Monorail Board member Cindi Laws made some weird Jew-baiting comments in a candidate interview this week --
According to notes taken by three interview panelists during the meeting, and confirmed by them Thursday, Laws said that 75 percent of the money spent on last year's unsuccessful monorail-recall ballot measure came from the "Jewish community."This never occurred to me before, but come to think of it there are a lot of Jews opposing the Monorail. Why is this? I don't know. Perhaps it's a cultural predisposition to be suspicious of large public works projects dating back to the pyramids.In Auerbach's notes, and according to his and other panelists' recollections Thursday, Laws went on to say, "A Jewish candidate can get that money more easily," and noted that Goldberg has a Jewish surname.
In any event, I had no plans to donate to Beth Goldberg's campaign, but now davka, I think I might.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at August 19, 2005 12:36 AM | Email ThisMaybe since we're paying the new monorail executive director a paltry $38,400 per month, he can moonlight as THE ENTIRE KC ELECTIONS TURNAROUND TEAM too.
Posted by: Enron Sims on August 19, 2005 12:51 AMCindy Laws happens to (presently) be Executive Director of the Rainier Institure, a liberal think tank in Seattle.
The Board of Directors (about 50 members) of the Rainier Institute appears to include a number of Jewish people -- including Ken Aldaheff, who Laws singled out for criticism:
http://www.rainierinstitute.com/board.php
It would be easy just to call Cindy Laws an anti-Semite. But it looks like she needs to have some professional help!
Posted by: Richard Pope on August 19, 2005 02:23 AMbunch of nasty hypocrites..
Posted by: righton on August 19, 2005 07:43 AMIf it was the Jewish community that opposed it does that mean it was the atheist community that supported it? It would be interesting to hear Laws' response to a statement that "Most of the money to support the monorail came from heathens."
The second statement is a compliment, though possibly unintended. It basically says that Jews are more involved in their community, want to participate, and put their money where their mouth is. If only everyone would participate to that level!
Posted by: fred on August 19, 2005 09:15 AMBut wait, what about us other non-Jewish "infidels" that don't support the Monorail, aren't we part of the problem too?
Cindia Laws has me so confused.
Posted by: Jeff B. on August 19, 2005 09:40 AMI'm not say it is relevant, but doesn't mean that it isn't true. Just as blacks, unions, lawyers, and Jews predominately support Dems (and of course dead people and illegal aliens). It is a simple statement of where the funding for the anti-monorail campaign originated. The fact that it is a comment about where anti-monorail funding came from I would guess makes it relevant. Would anyone be upset if they said 75% of the anti-monorail money came from republicans? It is a statistic.
It seems (within the context of the original post) that it is merely a statement of where funds came from. What is the big deal? I actually find it interesting that the Jewish community is so strongly against the monorail.
Now, of course, if that isn't true I would have a problem with it - 1. for lying, and 2. why lie about this and attach a certain group to the lie.
Posted by: fred on August 19, 2005 10:11 AMWhat possible legitimate reason could there be for bringing up the fact that Goldberg and many of her potential supporters are Jewish?
Posted by: ScottM on August 19, 2005 10:30 AMSelective bigotry, or even unselective bigotry, is not anything new to Dems or Liberals. Having lived much of my life in the South, Dems kept a large segment of the population disenfranchised for quite a long time. You think the Kluckers were a bunch of Reps? Heck, until about 25 years ago you could have thrown a blanket over every Republican in TX...same true in most other Southern states.
It's no less true here.
Through the work that I do I see it all the time in many ways. Dems don't have a franchise on it, but I feel it's particularly egregious that these folks who preach inclusiveness and openness, etc., let their prejudices come through when the rubber meets the road.
Posted by: SnoCo Voter on August 19, 2005 10:31 AMUnless there is something sinister in why she said what she did, which I did not get from the snippet and I do not know her, I think this is much to do about nothing - a lot of energy being wasted on something minor when there are much bigger issues out there - like getting rid of the monorail instead of the distraction of a questionable comment.
Posted by: fred on August 19, 2005 10:32 AMWhy is when a Dem makes a racial characterization you give them a pass.
When a Rep. makes a comment that can be merely construed to have a racial component you all scream Nazi, resign, apologize.
Posted by: JCM on August 19, 2005 11:33 AMI do not consider a fact racist.
JCM - please point to one example where I did what you say here: "When a Rep. makes a comment that can be merely construed to have a racial component you all scream Nazi, resign, apologize." If you find one I can assure you it is fraud.
I dislike all this name calling, and find it depressing how thin skinned everyone is getting to try and make something of nothing. Again, I do not get anything sinister out of the snippet posted, nor do I know her. But taking just what she said here, it seems like someone is trying to create a problem/issue to solve. If someone can point to something beyond the post that shows her views then fine. But I do have an aversion to calling facts racist. That is the bedrock of PC.
Can't talk about immigration problems - racist to Mexicans. etc. etc. etc.
Posted by: fred on August 19, 2005 12:46 PMWho cares what Goldstein thinks. He seems to be part of the thin skinned complainers, especially when it comes home to him personnaly. Now he is trying to censor her - the facts be damned! That appears to fit his MO.
I think hypocracy is rampant on who is allowed to call who names. As JDH said "hoisting the libs on their own pitards", is great. But unless there is some real evidence of it rather than trying to make something of it, it doesn't make the reps side any more believable. It starts sounding like the whimpy complaints the moveon.org types like to throw around. Generally I have found this site above that.
Posted by: fred on August 19, 2005 01:23 PMSo, does that make me Jewish? Fine with me if it does, but I'm not attending temple any more often than attend church, which is approximately never.
Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on August 19, 2005 01:45 PMReally, Seattle Democrats are borderline fascist and may have already crossed the line. Funny how these I-want-to-control-your-life types often call anyone that wants a little civility and liberty a fascist.
Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on August 19, 2005 01:48 PMI'm living for the day we see a Jewish exodus from the liberal left!
Cindi Laws may just be one of the first liberals to reveal the left's true bigotry against Jews and minorities...
The liberal left's elitist and lavish lifestyle is completely dependent on the funding and political support they receive from prominent communities - such as Jewish, Black and Asian. If the liberal left feels pinched in one of their pet projects - they will immediately blame their supporters - as Cindi did!
If you are one of the elitists and are recognized by that crowd - then race, culture and religion are tolerated and even celebrated! If you are merely a means of financial and political support for the elitist....you are easily reduced to a label.......you are NOT one of *them* and you are to blame for whatever mess they are in.
Posted by: Deborah on August 19, 2005 07:50 PMFurthermore, I would like to remind the class that Laws is a protege of Phil Talmadge, who Stefan has puffed up more than a few times here.
And JDH, you gotta get over this Lenin statue thing. If you knew anything about anything, you would know that statue is the brainchild of Republican Suzie Burke, who owns half of Fremont, and maxed-out to George W. in the last two election cycles.
You really need to give these childish Seattle conspiracy theories a break on occasion.
Posted by: AmazedByRightWingHate on August 20, 2005 02:05 AMShe now has to go in for sensitivity training.
I've been catching some of the left wing talk radio lately. WOW! If you want an exercise in hate- there you have it.
Today's newspaper says Cindi Laws has voluntarily committed herself into a program for *Diversity* Training! Maybe she thought she was actually going to get the Liberal Democrat old stand-by - *Diversion* training!
(That's when you try to change the subject after you've revealed your true agenda...)
Why does she consider herself to be so *diverse* of the Jewish population? Why do liberal's always want to immerse themselves in the *differences* between races, cultures and religions instead of just accepting the *human* common interests of all?
Saturating one's self in racial and cultural *differences* does not help to accept other races and cultures and religions as your *equal*.
Alphabet - you seem to be lacking a bunch of letters in your soup today. No surprise there. Think JDH and Stefan will keep blaiming the liberals for the statue of Lenin? Without mythology, bogus fact, outright lies, silly conspiracty theories, and just plain bad information, what would be left at SP?
Burke has often let community festival organizers use her land or warehouses in exchange for a few days' work or cheap rent. This year, she agreed to display a chunk of the Berlin Wall under the Aurora Bridge outside History House, a nonprofit organization she founded to celebrate Seattle's neighborhoods. The piece, on loan from an Australian businessman, joins the odd assortment of other Fremont "treasures" that Burke has welcomed onto her land: a statue of Communist leader Lenin
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2001/0729/cover.html
Ms. Suzanne M Burke
President/Property Manager
Fremont Dock Company
George W. Bush $2,000
http://www.fundrace.org/neighbors.php?search=1&type=name&lname=Burke&fname=Suzanne
Posted by: AmazedByRightWingHate on August 20, 2005 01:13 PMCindy Law revealed how she really felt. So what if she doesn't say it every day or go to a KKK rally. SHe had a candid moment of openly airing what she honestly felt. It isn't the racists that march down the street in hoods that are the worrysome ones, it is the ones that are good at putting on a public face to gain power, all the while cloaking their true feelings.
I could care less what her political affiliation is other than the fact the liberals are hypocrits who throw around accusations of racism when their argument is weak. In this case, I think a closet racist revealed her inner self and had to backtrack about it. Republican, Democrat, Liberal or Conservative - this person reveals her prejudice loud and clear. She has to go.
Posted by: pbj on August 20, 2005 03:01 PMFremont, self-proclaimed "Center of the Universe," is the venue for America's largest statue honoring Lenin.
No, kids -- not one of the Beatles, but Vladimir Illych Lenin, hero of the workers, Communism, and the former Soviet Union.
The 16-ft. tall bronze originated in Poprad, Slovakia, where it was first erected in 1988. It tumbled along with other heroic (and out of fashion) statues when the Soviets went down in 1989. For a time, the 7-ton Lenin lay face down in the mud at the Poprad dump -- until rescued by American entrepreneur Lewis Carpenter. Carpenter, who admired the artistry, mortgaged his house to buy and transport the statue to Seattle.
Carpenter died in a car accident in 1994. To recover the statue debt, Carpenter's family made an arrangement to loan it to the Fremont district until a buyer emerged. Asking price: $150,000. In 1995, Fremont put the statue up in the center of town, near a Cold War era rocket also displayed as public art.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAlenin.html
Posted by: pbj on August 20, 2005 03:12 PM"The sculptor by the name of Emil Venkov was commissioned by the Czech Communist Party to build the statue. But when the regime fell, the statue was taken down and lay in a dump until a man from Issaquah, Lew Carpenter, happened upon it in Slovakia in 1993.
Carpenter mortgaged his home and had the statue shipped home. But he died the next year in a car accident on Stevens Pass, and the statue lay in a pasture behind his house. Carpenter's family put it up for sale with the idea of melting down the bronze to be used for something else.
A bronze sculptor from Fremont, Peter Bevis, was interested and went to take a look, when "I saw these people coming out of this house, and I realized the people were (Carpenter's) children, his widow, his mother and his brother. I know what losing someone does to a family. I'd lost my own brother the year before and the fabric of my family was all torn up.
"I resolved right there not to melt it down and to bolt the pieces back together, as sort of metaphoric of bolting the family back together."
So to Bevis, at least, the statue of Lenin in part pays homage to families.
Bevis contacted Suzie Burke, who owned a parking lot that was then the site of the neighborhood's Sunday market, and got permission to put the statue up there with a "for sale" sign. Incidentally, Bevis said, the statue is still for sale, and Carpenter's mother is aging and wants to be able to divide up the proceeds to the rest of the family."
(From: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/202341_lenin04.html)
So ABRWH, you simpleton, the extent of Suzie Burke's "brainchild", you simpleton, was to temporarily allow someone else to perch the POS on a piece of her property, you simpleton!
She didn't commission it, you simpleton, she didn't import it, you simpleton, and she certainly didn't arrange to have it put on display at its present location
Of course, facts don't mean much to simpleton liberals like you, so I won't expect a retraction...
You simpleton!
Posted by: alphabet soup on August 20, 2005 09:44 PMBut I think her comments, for which she has publicly apologized, were taken out of context. In her defense, she has told me that the labor council was questioning whether her opponent Beth Goldberg was a viable candidate.
According to Laws, when asked the question about Goldberg, she pointed out that many of the major opponents to the monorail appear to be Jewish, including downtown developer Martin Selig, who contributed close to $400,000 to fund the "recall effort" last year. She suggested, without knowing if these contributors are indeed part of a Jewish community in Seattle, that they might be major source of contributions for Goldberg, who also appears to be Jewish, and anti-monorail. This would, therefore be a legitimate point to make when speculating about how a candidate might raise money to be viable, because every candidate has constituent groups that help them, and those groups of people are often of one ethnicity or race.
Let's be honest about the way local politics work. Networks of people work together to support or oppose candidates and ballot measures.
As a Jew from Seattle who has experienced anti-Semitic remarks, I know how ugly and surprising anti-Semitism can be. However, as someone who has worked in local politics, I have the deepest respect for Laws and the work she has done on many issues, including civil rights. She is clearly not an anti-Semite.
The above is a letter to the editor published in the Seattle PI here.
Regardless of what one thinks about the content of Ms. Laws grossly inappropriate comments, those comments by their nature and action reveal a long term trait of mono kool aid junkies like Cindi(they have long since graduated from drinking, they're now on the harder stuff.).
That trait is to immediately, in knee jerk fashion, personally attack any person or group that opposes their holier than thou project. Not with facts to refute logical arguments, but, lacking such, with personal character assassination.
Character assassination has long been a tactic of SMP kool aid junkies. As a long time mono opponent and founder of www.saveseattlecenter.org, I've long since become immune to vicious SMP assaults on my motives. Most other mono opponents have experienced same. It's actually backfired on SMP, particularly in the State Legislature.
Cindi, like her fellows, long since captured by her own psychological and emotionally rapture with all things monorail, responded to her interrogators queries about her Board opponent like a mother Grizzly protecting her cubs: By lashing out at Goldbeg with the first thing that came to mind: Attack Goldberg's character as part of an ethnic group incorporating her own (Cindi's) obviously preconceived prejudices.
We have all witnessed the result of that crass and ill considered act.
Cindi's action speak for and represent the Board and most mono supporters as a whole. Not that they share her sentiments towards Jews, but rather the aspect of personally attacking anyone who dares question the superior vision of SMP and it's cohorts. Notice that Laws never mentioned Goldberg's arguments or points about opposing the monorail.
I do believe that Cindi Laws is sincere in her regrets for what she said. The flaws in her judgement go beyond any mere civic issue. I commend her for meeting with leaders of the Jewish community to gain insight into her prejudices and learn from her mistakes, and I'm confident she will be a better person for it.
However, the other lesson that Cindi and other mono junkies need to learn is not so easy - how to separate one's own significant personal investment in an idea from the truth that the idea has failed.
That is still to come, if ever.