Detroit Mayoral Election: What difference, at this point, does it make?

Detroit held an election yesterday and as I advised MOTUS at the time, what difference, at this point, does it make?  

Zombieland Detroit: have at it

Both candidates appeared to be qualified and either one of them would have been more qualified to run for president than Barack Obama was in 2008 - aside from the perfectly creased pant legs that is.

Candidates Benny, left; Mike, right, the winner .

Since the Detroit Mayoral election is non-partisan, candidates are not listed by political party; there’s no need - there simply aren’t any Republicans here. This year the election came down to a choice between Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon (D) and former Wayne County Deputy Executive, Mike Duggan (D).

Like the 2008 presidential election, this race was historic. Mike Duggan, the white guy, won by a 10 point margin in a city that is currently 82% black. The last time a white man was elected Mayor of Detroit was 1969. Indeed, I think the last time a white man even ran for mayor was sometime in the 70’s.  So why, after electing black liberal Democrats to run their city for the last 40 years, did the citizens of Detroit elect a white man this time? Maybe they had grown weary over the course of  4 decades of seeing no results other than a perpetual death spiral of rot, decay and unemployment, combined with continually escalating taxes (property, sales/utility, income). Or maybe people have finally grown tired of  the Boss Hog mentality of City Hall. And perhaps even the black citizens are getting sick of hearing that every problem in Detroit is the fault of the racist suburbs.

I’d like to believe that’s at least partially it. The reality is more likely that Mike Duggan, despite being accused of being a carpetbagger, and a sloppy one at that, was simply better than his opponent at co-opting the problems of Detroit’s citizens as his own and demonstrating the appropriate empathy. He parlayed his public/semi-private experience into a resume of a “turnaround specialist” and promised to fix all of Detroit’s problems (with somebody else’s money, which is always compelling).

He’s an experienced, some would say quintessential, politician who knows every liberal Democratic trick in the playbook and brings the added benefit of knowing how to run the table on crony capitalism. And thanks to a series of plum political appointments to quasi-private positions following his tenure as Ed McNamara’s henchman, he can play that table from both sides. Unlike Obama he’s not the smartest guy in every room, but he’s smart enough. And ambitious. And tenacious; he earned his designation as McNamara’s bulldog. 

While Duggan is a charter member of the “say anything” school of Democratic prevaricators, I suppose Detroit could do worse. In fact, we have:

Kwame, our Hip-hop Mayor, gets ‘cuffed following his conviction.

So I’m  suggesting that, just like white guilt was partially credited for Barack Obama winning his historic 2008 election, black guilt (see Kwame, above) could be partially credited with Mike Duggan winning his historic election. The city’s citizens finally realized that the giant sucking sound they’ve been hearing all these years was the whoosh of the tide that was supposed to be rising and lifting all boats; only it was ebbing and swirling around the drain.  How could you not feel guilty when you find out you’ve been enabling that sort of thing?

I’ve chronicled the magnitude of the city’s problems many times in the past, but here is the Cliffs’ note version:

Both private and public infrastructure has been left to languish well beyond disrepair; much of it is now irreparable.

The city owned electric system has been falling apart for years, the streets are crumbling, along with the steam pipes under the streets. Libraries, factories, theatres, schools – all have been abandoned to the rot and  crumble of entropy on display. Vacant buildings that can’t even be given away multiply by a power of 10 faster than the city’s ability to demolish them.

And then there is the Detroit Public School system: all but consumed by its bureaucracy, debt and corruption; it’s a microcosm of Detroit itself. The DPS is so buried in its own detritus that it has lost sight of its prime objective; to provide children with the tools and education required to become independent citizens able to survive, thrive and pass their knowledge on to the next generation.

So, is Duggan the savior that Detroit desperately needs? Hardly, he’s just filling time while waiting to leapfrog into the Governor’s office. He might have stayed on at his $2 million job as CEO of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) had he not gotten eased out after his chum, Governor Jennifer Granholm, former colleague and fellow McNamara protégé, was term limited out of office. And when she left so, too, did the state subsidies to the DMC. Subsidies gone, CEO gone as well. Coincidence? Probably not, that’s how crony capitalism works. Last I looked, Granholm was still looking for a new gig too, as Al Jazeera America wasn’t working out so well.

Definitely room for this talent somewhere in the DNC

Will Duggan be able to improve things in City Hall? Hell, a cockroach should be able to make things work better after the bankruptcy court clears the docket. The city is currently under the control of  Emergency Financial Manager (EMF) Kevyn Orr, and will continue to be so until such time as Detroit emerges from it’s bankruptcy in a year or so. When the bankruptcy is settled Detroit will be unshackled from a ton of bloated administrative overhead, bloated union contracts, unfunded union pension plans and billions of dollars of accumulated debt. Until then, the new mayor will be little more than a figurehead.  That gives Mike 2 years to get plans laid out and ground work laid for addressing the ongoing managerial problems in city management.

But if history is any gauge, and it usually is, Duggan will spend the time lining up allies, getting rid of enemies, signing corporations up for their annual donations to the “community chest” and aligning a whole raft of cronies who will prove valuable in the care and tending of the war chest for his next election – be it Mayor 2.0 or Governor 1.0.

Despite his lack of the perfect crease in his pant legs, the media by and large has given Duggan a pass on the baggage he brings to the Manoogian Mansion. His linchpin position in the McNamara machine is simply one of those inconvenient truths that must be ignored for the greater good: the advance of liberalism.

So, while I’m not a personal or political fan of “the Duggan’s,” I do wish him well, for the sake of the city. But I feel it only wise to keep my expectations low with respect to the turnaround of Detroit until I see a good reason not to.

Politics are an ugly thing, Democrat politics are uglier and Democratic policies in Detroit are uglier still. Would Benny Napoleon, the other liberal Democrat, have been a better choice?  Like I said before, what difference, at this point, does it make.

 

If you can think of something.

Linked By: Legal Insurrection Post of the Day, and Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and Abby L Call on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Previous Popular Posts about Detroit:

• The Motor City: Broken and Out of Warranty
• Why Detroit Still Matters
• Saving Detroit: It’s going to require more than just saying nice things
• A Short History of Detroit
• So, Mr. President, Who Do You Think Destroyed Detroit?
• Michigan Math
• Live and Die in Detroit
• Feral in Detroit
• Detroit, Back to its Roots
• You Can’t Handle the Solution!
• Detroit Schools: Where We Eat Our Young
• Detroit: A Ghost Story
• Burn Baby, Burn

WTF Theatre: Episode 9: If You Like Your Healthcare Plan…

Welcome to Episode 9 of WTF (Win The Future) Theatre, “If You Like Your Healthcare Plan…” well, you know.

Following the Great American Shutdown of 2013, Cody and Skylar have finally ventured out of their Seattle condo to restock their *ahem* supplies, and go back to work.

Today, they’re excited as they’ve just received their annual health insurance policy renewal. We join them as they discuss the huge savings they’ve been told to expect:

So, to recap: If you like your plan, but can’t keep your plan, blame the Big Greedy Insurance Companies.

This message was brought to you in part by the Valkarie and O-BS (Operation Blame-Shifting). MOTUS has more details.

Linked By: @AllisonZulma on twitter, and Mary Deeters, Joseph Stephens on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, and NOBO2012 on Free Republic, Thanks!

Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

WTF Theater. Episode 8: Shelter in Place

I’m pleased to present Episode 8 of Dewey’s WTF (Win The Future) Theatre,  “Shelter in Place.”

The government shutdown has resulted in hardships all across the country. As day 13 dawns in Seattle we rejoin Cody and Skylar, holed up in their Seattle condo, trying to wait out the uprising of the Tea Party Anarchists waging outside.

Unbeknownst to them, their satellite TV is locked onto the History channel, which has been running a month long anniversary marathon of footage from the 2011 Occupy Wall Street uprising.

So you can understand their confusion:

 

As always, this episode wad brought to you by GE: “Imagination At Work.”

  The original GE Theater

Linked By: Legal Insurrection, and Larwyn’s Linx on Doug Ross@Journal, and Kathleen Franklin Avant on facebook, and BlogsLucianneLoves, Thanks!

This episode has been cross-posted at Michelle’s Mirror

Cross-Posted on Patriot Action Network

Sweet Lorraine: A Love Song from the American Heartland

In a world that is increasingly shaped and formed by Hollywood’s version of love, i.e., sex; and where celebrities have redefined “forever” to mean until something better comes along, behold Fred Stobaugh.

At 96 he’s of an era where “till death do us part” meant till death do us part. His story embodies everything good and decent in America’s heartland, where people face life with stoic determination and heartfelt emotion need not be overwrought. 

Here is Fred’s life story, summarized in one simple song that he wrote for his deceased wife commemorating their 75 years together. In a world where “relationships” barely last 75 days this is an edifying story of love, commitment, loyalty and remembrance.

If you can watch this and remain dry-eyed, you’re probably not from around these parts.

 

 

Love like Fred and Lorraine’s is like a thousand layer cake: deceptively simple when all is said and done.

Life is not like a box of chocolates, more like a mille-feuille

But in reality it has been carefully constructed over a long time, one delicate layer after another, each overlaying the last; a very labor intensive, often tedious, endeavor.  The final product is a sweet concoction that stands tall; a homage to the dedication,  commitment and work put into it. And when you’ve added the last layer, you yearn to add one or two more – so it  can stand a tad taller, to last a bit longer. Anything to forestall that inevitable moment when it is served…and it’s gone in what seems like a millisecond. Thankfully, it lingers on in your memory.

P.S.  “Sweet Lorraine” is available on iTunes

Reflections on the Ash Heap of Detroit h/t MOTUS.

NOTE: MOTUS has allowed me to re-post An Empty Chair for the Ash Heap of History from her blog, as it’s largely about Detroit. I hope you enjoy it.

An Empty Chair for the Ash Heap of History:

Please, no more tweets about the organic garden at the Giant’s AT&T Park. It was a joke, okay?

“I’m proud to announce that next season they’re planning to turn the centerfield bleachers at AT&T Park into what’s believed to be the first ever edible garden in a major American sports facility. With rows of kale and strawberries and eggplant, the Giants are going to help encourage local youth to eat healthy – even at the ballpark.” 

It is funny though, isn’t it, how people will believe anything that comes out of Big Guy’s mouth.

“Free healthcare? For everybody?! Oh Mr. President, you are soooo cool!”

But seriously; I don’t think this is really such a bad idea. Just because San Francisco is at the top of the “best cities in America” list today doesn’t mean they won’t end up at the bottom tomorrow. Just like Detroit, the city the Giants trounced in last year’s World Series. They started out as one of the “best cities in America” too, the “Paris of the Midwest” no less.

So it’s never too early to begin planning for your municipal bankruptcy, especially if your city is run exclusively by progressive Democrats.

I’ve been doing some research on this situation and from what I can tell, the best path out of bankruptcy for Detroit is going to be urban farming. Interestingly, we’ve been running some trial programs right here in Washington D.C..

 

It appears that urban farming – crops as well as fish - is the perfect solution for rehabbing an industrial city that’s gone belly up. It’s sort of a “back to the future” recovery. Progressives highly approve of this scheme: it’s very green, has a small carbon footprint and provides jobs for people educated in the local public schools:

In the 19th century in this country, farm-hand work was a traditional trade for the unlettered and semi-skilled. In a way, RecoveryPark brings this neighborhood full circle, to a time before the industrial age transformed Southeast Michigan. “The fish don’t care if you can’t read or write,” he said. “The fish don’t care if you have felonies.”

And apparently the felons don’t care if you have fish either, as Food Field’s shipping container house and upcoming fish farm was robbed last week, before they even went operational.

The progressive promised land: mind you, they think conservatives are regressive.

So they need some new equipment to replace what was stolen but there’s no hurry, as they are still awaiting approval from the city for their farms. The city hasn’t quite figured out all the red tape they’re going to need to impose yet:

Though the systems are nearly complete, neither farm is sure when they’ll get individual approval from the city. Exactly how to become a fully permitted, legal aquaponics business is still fishy.

“The city is in the process of coming up with a process,” for approving fish farms, says Kathryn Underwood of the City Planning Commission. “We don't even have all of the forms quite in place yet for all of things that need to happen. We're riding a bike and building it at the same time.”

As I said, I’ve been studying this and I think that there could be a real future for failed cities in farming: getting “back to their roots” so to speak. In fact, I discovered that other countries have been doing urban farming for decades. Here for example, is an established farm in Havana (Cuba, not Florida):

Havana Acres: Forward! comrades.

And let’s face it, growing a few onions in Detroit sure wouldn’t hurt anything.

Just like Roosevelt’s New Deal morphed into Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, all our new urban renewal project needs (aside from cash) is a great, historic name: How about “Obama’s Field of Dreams”?

Yes, I like that. And I think we can all appreciate the symbolism of the dreams; 70 years of fighting to end poverty and racial injustice, 70 years of progress. 70 years of “we can’t wait,” 70 years of fundamentally transforming America. And now, finally, we have something  to show for it: corn fields in Detroit where once great industries stood and people lived. That, my friends, is Progress with a capital P.

Golden ears of corn growing in the shadows of the Golden Towers of the Fisher Building and the former GM World Headquarters

So I guess Detroit is going to be okay, they shouldn’t be needing another federal handout, maybe just a little gardening advice from our master gardener and a hand at getting the spring plantings in.

And later BO can come drop in for the royal harvest:

“I told you boys, if I build it they will come.” He didn’t say they’d be rats though.

So I think Detroit’s positioned to make the shift from industry to our new urban renewal farming program. Heaven knows, they’ve certainly made enough compost to last another 40 years. And if the onions and corn thing doesn’t work out, I hear there’s always a big demand for medical marijuana in the city.

What is it about Progressive stewardship that always leads us to the ash heap of history?

What idiot left this classic Eames chair out in the field to rot!??

Do you see, now, the danger in leaving the chair empty?

Hope fades, the empty chair continues to rot.