Re “The Dream That Splintered”
Since their side won two of the three seats in last month’s City Council election, progressive respondents to last Friday’s evaluation of the winning campaigns are scratching their pates this morning.
The good guys prevailed, they say, so what is the debate?
The asserted nasty mailers their side produced told the bald truth about two special unenlightened non-progressives. Business interests are the equivalent of an Isis plot, they argue.
The centerpiece of the progressive political creed is, if it feels good, it is good for all non-progressives. So why is anyone stirring?
The band of negative progressive boys (“please don’t use our names”) vilified Goran Eriksson and Scott Wyant, two of the three best-known candidates. So what? So they spread nasty rumors they knew were lies – not about their Chamber of Commerce ties but about how Culver City, and notably Fox Hills, would suffer if either or both were elected.
So the accusers ducked under a desk to obliterate their identity. So what? If the accusers owned up to their dirty deeds, they reasoned, too many names could confuse voters between good guys and bad guys.
Before last week’s surgery, Mr. Wyant issued a vow that in the next election he would not allow rivals to define him.
But our progressive respondents wondered why the losers were upset just because some of the charges were verifiably true – like serving as leaders of the Culver City terrorists known as the Chamber of Commerce.
The progressive Gang That Can’t Talk Straight (“please don’t use our names”) portrays the Chamber of Commerce as an enemy of Culver City residents. They don’t say why, but they themselves might be milking cows in Nebraska instead of sunning themselves in Culver City were it not for the Chamber.
Why do liberals always require a bad guy to validate the case for their candidates? The other side consistently is portrayed as subhuman.
Why can’t they boost their own candidates instead of crudely savaging anyone who has the chutzpah to disagree with them?
Luckily for them, classless behavior is not punished.
Everyone who has lived through any election in Culver City knows the initials of the anonymous author. It is ironic that the Chamber of Commerce’s work over the last 20 years is what made our city such a great place to live. None of those who chose anonymity contributed one whit to anything of substance. Just fluff and self promotion. Benefit of the doubt should be given to the two new liberal candidates who probably had no idea of how nasty their street team could get. If they are going to engage in bad words they should remember that those words have consequences and will catch up with them.
You keep referring to “mailers”, Ari. What were these “mailers”, why did I never receive any of them in my mailbox, and why don’t you post some of these horrible, terrible, awful mailers so that your readers can see for themselves how awful and evil they were?
“It is ironic that the Chamber of Commerce’s work over the last 20 years is what made our city such a great place to live.”
Well, I like to think that the actual citizens of Culver City had something to do with it. No?
Look, the Chamber of Commerce’s actual, stated purpose is not to “make our city such a great place to live.” The Chamber of Commerce’s actual, stated purpose is to represent and advocate for the economic interests of Culver City businesses. And that’s fine! But, clearly, not every Culver City voter is personally moved and inspired by the economic interests of Culver City businesses. Which is also fine! And it helps to explain why it cost Goran, apparently, in the neighborhood of $80,000 to limp to a weak third-place finish in this most recent election, behind candidates who spent far less money than he and the other Chamber-backed candidates, but whose message was much more resonant with Culver City’s electorate… an electorate which– let’s remember– is supposed to be the only one whose interests actually matter here.
Democracy, not plutocracy.
There is a lot of coded language here – it’s all rumor and innuendo. So not a lot of this makes sense to the average reader. (Try Journalism – it really would help).
What ‘nasty mailers’? Print them if you have them because a lot of people have been asking to see them which means that most people didn’t get them. So they clearly didn’t effect the vote.
What anonymous author? What ‘consequences will catch up with them’? Is there a Chamber hit squad?
Why would anyone be milking cows in Nebraska if it were not for the Chamber? Although that actually sounds quite appealing considering the cost of renting here.
What has the Chamber done that’s made Culver so fantastic because all I see is unfettered development and a largely unrepresented population? I’m genuinely asking (not even sarcastically). Please do tell. A simple list is fine. And then we can all bow down and thank King Rose for his bountiful goodness (OK that was sarcastic).
Why is Ari so furious that the relatively small percentage of people that voted didn’t elect Scott? They also didn’t elect Daniel Lee and you don’t see him whining and accusing the Culver City ‘fat cats’ of trying to derail his campaign.
Maybe the people of Culver City simply delivered a message that shows they want change. They don’t want candidates endorsed by the Chamber. Sometimes you just have to listen to the electorate. I believe it’s called democracy.
And all this whining isn’t helping Wyant’s campaign for 2018. It just makes him look angry and entitled and like someone who has no respect for the people he claims to want to represent. And he’s not even writing this lose selection of words purporting to be an article. So give the guy a break and stop trying to ‘help’.
Now……where the heck is Nebraska???
I am surprised at the pettiness of the comments. I saw this mailer and was also forwarded an ugly post by the “anonymous” person. Ari Noonen should definitely take a photo the mailer and show everyone what he is talking about. As far how the city changed over 30 years, it is probable that neither ms. PB or Patrick Meigan would have chosen to live here if they were old enough – or even born. Yes, the Chamber had alot to do with how the city changed. I know it is fashionable to assume that all change is due to youth, but remember that many of us who raised our families here in the 70’s and earlier were part of the change in the city and we were proud to participate in many community events- even the first community garden. I admire your passion but would urge you to understand that what you see today is the by product of rampant development in the last 10 years. Open minds are required to help lead the city through the mess that is currently being foisted on us. Fracking, traffic, over development – we probably agree. History did not start 5 minutes after you moved here.
“I saw this mailer and was also forwarded an ugly post by the “anonymous” person.”
Can *you* please post this mailer, Molly? I never received it, and I’m curious as heck to know why I didn’t. My mailbox works the same as everyone else’s, of course, and being a Culver City voter, my mailbox was constantly filled with MANYMANYMANYMANY slick, expensive, glossy, multi-color mailers in the weeks leading up to the election… but for some odd reason, never this mysterious one to which you are referring.
So yes, I would really, really, genuinely like to read the mailer, and to see for myself if it at all matches the descriptive terms Ari uses (“nasty”, “Business interests are the equivalent of an Isis plot,”, “vilified”, “nasty rumors they knew were lies,” “dirty,” “terrorists known as the Chamber of Commerce”, “an enemy of Culver City residents,” “subhuman,” “crudely savaging”). This sounds like it must’ve been the most sinister work of written material in the history our language! How come not one single concerned citizen of our town has scanned and posted this piece of grotesquerie so that we can all see its sheer viciousness with our very own eyes?
I honestly don’t get it.
Pbeale and Patrick Meighan — You are spot on. Enough of this alluding to … show the nastiness that would’ve lost Eriksson the election had it not been for a last minute barrage of mailers (*your* words paraphrased, Ari, not mine).
Stop alluding. Show evidence. Show it now or stop talking about it.
Nadine is right – Ari should post pictures of the mailer and show us the text. I threw it away along with all of the other wasteful paper flyers. I wish that in the next election we might have a way of opting out of paper for the good of the environment.
“I wish that in the next election we might have a way of opting out of paper for the good of the environment.”
Man, I’d be for that. I bet a *lot* of people would. That would be pretty awesome.
Hi Nadine, I just emailed a copy of the “mailer” to Ari. Hopefully he will post it in this paper for all to read. By the way, whoever wrote it should have used “spell check”!!
I’m wondering what the property taxes would be on on your house on Farragut Dr. if it weren’t for a strong Chamber of Commerce that promotes businesses to support our tax base. The Chamber of Commerce and the City of Culver City must work together for the good of all. One can’t exist without the other.
“Hi Nadine, I just emailed a copy of the “mailer” to Ari. Hopefully he will post it in this paper for all to read. By the way, whoever wrote it should have used “spell check”!!”
Ken, is there any chance that you could please upload the “mailer” to an image hosting site (like postimage.org) and then just post the link here, in a comment field? It’s super-easy and quick– posting via postimage will take literally 15 seconds of your time, and would be a huge favor to all. Thank you!
“I’m wondering what the property taxes would be on on your house on Farragut Dr. if it weren’t for a strong Chamber of Commerce that promotes businesses to support our tax base. The Chamber of Commerce and the City of Culver City must work together for the good of all. One can’t exist without the other.”
This is an excellent argument for the Chamber to make before the Culver City electorate, and I’m sure that the Chamber has been very active in making it, but– at least lately– it does not appear that the argument has been especially persuasive… at least not among Culver City voters who actually make their way to the polls and cast ballots.
Hello Patrick, thanks for the suggestion, but I am a little computer challenged. I’m sure Ari can do that if he doesn’t want to post on this comment page.
Okay, any possibility you could please just email it to me and I can upload the image and post the link here? My email address is patsweetpat at gmail.
How about just posting it to Facebook. I just learned there is a Culver City facebook page that Dan O’Brien manages. I wish I did more than glance at it and toss it – it deserves a place in a election hall of shame.
Not everyone has a Facebook account (I, for example, do not), but if Ken were to email me the “mailer”, it’d be easy as pie for me to upload on postimage and then post the link here for absolutely anyone to see who may happen to have internet access.
At long last a very nice person has sent me the “mailer”! And here it is!
http://postimg.org/image/jtgvuxhoh/
So, first of all, it’s not a mailer. A mailer is, by definition, mailed… and thus is a very expensive piece of campaign propaganda, backed by serious funds. This thing is just a cheap, black-and-white photocopied flier that was apparently hand-delivered within someone’s neighborhood, presumably to one’s own neighbors. It probably cost somebody ten bucks to print, if that, and certainly doesn’t appear to’ve been backed by anything other than this person’s own time and sweat and shoe-leather, as well has his/her sheer willingness to leave political lit/crap on neighboring doorsteps. Annoying as that can be for some of us who prefer uncluttered doorsteps, isn’t it exactly what grassroots democracy is supposed to look like?
Second of all, my reading of this flier– now that I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes– is not anything like Ari’s. But read it for yourself. Is it critical of Eriksson and of Wyant and of the Chamber of Commerce? Yes. For sure. Does it describe any of the above as “the equivalent of Isis,” or as “terrorists” or as “subhuman” or “an enemy of Culver City residents”? I sure don’t see it. Is this flier “crudely savaging”? Nope. Not in my opinion. Very frankly, Ari writes stuff– right here on his own blog– that’s orders of magnitude more vituperative and, yes, crudely savaging, than anything I’m seeing on that flier. He does it almost every day.
Ari can be (and often is) far nastier than anything I can find on this flier.
And I say that as an Ari Noonan fan!
This whole thing was a big nothing-burger.
Oh well.