationalist," which I personally find very offensive and completely untrue.>>
Mr. Tifft was the second candidate to drop. The only candidate he could conceivably have "blocked" was Titi Bediako. Under only completely bizarre circumstances (I cannot imagine only one: that the other four candiates dropped dead before the first ballot was counted at the convention) could Titi have gotten an endorsement.
Let's name names. The 8th ward convention coverage in City Pages was run as a side bar to an interview with Mayoral Candidate Peter McLaughlin, entitled "The Other White Meat"
WM: The less said about the CP's coverage, the better.
The sidebar, "Stalemate: Delegates Block Endorsement in Ward 8" was written by Shannon Gibney, the managing editor of the Minnesota Spokeman-Recorder. Gibney wrote: "Hard political lesson number 2: In a racially divided town, even a black veteran of Minneapolis politics can't necessarily count on the support of white voters."WM: The statement, of course, reflects the mind set of the writer, but does not at all reflect the mind sets present at the convention. He's clearly talking about Titi since Jeff Hayden is not a "veteran" of politics.
To critique Titi's presentation of herself at the convention, she led off with her father's accomplishments. Where I was sitting at the time, several people dropped Titi from consideration at that point. I'm only guessing at motive here, but it could be that those around me expected her to lead off with her own accomplishments, not her father's. For those who have known her for probably her whole life, some thought Titi's scope "was too narrow" for the ward.
Gibney quoted Titi Bediako as saying "What's happening here is obviously an example of political strategy, but also straight-up white nationalism."WM: It's very hard to step up in front of god and everybody at a public meeting of some 500 people, give of your best, then be rejected. It's painful when you can look out and see people you've known as both child and adult who are there to judge you and have not given a positive judgment. Titi's quote was Titi lashing out. Naturally, she was not going to blame her own. It's very hard to swallow the fact that's it's your own dam fault you did not win. It doesn't happen the first day, but only in retrospect.
Gibney goes on to write, "...After Hauser, a park board commissioner, was out of the race, was out of the race, her supporters -a majority of whom, like Tifft's, were white- split their votes between Glidden and no endorsement. None of them voted for Hayden." That contention is not supported by the facts presented in the same article. Hayden's share of the total vote increased by 4% immediately after Hauser was knocked out, and didn't lose any ground in the last round of voting. Glidden share of the vote increased from 31 to 46%, then dropped to 43%, an increase of 12%.WM: This was true to a certain extent, but it's a mistake to give it more prominence than it warrants. The ward had voted for Belton and for Herron, neither of whom could have become the CM for the 8th without both black and white votes. For almost a generation the ward has solidly supported African American candidates. Titi and Gibney are just plain wrong to attribute her loss to white nationalism--whatever that nomenclature might mean.
Delegates made it abundantly clear that they were willing to vote for a black candidate--they voted for Hayden. At the sixth ballot, it was exceedingly clear that we'd seesaw back and forth between Hayden and Glidden till enough people were exhausted and left. Last one standing wins. Why do that?
And there is certainly more to the dynamics of the 8th ward city council race than the "race" of the candidates. With coverage of the 8th ward city council election that helps to keep the masses of people in the 8th ward ignorant about the political process, the candidates, and issues, City Pages is performing a valuable service to those who profit from racial discrimination and oppression in the City of Minneapolis.WM: Could we talk about proportion here? As in isn't this blowing it way out of proportion? I'm sure CP likes feeling that powerful, but get real. It's a weekly whoopee newspaper with a tiny news hole.
WizardMarks, Central, 8-2 ________________________________
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