I occasionally take a look at Bill Hickmans campaign blog and I am usually disappointed. It isnt that there isnt anything good over there; e.g., I really respect Bills advocacy for the disabled. On campaign issues, however, I just do not get Bills appeal. Case in point: the failed gotcha over Greg Jungmans position on the PSST. Bills attempt to manufacture a gaffe here would be funny if it werent sad. If you followed the PSST debate at all, you know that the argument for a permanent tax was making job funding permanent and the argument for a temporary tax was making PSST expenditures accountable to the public. (In the latter regard, CM Robert Castleberry quite appropriately raised worries about a slush fund.) After some thoughtful discussion, the Council came up with ballot wording that made the jobs permanent w/o any risk of a continuing capital slush fund; they did this by making the tax permanent & the list of capital projects large but finite. (By the time that capital projects are through, the tax will cover only the jobs.) Greg came out in favor of the current ballot language as a compromise: he didnt misunderstand the ballot proposal; rather, he understood the arguments that gave rise to it. What does all of this tell us about Bill? It suggests either he didnt understand the PSST debate or he is willing to distort the position of his opponent for electoral gain. (If anyone thinks this is a false dichotomy, chime in with other options!) Looking at the rest of the campaign, I suggest it is the latter. Consider Bills attempt to create an issue out of the discussion about carports. Bill and Greg hold basically the same position about neighborhood protection, code violations, etc., but when Bill saw an opportunity land a punch he seemed to forgot that he is opposed to shoddy construction too. Basically, I think Bill is running an *if-by-whiskey* campaign (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If-by-whiskey): if he thinks you want to hear it, hell say it w/o regard to consistency.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:36:15 +0000
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