Burning more bridges

Burning more bridges

Ya know, some days I wake up and I'm not even sure I'm considered a "progressive" in this town any more.

Oh, sure,I still want me some Troops Home Now and some Socialized Medicine. But for me, "progressive" always meant a freedom-loving libertarian streak, and given a choice between 1) a self-appointed do-gooder doctor who knows what's best for people in spite of their own wishes, and who occasionally shows up at a Democratic party fundraiser, and 2) a cantankerous politically incorrect business owner, I'll go with the Captain:

Soboroff said Iowa City essentially has handed over its streets to the University of Iowa by relying on campus police to patrol downtown and Melrose Avenue on gamedays. Soboroff, a critic of the city's recent 21-only bar entry ordinance, said the council has created an unwelcoming atmosphere for students and visitors because of the increased UI police enforcement in the wake of the new law.

And when I see a couple of dudes getting busted for holding a quarter ounce, I think that local law enforcement has more than enough resources and it makes me all the more determined to vote NO next year to a "justice center." (What the hell is a "justice center"?!? A place for Superman and the Super Friends to hang out?) You want your new jail? Make the Iowa City cops and Campus Security Knock. It. Off. I don't CARE that "it's the law." It's a bad law.

And when Iowa CCI does another self-congratulatory press release for yelling at Chuck Grassley at a town hall, I feel like doing a shot every time they use the word "Demands":

“Grassley avoided directly answering our questions and when we confronted him after the meeting ended, he left as quickly as he could,” said Kenn Bowen, a CCI member from Winterset.

“He definitely heard our ‘put people first’ message loud and clear.”

So he HEARD you. Good for you. What did that change?

"Well, uh, I've been a staunch corporate conservative throughout my five decades in public office," said Grassley, "but after a dozen hippies yelled at me in Carroll, I've, um, seen the light and am now going to vote the way Bernie Sanders does."

As the great military leader Sherman T. Potter once said, mule muffins. You don't change Chuck Grassley's vote by making "demands." (Drink!) You change Chuck Grassley's vote by beating Chuck Grassley.

So the phone banks were jam packed last fall with CCI members making calls for Roxanne Conlin, right? Right? (chirp... chirp... chirp...) Riiiiiight. Because you don't get on TV making GOTV calls. You get on TV by chanting "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, and When Do We Want It, Now!" They probably thought Roxanne was "too corporate" anyway because she has earned some personal wealth, even though she grew up dirt poor and even though she sued Bill Gates and won.

So who else can I alienate? Oh, yeah. Da Bears still suck.