“As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for
socialism is its adherents,” wrote George Orwell. But I suspect even a
Christian socialist convention would be more attractive to Orwell than
hanging out at last week’s “Sam Adams Kick Out” event for two
hours.
I don’t have a problem with the recall effort, per se. Indeed, I
think the mayor’s judgment since January warrants serious questioning:
12-lane bridge? Major League Soccer shenanigans? Bringing in a
cookie-cutter developer to knock down Memorial Coliseum with no public
process? No, I’m not brimming with enthusiastic support for his honor
at this point. But if the recall is to be successful, it needs to
win over average Portlanders who are perhaps surprised and
disillusioned by the mayor’s last few months in office—regardless
of the Beau Breedlove scandal. And those people aren’t going to
be convinced by the awkward media circus that played itself out last
Thursday night, May 14.
Right wing Christian radio host Victoria Taft broadcast her
show from the front window as over 100 people crammed into Nick’s
Famous Coney Island restaurant and bar. Taft isn’t exactly pro marriage
equality and her presence hindered the recall effort’s lunge for the
mainstream—despite her insistence that she’s supporting the
recall because of Adams’ lies, not what he likes to do with his
penis.
“This isn’t about liberal or conservative,” said serial mayoral
candidate Jeff Taylor, who was walking around with a desperate
campaign placard reading, “Jeff Taylor, The Family Mayor.” “It’s not
okay to kiss a 17-year-old boy,” he told me. “That’s what this is
about. End of story.”
Oh dear. I thought we were concerned at least about lying to get
elected, and what the extent of the cover-up says about one’s attitude
to power. Only one man was on-message for a change: Recall spokesman
Jasun Wurster finally replaced his well-worn hoodie sweatshirt
with a shirt and tie for the evening, and delivered a reasonable speech
about political apathy. The crowd of 100 donated just over $1,000 to
the recall cause, he says, which should at least pay for a few lawn
signs.
It’s not quite over for the recall just yet. Gandhi said first they
ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
But the challenge for the recall at this point is to move in the right
direction along that continuum. To do that, Wurster needs to ditch
the hangers-on and employ a public relations
consultant—fast.
If a 17 yr old robs someone do we call him a boy then? Or do we say “This young man” and try him as an adult?
There are plenty of good reasons to not support this Mayor and get involved with the recall. However, please explain to me why anyone should apologize for wanting him out for his sexual activities with a minor? I appreciate the fact that he has made other poor decisions since and that he is also a liar. I know it is not “cool” to want him out for being a sex predator but the Mecury is always advocating for the homeless and downtrodden. Great, I support this but what about the large homeless teen population or just teens in general?
When my foster daughter was a teenager (now a twenty three year old woman) she would frequently run away to get drugs and be preyed upon, by adults, in good ol Portland. These kids are easy victims and if you think people don’t care about homeless adults well you can imagine how very little they care for homeless/runaway teens. When you have a Mayor who flaunts statutory laws anywhere in the state you set an incredibly dangerous precedent. The entire state should want this Mayor gone and any public official gone if they can not obey laws concerning youth. Have you seen Beau Breedlove? He still looks like a kid to me and it has been at least four years since he was Sam Adams victim. You do not have to be a Taft/Larson follower to take issue with a sex offender. I am tired of hearing friends say that are worried people will think they are “anti-gay” if they speak out against a sex predator. This should never have been a gay/straight issue and articles like this, meant to be inciteful, are sadly making it one.
The article says there were a hundred people there, so why keep harping on Taylor and Taft? Everyone was welcome (including the opposing side) and to hold it against the recall effort that a “pro-family” Mayoral candidate showed up is very small minded.
For the record, Beau Breedlove was a high school student and a bright one at that when Sam did his “mentoring.” I watched the video of him (Beau) on the Rick Emerson show and you know what I saw? A polite 21 year old that is a bit confused and overwhelmed and a little sad. Watching that I couldn’t help but think how much better off this kid would have been had he been given a fair shot and not encountered a predator at 17, sadly we will never know.
Oliver-
163.315 Incapacity to consent; effect of lack of resistance. (1) A person is considered incapable of consenting to a sexual act if the person is:
(a) Under 18 years of age;
This is Oregon Law. If you don’t like it you are welcome to work to change it.
Woah. Someone copied and pasted from the Internet. You look so smart now, Rondine. F. I.
Matt nailed it. The recall needs to focus on Adams’ overall poor judgement as the city’s leader, not just the Breedlove incident. There’s a LOT to choose from, and he seems intent on providing new material week after week.
The latest: $10K of city funds for a fucking Zoobomb monument. Really. And back from a week in Belgium just in time to deliver the commemoration speech for it.
Matt is just worried that somehow nothing good will come of this, and is bracing himself and us for the worst.
Matt, go ride the buses and the max for a day and ask people what they think. (And if you’re shy, take your bombshell lady-wife and have her chat people up for you while you take mental notes). Then go shopping at Powell’s, Portland Nursery, Fred Meyer Seafood section, and any waiting room where there are old people- optometrist, Dr, etc. (Kaiser is a great one because it’s too big for anyone to notice you are not actually a patient.)
You will find, as I have, that 75% of people you talk to are ready to sign a petition.
Now, don’t try New Seasons, people are very young and hip there and don’t see the point of anything political at all. When I bought a burger outside of New Seasons to support Friends of Trees (and my bloodstream), I commented to the two young women there, “Boy, this would be a great spot for a recall table.”
The reaction was PERFECT..slightly caught off-guard, knowing EXACTLY what I was talking about…the question marks in their eyes were unforgettable. Indeed, their political involvement with trees had doubtless led to hearing a whisper in the grass, about things not going quite as expected, from the green guy they thought they had voted for…
The next meeting should be held at a gay bar.