For Members Only
By Mansfield Frazier
Congress, for better or worse, is a club… a very exclusive club that many politicians around the country would love to some day be able to join. And, like virtually all clubs, new members initially get to say and do very little; it takes gaining seniority to have any real influence and ability to bring projects (and dollars) back home to their Districts.
Our late, great Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, after serving a decade in that august body, was on the cusp of gaining access to real power at the time of her untimely death; she was moving up in seniority and committee assignments and was on the verge of accomplishing what Lou Stokes had done so well for years: Bring home more of the Washington-brand bacon.
Our current Congresswoman Marcia Fudge is presently in her second full term and moving up nicely in Washington power circles where she’s admired for her sharp mind and grasp of policy, praised for her strong work ethic and tenacity, and celebrated for her courageous and reasoned stances on progressive issues of concern to all Americans. In other words, she’s a seasoned, experienced professional who knows the rules of the road in the Washington political game… and by all accounts plays by them very well. It’s difficult — nay, impossible — for anyone to find any real fault with how well she discharges her Congressional duties… without them stooping to making up scurrilous lies and concocting patent falsehoods.
Of course, earmarks are not as pervasive as they once were in Washington, but no one is naïve enough to think they will ever be completely done away with. So, just when Congresswoman Fudge is gaining enough seniority to have a real impact in Washington for the betterment of the folks in the 11th Congressional District… the electorate is supposed to buy the notion that competition for her seat is somehow “good.” The voters in the District are evidently supposed to be so dense they’ll really consider sending someone new (read: Nina Turner) to Washington to take a place as a freshman at the absolute back of the line… while we, the constituency, wait another decade for her to accrue seniority.
Really?
Congressional appropriations are a zero sum game: what one Congressional District doesn’t get goes to another District… it’s not like they hold on to the money until your representative accumulates seniority and learns the ropes. So, if the new 11th Congressional District representative to Congress is stuck in the back of the line… that means more money for other Districts to divvy up. Is this really about robbing from Peter to give it to Paul?
The “competition is good in the 11th Congressional District seat” idea being put forth by the PD is nothing if not novel; I can’t ever recall this argument being used in the races of say… Congressman LaTourette, Senator Portman, or Gov. Kasich… why is it so damn “good” for Congresswoman Fudge? Is there a double standard at play here?
Ambition is the mother’s milk of politics and there’s certainly nothing wrong with Nina Turner wanting to move up… but she’s asking the electorate to throw commonsense out the window to assist her ascendancy. That’s selfish in the extreme on her part… to ask the residents of the 11th Congressional District to break seniority and start the wait all over again.
And the notion that Turner would somehow be able to go to Washington and, as a freshman, jump past all of the other Democrats that have been waiting patiently in line for years and accomplish feats of miracle and magic that our current representative has not been able to pull off is absurd. There really is no magic, only hard work and seniority.
Washington, DC is a city full of loquacious orators that have been able to dazzle unsophisticated folks back home, who, not long after their arrival, are awakened to the reality that style is no substitute for substance, and upstart brashness often leads to politically fatal rashness.
And Turner’s challenging of Fudge is raising lots of eyebrows in Washington… virtually all of them angry. With Ohio being a critical state in President Obama’s reelection bid — as Dr. Jason Johnson, Politic365 chief political correspondent (and professor of Political Science at Hiram College) recently wrote — the last thing the Democratic Party wants or needs right now is any unnecessary distractions.
The real brains and power in Washington want all Democrats on the same page, not fighting with each other. Not for nothing is the president called “No Drama Obama.” Even if Turner were to somehow eek out a win, she’d be a pariah in Washington political circles for years and years to come. Talk about Pyrrhic victories… she’s setting fire to herself.
Of course Turner’s run at the office could all be a ruse… perhaps the real goal isn’t a seat in Congress, but in the chair of the Mayor’s Office overlooking Lakeside Avenue.
But no one in Cuyahoga County is supposed to be smart enough to figure out what she and her handlers (read: Jerry Austin) are up to, right? Raise some money and increase your profile in preparation for a mayoral run in 2013… while selfishly hurting President Obama. And this is smart, shrewd political thinking?
The problem with this strategy is, Frank Jackson (who sometimes hints that he’s about ready to retire) ain’t going nowhere no time soon — you can make book on that. Can you really imagine that a man who’s in perfect health, and who loves working 12 to 14 hour days, seven days a week, is going to go and sit home on his front porch in a rocking chair? Not happening.
And, just like Congresswoman Fudge, while Mayor Jackson might not be the most exciting speaker to ever hold elective office hereabouts, he’s unbeatable at the ballot box.
Nonetheless, Turner could still have a bright political future… that is if she doesn’t blow it with blind ambition brought on by reading and believing all those PD headlines. Like the old saying goes… “it’s not the fall that hurts so much, it’s that sudden stop”… when you crack your head on the rock-hard pavement of reality. Trust me, I know things.
Protect and Pimp?
The taxpaying public showed how much they respect first responders when they voted overwhelmingly to protect them from the machinations of Gov. Kasich on Nov 8. Unfortunately, it seems as if that respect wasn’t being returned as firefighters in Cleveland were caught “screwing the pooch” big time.
As the city continues to tighten the vice on firefighters’ collective nuts, it won’t be long until they trot out the phrase they know works every time: “This is tough, dangerous work we do protecting the public,” as if that gives them the right to pimp the payroll process. First responders are not given licenses to steal from the public coffers when they’re sworn into office (no matter what the old-timers have told them).
And it’s high time someone told them the facts of life: “Look, we honor and appreciate your service and dedication to protecting the public… but you knew it was dangerous work when you signed on and took the job. If you don’t like the rules, or care to follow them, simply quit… and see how many others will quickly line up to take your place.”
ProPublica review of pardons
According to a recent story in the Washington Post, white criminals seeking presidential pardons over the past decade have been nearly four times as likely to succeed as minorities, a ProPublica examination of records has found.
For the entire 4,000-word report click here.
Blacks, the study found, “had the poorest chance of receiving the president’s ultimate act of mercy, according to an analysis of previously unreleased records and related data. Current and former officials at the White House and Justice Department said they were surprised and dismayed by the racial disparities, which persist even when factors such as the type of crime and sentence are considered.”
Roger Adams, who served as head of the Justice Department’s pardons office from 1998 to 2008, said that he was astounded by the numbers “but could think of nothing in the office’s practices that would have skewed the recommendations.”
Yeah, right… as we all know, shit like this just “happens” in America — all the goddamn time. If minorities can’t get a fair shake at the absolute highest level of government, how the hell can we expect fair treatment at any other level?
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.