Daily Kos

WTF is up with Kwame Kilpatrick's Campaign??

by Brainwrap

Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:18:21 AM PDT

As a suburbanite outside of Detroit, the mayoral race between incumbant Kwame Kilpatrick (son of U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick) and challenger Freman Hendrix (former Deputy Mayor under Dennis Archer) has been something which I've followed only sporadically. I don't know much about either candidate, but everything that I've read about Kwame Kilpatrick has certainly painted him in a VERY bad light, as an irresponsible party boy with little or no sense of financial or personal discipline.

However, it wasn't until today that I saw anything which truly made my jaw drop:

DETROIT NEWS ARTICLE

" A newspaper advertisement likening media critiques of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to lynchings drew swift complaints from his opponent Thursday and reopened concerns that the mayor's re-election campaign was racially polarizing.
The Michigan Chronicle this week published a full-page ad headlined "Lynching is still legal in America." Beneath it is a faded image of black corpses dangling from trees with nooses around their necks."

Direct link to the ad in question

Bear in mind that not only are both candidates black, but the ad in question was published in the Rosa Parks commemorative edition.

Again, I'm a suburbanite, so my opinion doesn't count for a helluvalot here, but WOW.

Tags: 2005, Detroit, Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, Freman Hendrix (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Permalink | 30 comments

  •  That's How Detroit Politcs Works (4.00 / 2)

    The trailing candidate always accuses the leading candidate of being the tool of the suburbs. Kilpatrick's opponents did the very same thing to him four years ago.

    "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."- Thomas Jefferson

    by RandyMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:18:28 AM PDT

    •  Yes, I know that, but still... (none / 1)

      it's one thing to associate your opponent with the Rich Whites from Oakland County, but I can't recall ANY candidate stooping this low, not even Coleman Young (though admittedly, being born in 1970, my memories of his earlier terms are lacking).

      Visit Democracy for Metro Detroit!

      by Brainwrap on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:22:57 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Coleman never needed to... (none / 0)

        ... or else he would have.  Trust me.

        "Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove." P.G. Wodehouse

        by gsbadj on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:28:57 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      •  Actually (4.00 / 2)

        Four years ago, it was worse. As House Democratic leader, Kilpatrick endorsed turning over the school system over to a separate board. So, when he ran for Mayor, his oppenets put up ads comparing him to Bull Connor.

        "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."- Thomas Jefferson

        by RandyMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:30:13 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  Would you call this (none / 1)

      the politicization of criminality?

      If somebody writes a book and doesn't care for [its] survival, he's an imbecile.

      ~ Umberto Eco

      by Major Danby on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:23:50 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Well (4.00 / 2)

      This is straight out of the Coleman Young playbook, of course, and I don't think Young cared whether he was winning or losing when he played the race card.

      I agree with the comment that even the, shall we say, plain-spoken Coleman Young ("You have me mixed up with a stool pigeon!") never resorted to imagery this vivid.

      I remember Young playing this game of "who is blacker" against Tom Barrow, among many others.

      I hope Hendrix wins as he seems to be the next best thing to having Dennis Archer back.  Some people say Archer was a great mayor, some say he should have done more, but all I really care about is that I believe him to be a man of great integrity.  And that's something Detroit has had far too little of, over the years.

      by Steve M on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:34:30 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Agreed (none / 1)

        I think Kwame is a decent-hearted guy who's in over his head and who hasn't got the stomach to root out the corruption and fat in the City's government.

        I doubt that Hendrix could be any worse under the circumstances.  Great endorsement, eh?

        "Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove." P.G. Wodehouse

        by gsbadj on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:38:21 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        •  Decent hearted? (4.00 / 2)

          Ask the dead stripper's family if he's decent hearted.

          "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."- Thomas Jefferson

          by RandyMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:40:01 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          •  Well... (none / 1)

            ... RELATIVELY decent-hearted.  Granted he can be an egotistical self-centered guy who's out only to save his own skin.  

            But you could say that about most all politicians.

            "Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove." P.G. Wodehouse

            by gsbadj on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 09:00:19 AM PDT

            [ Parent ]

  •  It is Politics as Usual (none / 0)

    Same type of comment worked for Justice Clearance Thomas. So what is wrong with it?

    by ameri on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:22:02 AM PDT

  •  Kwame's An Idiot... (4.00 / 2)

    And Freeman Hendrix has been hitting up western Michigan Republicans for campaign money. I don't like either of them.

    I live in Farmington Hills, MI, and am a proponent of revitalizing the city of Detroit. Hendrix's predecessor, Dennis Archer was a great Mayor. I'm just concerned about what Hendrix is promising republicans across the state that would lure them to throw money into a race for mayor of a city the rest of the state despises.

    Viewing the world through my Kos tinted lenses.

    by The 1n Only Leoni on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:26:24 AM PDT

    •  Perhaps... (none / 1)

      ... he's promising them that he's going to clean up the corruption in the City?

      "Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove." P.G. Wodehouse

      by gsbadj on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:39:29 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    •  Whoa, Slow Down There Leoni (none / 1)

      Freeman is a solid Democrat.  I've worked with him on numerous issues over the years, and he's not a Republican.  The fact is that Detroit is very important to the entire state, and people outside of Detroit have a vested interest in seeing it governed  effectively, and that may prompt some to donate to Freeman (just as many Republicans donated to Kwame last time around).  

      If Repubs are donating to Freeman, it's because they've decided he's the likely winner, and they want a seat at the table.  But Freeman, while no angel, is a pretty decent guy, and he has one thing going for him that I don't know will ever be associated with Kwam: maturity.

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 09:27:30 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  Anyone notice (none / 1)

    Kilpatrick removed his earring?

    "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."- Thomas Jefferson

    by RandyMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:37:08 AM PDT

    •  Not a real hip-hopper... (none / 1)

           I may be writing a highly unpleasant rap song about Kwame, by the way. Just giving a heads-up.

           ...Has anyone noticed that he's been criticizing or even slandering Dennis Archer---Rosa Parks' legal guardian? And now KK is probably going to milk the Rosa Parks funeral for all it's worth to him. Hypocrite.

      by David Boyle on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:45:41 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

  •  I had high hopes for Kwame... (4.00 / 2)

    but he's run the city like his own personal playground.

    As a former Michigander, I get depressed when I hear people rag on Detroit - and Kwame give people more than enough reasons.

    "I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him." - Booker T. Washington

    by ajbender on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:51:58 AM PDT

  •  Best Detroit Mayoral Billboard Ad Ever... (4.00 / 3)

    ...seen on W. Grand Blvd. roughly across from Northwestern High School, back in 1969 when Wayne County sheriff Roman Gribbs was running for mayor on a mostly fearmongering "get tough on black crime" platform, just a year and a half after the Detroit riots of '67.

    The original billboard was a big picture of the very white Mr. Gribbs with his slogan underneath.  Some brilliant graffitist had climbed up there with a spray paint can and deleted one of the words, so that it read:

    Gribbs Will Get Us There!

    All snark is dedicated to station wagon.

    by Eddie Haskell on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:53:47 AM PDT

    •  Should Ad That The Corner Is About... (none / 0)

      ...a mile from where the 1967 riot began.  

      Eddie, you still in the Detroit area, or like so many native Detroiters/Michiganders, have you moved on?

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 09:30:38 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  Like so many others (none / 0)

        I'm from Detroit but not there now.  

        Grad of Cody (and the Grande Ballroom), class of '69.

        I've now lived away from Michigan longer than I lived there.  I was born and grew up on the NW side, blocks away from the world's first K-Mart at Plymouth Rd. and the Southfield e-way.  I worked at Henry Ford Hospital for a couple summers in the late 60's and my route took me down Grand River to the Boulevard every day past that billboard and (sigh) the now disappeared Olympia Stadium. Later, while in college at Wayne State, I lived on the Boulevard near 16th, just down the road from Hitsville, USA.

        Moved away in the early 70's to make my mark on radio, tv and film in SF, CA.  San Francisco marked me more than I marked it, however.. heh.  Many moves since then.  Midwest, east coast, back to midwest. Now in Missouri, but always a Detroit boy at heart.  Still have family and lots of friends there and visit often.

        Soc et tuum Tigers!

        Are you from/in the city?

        All snark is dedicated to station wagon.

        by Eddie Haskell on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 10:23:29 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    •  Oh, That's Near the Site of My Favorite... (none / 1)

      ...graffitti, on the side of one of the bridges over I-94 around Woodward, near Wayne State.  It was a little while after the Peruvians had captured Chairman Gonzalo, the head of the Maoist Sundero Luminoso (Shining Path) rebels.  The morons from the Revolutionary Workers' League had run all around the area spraypainting "Free Chairman Gonzalo," to which one wag later added "With Every Purchase."  

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 09:34:07 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      •  I remember that... (none / 0)

        ... it was classic.

        I still live here, in Hamtramck.  I'll be curious to see how the out-of-town press covers the city for the Super Bowl.  A lot of new stuff has gone up downtown but a lot of stuff remains gated and/or boarded up.  We locals tend to think it's for PR purposes but then again, what isn't these days?  

        "Unseen, in the background, Fate was quietly slipping the lead into the boxing glove." P.G. Wodehouse

        by gsbadj on Sat Oct 29, 2005 at 04:24:40 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  •  Fits right in with the other news of the morning (none / 1)

    ... which is that the big Republican fundraisers are getting together to give Kilpatrick a final financial shot in the arm. Sleaze finds sleaze, even across party lines.

    by texorama on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:59:27 AM PDT

  •  A Michigan anecdote (4.00 / 4)

    Last night, Jeff Daniels was the guest on Stephen Colbert's show.

    My wife, like many non-Michiganders, never really believes that people actually point to their hand to show where in Michigan they're from.  So as soon as Daniels came on, I pointed to Chelsea on my hand to show her where he lives.

    Not two seconds later, Daniels points to his hand to show Colbert where Chelsea is.  My wife about died.  It was a classic Michigan moment.

    by Steve M on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 08:59:32 AM PDT

    •  My Favorite Part of Those Moments... (none / 1)

      ...is when someone has to first look at their hand with their palm facing them, put their finger on the right place, and then keep their finger pressed tight while they turn their palm outward.  But even better is when instead of turning their palm away from their view, instead rotate at the hips so the person can look over their shoulder.  

      We're a quirky bunch, aren't we?

      The revolution will not be televised, but we'll analyze it to death at The Next Hurrah.

      by DHinMI on Fri Oct 28, 2005 at 09:37:13 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

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