Missing from news reports regarding the FBI arrest of prominent California Democrat, state Senator Leland Yee, is the not insignificant fact that Yee supported Illinois state Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. In his written endorsement, Yee said Senator Obama has found a way to move us beyond the pettiness that has plagued Washington. He has brought together people of all backgrounds and energized a generation of Americans that has never felt such optimism. He has reached out to Democrats and Independents alike and shown that he can unite us all – a strategy that is essential for our Democratic victory in November. This presidential election is not just about putting a new occupant in the White House; it is about changing the entire political system to best serve the hopes and aspirations of all Americans. Barack Obama is the best candidate to make that change. Yee’s corruptible nature revealed In July 2011, Matt Smith of the San Francisco Weekly examined the “virtues” of Leland Yee in “Good Scout, Bad Boy”. Leland Yee — the state senator who, according to some polls, is the current mayoral front-runner — has polished for himself a shining public image. He purports to be an earnest public servant, conventional in attitudes and tastes, willing to take on popular causes such as advocating for the rights of non-English speakers, and protesting the secrecy surrounding Sarah Palin’s $75,000 CSU speaking fee. He stands up for children, even, protecting them from violent videogames. In short, he’s the straight-arrow Boy Scout of a legislator, advocating open government, free speech, reforming schools, and all that’s good for the kids. But beneath that do-gooder veneer lurks a long history of apparent ethical lapses. During a generation in public life, Yee has become expert at talking himself out of trouble. In the past, compromised political characters have nonetheless gone on to great public careers. … Leland Yee is a political lifer who has served on the school board, the Board of Supervisors, in the state Assembly, and now in the state Senate, where he represents the Eighth District. He has built a public facade of earnest goodness that, if it were as much his essence as it is his veneer, would make him Sacramento’s top Eagle Scout. But during that time, Yee has produced a series of possible ethical breaches so numerous and bizarre that voters might feel compelled to seek out extraordinary accomplishments to balance out his weird record. At every step of the way, Yee has offered explanations, saying there’s no fire amid all this smoke. And in response to a detailed list of questions from SF Weekly, his campaign manager said Yee’s personal history is old news that has already been addressed. You have to wonder how Yee will manage to explain himself out of this fine mess.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 18:45:40 +0000
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