I bash Republicans for being unprincipled, greedy, amoral, ignorant thugs who don't know how to dress. But let's face it: some Democrats are pretty thuggish themselves. A perfect example is Mayor John Street of Philadelphia and the people around him.
I have to admit up front that I don't like Street personally. He's a little bantam rooster of a man who defining characteristic is arrogance. His son, Sharif, is a lawyer who works at a local law firm and, by reputation, does absolutely nothing to deserve his six-digit salary there. I guess he learned from his dad that political patronage means never having to work.
Street himself has a history of pulling no punches. Literally. When he was President of Philadelphia City Council, he once tried to punch out another Council member during a public meeting. This being Philadelphia, that incident was a plus when he ran for Mayor. During his first campaign, his workers were accused of tearing down the signs of his Republican opponent, Sam Katz. When Katz campaign workers confronted them, they were threatened.
As reported in today's Inky, things are getting ugly again this election, and again it's Street's people who are accused. Again Sam Katz is running against Street, and this time, the Republican is actually trying to make an effort to reach into black neighborhoods rather than rely on the white quasi-racist Northeast blue-collar Philadelphia/ white quasi-racist center city professional vote, like he did last time. So he has an office in north Philly, among other black neighborhoods, and the owner of the building that houses his office there has been getting threats. Yesterday afternoon, the landlord called police and said a Street supporter - a city worker who is also the head of the prison committee of the local NAACP chapter - had been "threatening, harassing, stating that he's going to blow up that building, telling him he's going to hurt him." A couple of hours later, he was accosted by Sharif Street and another man, known as "Tu-tu," who told him, "We're going to take you out." Then last night, someone threw a bottle containing a flammable substance through the office window. It didn't ignite, and apparently was not lit to begin with. However, the building manager didn't think it was a big deal and threw the bottle away.
What to think? Street's people could have been giving the landlord a warning that his building was at risk. Katz's people (or the landlord) could have been seeking some kind of advantage by tossing the bottle and making Street look bad. Or there never was a bottle in the first place. Street's campaign suggested the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated by Katz. I'm ready to believe any of it. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather chew my arm off than pull the lever for a Republican right now. But John Street makes it very, very tempting.
I agree. There are people of dubious nature on both sides. Has politics ever changed?
Posted by: Gordon the Magnificent | August 28, 2003 at 10:19 AM