The Latest Bitchfight I've Gotten Into

So apparently some of my bitching and moaning struck a deep enough nerve that even hizzoner Craig Pridemore had to jump in to the fray to defend the status quo.

Someone passed along to me a blog I'd missed, Democracy for Vancouver. I was kind of excited to find it, in hopes that it might represent some of the true progressive vision that's lacking in either of the main political party these days. No such luck. Sure, sure, it's better than some of the crazy republican freakshow crap out there... but party-line liberals are just as fucking frustrating.

So, back to my point. d4v posted an announcement of a fundraiser for royce pollard in his bid for mayor. I made a snarky comment, and ignited a little bit of a bitchfest. Look people, mayor of vancouver is a largely irrelevant position. It doesn't HAVE to be, but as long as we maintain the status quo of good-old-boy politics, it will be. Pollard did a lot for vancouver--or rather, a lot of good happened here while he was mayor. But it's time to move the fuck on. i'm not even that wild about one of the other guys running. they're all largely the same. well, charlie stemper's a bit of a whack job. but leavitt's fine. it's not about the candidate so much as it is about breaking the routine and moving forward. same old, same old is what fucked the dems in 2000, fucked the republicans in 2008, and will fuck vancouver if we don't start thinking like true progressives in 2009.

Oh right. Here's the exchange.

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Vantucky Holler
June 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am · Reply to this comment

I’m hard-pressed to understand how Rolls Royce Pollard represents democracy for Vancouver. This bullying Republican is hardly a representative for democracy or any kind of a progressive future. If we want to get out of a ‘good ol’ boys’ club’ mentality, I’m not sure how keeping their president as our mayor will do us any good.

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admin
June 28th, 2009 at 9:28 am · Reply to this comment

Posting the fundraising event is just a public service. The position is non-partisan. If Tim Leavitt or others running for city council makes the admin aware of a fundraiser, that will be posted also.

You are welcome to register on the site and post an article expressing what you think about our mayor.
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admin
June 28th, 2009 at 9:37 am · Reply to this comment

Just noticed your blog and added it to the local blog list on the left sidebar of D4V.
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John
June 28th, 2009 at 10:51 am · Reply to this comment

Interesting that the “bullying Republican” has the treasurer of the Clark County Democrats as his campaign manager. Guess these labels do not mean much these days.

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Craig Pridemore
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm · Reply to this comment

I’m just about to leave for Royce’s fundraiser. As a Democrat, a liberal, and one of TWO elected officials in Clark County who came out opposed to invading Iraq from the beginning (Jim Moeller was the other), I’ll stand by Royce. We don’t agree on a lot of national and international issues but when it comes to building a great city/community, Royce is still the choice. Smile

Craig Pridemore, State Senator
49th Legislative District

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John
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:27 pm · Reply to this comment

Senator,

That is a great campaign slogan, “Royce is Still the Choice!” Or it could be “Royce is the Right Choice!” Marsha, are you listening?

Thanks for being the great progressive that you are Senator Pridemore. You definitely have my vote (except that I am in the 17th) and support.

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Vantucky Holler
July 4th, 2009 at 9:31 pm · Reply to this comment

Pollard was indeed the choice…for 1989. If we want to move forward, we should look at a candidate who isn’t interested in legacy-building and threatening those who don’t support him. The Ds supporting Pollard are just as representative of the old guard as he is. It was a mistake for me to use ‘republican’ in that previous comment, you were right. I should have said that, if this is a site that promotes ‘democracy,’ then perhaps it should actually promote candidates who have democratic values. State and Fed electeds supporting Pollard is meaningless. They want the perception of a good relationship with him because they want to be able to say that they have the support of their represented areas. It means nothing. Does Pollard have a functional relationship with the county, other cities in SW WA, or the employees of the city he ‘governs’? Not so much. D vs. R is indeed beside the point. These days, both parties are over. A truly progressive vision will not come from those who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.