…”Today’s Example Of Greed Over Principles.”
As noted in Part 1, The Strib broke the (partial) story.
GOPer Mayor Phil Young’s hometown paper soon followed up; the print edition from last Thursday (5-20-2010) stuck the story inside (on page 3) with this headline:
“Sloppy bookkeeping,” but no crime in case of mayor’s reimbursement record
There’s only a “slight” problem with that headline; in the story it read, and again I quote:
Though the Hennepin County Attorney has opted not to press charges the case is still under investigation by the Plymouth Police, according to Police Chief Mike Goldstein. The case has been referred to the Plymouth city attorney, who will review whether to press charges in the form of a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor.
Mayor Young is NOT “out of the woods” yet; City Prosecutors indeed still are considering charges because for 14 – FOURTEEN months in a row, GOPer Mayor Phil Young claimed per diem for meetings he didn’t attend.
So I called the paper’s Editor, and pointed the inconsistency out. And kudos to the Editor for changing the on-line version of the story to now read:
Again, kudos to the Editor for recognizing and fixing the inconsistency. Now, on to “Today’s Example Of Greed Over Principles!”
When then-Council Member Phil Young decided to go a step up and run for mayor, he put together a campaign website. And on that website, on one page, he listed his community activities; presumably proudly and presumably to induce voters to vote for him due his volunteerism. The screenshot is below, and if you look, there are two organizations listed that – when compared to the Meeting Attendance Claim Forms Young turned in – stick out:
1 – Board Member, Eden Prairie Foundation, and
2 – Member, Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce Government Committee
Presumably, neither the Chamber nor the Foundation pay members to attend meetings.
Now, upon becoming Mayor, what did Eden Prairie’s WORST. MAYOR. EVER. do?
Why, charge the taxpayers for now attending meetings; meetings that he – presumably – used to volunteer for!
Here’s the dates Mayor Young charged the taxpayers for, for the Chamber, in just 2009:
1-7-09; 1-27; 2-19; 3-17 — “EP Chamber gov’t comm”; 4-16; 5-4; 5-19 — “chamber gov’t”; 6-3; 6-19; 6-23 — “EP Chamber gov’t cmtt”; 7-28; 8-6; 9-17; 10-23; 11-10; 11-30; and 12-15
If I listed correctly, and I think I did (especially the ones Young listed as “gov’t committee”) – and I count the above correctly, I come up with 17 Chamber meetings (with 4 specifically for a Chamber Committee Young presumably used to attend for free) at $35 per meeting for a grand total of $595 of new, taxpayer-provided income for 2009 for the fiscally-conservative Mayor Young.
For the Foundation, Young merely nicked the taxpayers for 4 meetings at $35 a pop, for a miserly $140 – in 2009.
Vote for Young for Mayor for his volunteerism; once elected, Young nails the taxpayer for what he – presumably – used to volunteer for.*
That’s today’s example of why GOP now stands for GreedOverPrinciples.
*actually, I did check with the Chamber….
(cross posted from MnProgressiveProject; comments welcome there)
Ladies and Gentlemen, many of you have heard the term “neo-conservative”, and wondered what it meant. For the sake of discussion, let’s compare/contrast in a “republiCon” versus “Republican” method. For instance:
Ronald Reagan = Republican
George W. Bush = republiCon
Whether you liked President Reagan or not, whether you liked his politics or not, most reasonable people will agree that President Reagan was authentic, consistent, and principled. When his administration got caught up in the Iran-Contra Scandal, President Reagan spoke to the nation and accepted responsibility. What President Reagan said, is well-worth hearing again:
Compare President Reagan’s words with the flip-flopping of Bush The Lesser with regards to the disclosure of a CIA agent’s identity. At first, Bush The Lesser said, in essence, he’d fire anyone “involved” with the leak; later he morphed that to “convicted”. At no time did Bush The Lesser ever accept responsibility for those under him; rather, he speculated that the leaker would never be caught. Bush The Lesser said everyone in his administration would “fully cooperate”; his spokesperson claimed no one was involved because “he had asked.” Yet when convicted, Libby’s prison sentence was excused via Bush’s presidential pardon.
In the administration of Bush The Lesser, those that make mistakes are promoted; those who make catastrophic mistakes are awarded medals, and Libby, who made a criminal mistake, was rewarded with a “get out of jail” card.
President Reagan was solid and consistent and a Republican; Bush The Lesser is consistently inconsistent and a republiCon. Reagan was seen as believable and credible, Bush is seen as neither.
There are more examples.
Senator Boschwitz is a Republican; Norm Coleman is a republiCon. If Norm Coleman doesn’t agree with you today, don’t worry – sooner or later, he will.
Former Governor Arne Carlson is a Republican, as is current Governor Tim Pawlenty; candidates Jon Grunseth and Allen Quist are republiCons.
Congressman Jim Ramstad is a Republican; Congressman John Kline is a republiCon. Every year, Jim Ramstad willingly meets his constituents in a series of Town Hall Meetings; citizens can and do ask unscripted questions from the floor. Congressman Ramstad wants to know what the people think. John Kline had to be shamed into holding his only Town Hall Meeting. John Kline could care less what the people think.
When activists protesting the occupation of Iraq conducted “sit ins” in all of Minnesota’s congressional offices, Congressman Ramstad’s staff treated them courteously, listened to them, and even provided coffee and other refreshments. Kline called the cops. The difference cannot be starker: Congressman Ramstad seeks to govern by the consent of the people – he is a Republican; Kline seeks to rule by the force of government – he is a republiCon.
Barry Goldwater wrote “The Conscience Of A Conservative” and was clear and unabashed about what he felt the conservative philosophy is and where it should take government. Mayor Phil Young and Council Members Brad Aho and Jon Duckstad speak in rhetoric but deny where their alleged philosophy would take this city. Goldwater was a Republican; Young, Aho, and Duckstad are republiCons.
The point here is that as the current leadership of the GOP Party in large part is controlled by the neo-con movement, most of today’s GOP Leadership cannot be called “Republican” by most reasonable people. I use the term “republiCon” where it is clear and appropriate, and I do not apologize for this. I call republiCons “republiCons” for the old-fashioned reason: they’ve EARNED it.
(crossposted at Eden Prairie News)
