Thursday, July 12, 2007

Mayor Wharton, let's talk...

Well, here we are again, and I want to address this to our County Mayor, who is being begged to run for City Mayor against his old buddy, W.W. Herenton.

Mayor Wharton, I maintain that you are the most popular figure in this County, and some people want you to run because they think you're great.  Other people think, mistakenly, that you're the only one who can beat Mayor Herenton.

Let's level with each other, shall we? You KNOW what this is about.  Sure, Reverends Gray & Adkins are wanting to get revenge against Herenton (who doesn't?), but, for the REAL drivers behind this, Bobby Lanier & Karl Schledwitz, this isn't about Herenton, who is mortally wounded as a candidate and they know it.  

This is about stopping Chumney, just like it was 5 years ago.  Carol has a growing base of support among a diverse group of people who are tired of seeing the city atrophy, except for Downtown, due to neglect and policies that grease the way for developers to build subdivisions that diminish our resources as a city.  I'm sure that both of these guys, your "friends", had to change their drawers when they saw that CA poll showing Carol with a big lead.

You don't help anyone but these guys if you run.  Look, Mayor Wharton, Herenton is a wounded bear in his death throes, and if you run, while you may win, WW is going to do EVERYTHING possible to destroy you.  Don't think he won't bring up the personal tragedy of your son's situation.  If you have ever done ANYTHING wrong, it will be in the street, you can count on it.  How can that help when you run for Governor in 2010?

Don't play coy, we KNOW that's why you were raising money earlier this year, you want to make a run for Bredesen's seat.  If you do, great, you could only be an improvement.  However, if you run for Mayor of Memphis, all of your dirty laundry, however much or little that is, will be out there, because Herenton will have put it there.

Mr. Mayor, wouldn't it be better to save that money? Let Carol become your partner across the Mall who can work with you on the pressing issues of the day, rather than having to fight with whoever might replace you in the County Building.

Mr. Mayor, in your heart, you KNOW you don't want to do this.  Tell all of them thanks, but NO thanks, you have a job to do and it's the one to which you were re-elected last year.

Carol will take care of Herenton on her own and then we'll ALL be better off.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with the wounded bear part. As for the rest...sigh...

Formerly Considered Moderate said...

I have to agree with Bob. I will say that Herenton needs to be beaten - and will be - but not by Carol.

Joltin' Django said...

Where's E.H. Crump when you need 'im?!

callmeishmael said...

"Mr. Mayor, in your heart..." Oh, the memories of Barry Goldwater strolling across the country telling us all (well, those old enough to remember it. I was two at the time) "in your heart, you know he's right." Well, he was right, if (mostly) wrong and I love facetitious, poking fun.

Joltin' Django said...

Barry Goldwater told Americans that the welfare state would erode their liberties and bankrupt their government ... and he was a prophet without knowing it.

God, er, Buddha, help us!!!

Michael Roy Hollihan said...

Bwahahahaha! Spoken like a true partisan, Crack-O.

Carol has a growing base of support

Says who? Her fundraising last quarter was a fraction of her main competitor's. The only true poll had AC in it, so it's meaningless.

And the poll that started it all, the one that showed Carol ahead, the one that Jackson Baker was called about, was done by ... wait for it ... Karl Schledwitz!

Herenton needs to go, yes. But Carol ain't the candidate to do it. Your Midtown liberal Democratic fantasies will just have to wait.

Michael Roy Hollihan said...

Ahahahaha! Proof you're blowing smoke is Sunday's CA poll. Carol's support went down (within the margin of error) as Herenton's went up. And the "undecideds" are just as large as her support, but far, far more likely to break out for Herenton than her! (Based on the stated demographics of the poll.)

Steve Steffens said...

Well, Mike, Carol did go down; however, if you look at the video at the CA site, Ethridge suggests that Herenton's movement is statistically insignificant.

As to the undecideds, they are, if you read the fine print, almost ALL black, and I would venture to say that they are black WOMEN, who probably backed off when they heard Wharton might get in.

Bottom line: if AC's in, he probably wins, unless he and Herenton into an ugly brawl, black women get pissed off and choose gender over race.

If AC runs and Herenton gets out, ballgame.

If AC DOESN"T run, however, it's a brawl between Carol and Herenton, and the whites who went to AC come back and Carol has a chance.

She took a hit, but she's FAR from dead...