Friday, March 18, 2005
An Unendorsement For Fernando Ferrer
(Updated 9/25/05: Since I still get hits from Google on this six month old post I guess I'll add that even though I stand by this post as it was written at the time...I've decided to give Ferrer a pass...though this is still not an endorsement)
In September, 2001 Democrat Fernando Ferrer's mayoral campaign in New York City looked pretty darn good. Then September 11th happened. September 11 2001 was supposed to be the date for voters to vote in the Democratic primary but it was cancelled that horrible day.
When I moved to New York City in 1993, Mark Green quickly became one of my favorite Democrats. He was voted New York City's Public Advocate that year and became a strong voice for liberals and Democrats while Ghouliani the Gangster occupied the mayoral seat. But Green changed when he ran for New York City Mayor in 2001. He went to the right, so far to the right that he actually publicly advocated doing away with the parole system, and he especially lost my support when he changed his tune on the Amadou Diallo killing in February 1999 (Diallo was shot forty-one times by a group of New York City police officers for committing the crime of being black and reaching for his wallet). Amazingly, Mark Green declared after the killer cops were acquitted that they didn't even deserve to lose their jobs. While it may be arguable whether or not the cops deserved to go to jail, it's absolutely ridiculous that cops that kill innocent civilians in a hail of bullets (most of which missed their target) and blame it on fear should get to keep a job where they might someday kill somebody completely innocent again.
Green had even been endorsed by Diallo's father and had - in the past - always been a strong voice against the racist, homicidal manner of too many New York City officers (it's actually gotten worse here post September 11th, but nobody fucking cares anymore even when they shoot little kids who commit the crime of being black and walking on the rooftop of their own building). But too many stupid fucking Democrats mistakingly believe that Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992 by running as a centrist. When in truth, Bill Clinton won the presidency because Ross Perot split the vote and many liberals supported Clinton because they believed his wife was also a liberal (alas...Hillary Clinton has recently made a hard turn to the right herself...when will these fools learn).
Ferrer won the rescheduled Democratic Primary election. But because he only garnered 35% of the vote to Green's 31%, a run-off election was scheduled.
Ghouliani the Gangster - who would later distinguish himself as the only politician in American history to blame the troops for mistakes made by the Pentagon and the White House - realized that he wouldn't have enough time to hand out all of the big contracts for post-9/11 construction in New York City to his gangster buddies. So he floated the idea of remaining on the job for an extra few months. Green capitulated immediately, said it was alright with him, while Ferrer stood his ground and basically told Ghouliani (who after the police killing of Patrick Dorismond near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and after the police and the Media lied and said that Dorismond was shot as a thief, then said Dorismond was no altar boy even though he was) to take a fucking leap.
Someone in Green's camp circulated a racist, offensive cartoon of Fernando Ferrer planting a kiss on Rev. Al Sharpton's posterior during the period before the run-off. As a result, Green won the run-off and became the Democratic mayoral candidate who would run against the financial business news gazillionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Sharpton and others went on black radio and advised voters not to vote for Green. I stayed home, as well. And for the third term in a row, Democratic New York City would end up being run by a scumbag Republican who pursued office for mainly selfish reasons.
I assumed that I would be endorsing Fernando Ferrer again for the upcoming election. But Ferrer lost my endorsement and any possible chance of my ever voting for him again with some words that he said on Tuesday. It wasn't only the words; it was also with who he chose to say them.
This Tuesday, Fernando Ferrer told a group of New York City NYPD sergeants that in regards to the Diallo killing: "I don't believe it was a crime. Do I believe there was an attempt by many in a lot of different places, to overindict? Sure."
This is from a man who actually went to prison for protesting the Diallo killing in 1999. What the fuck does he mean by "overindict"? The way I see it, those killer cops were under-indicted since they didn't even lose their fucking jobs.
Fernando Ferrer has absolutely no chance of even winning the primary now. It's too bad, that another pretty decent Democrat decided to sell out his ideals and move towards the right, because he is being advised by political consultants who switch back and forth from both parties strictly for the sake of money.
When will this stop? This is New York City. We like Democrats here. But if Democrats are too afraid to run as Democrats in New York City then how will we ever win any more elections anywhere? That'll still be the case even if we do get substantial election reform passed in this country. If a voter has a choice between a Republican and a Republican-light that voter might as well go for the real mccoy since you at least know what you're getting with the Republican.
Too many liberals stay home every election day because the majority of the Democratic Leadership Council belong to the wrong party. Fuck them. Because they've fucked up this country more than any Republican has or will. They have robbed us of choice. They have taken away our party. They have sold their souls for who knows what or why.
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