Sunday, October 24, 2010

It's my party and I'll lie if I want to?

No, I won't.

After taking on the Cedric Richmond story I've been writing about for the past several months, I've found myself on the other side of the democratic party.  I'd be lying if I said that doesn't bother me in some respect, but I didn't start this blog to promote my partisan ideology, I started it to focus on corruption issues primarily in New Orleans and occasionally on the state and even national level.  While I don't have the resources of a mainstream media outlet, I have striven to tell the truth, as I see it, in every story I've written regardless of my personal partisan bias or even my personal biases in specific.  I'm not perfect but I've done my best.

In regards to Richmond, I truly believe everything I have written and I've been careful not to write about the allegations against him of which I am unsure.  I still believe that he purchased a diamond bezel for a Rolex watch with non-profit funds....which was my exact allegation as opposed to the allegation the Times Picayune attributed to me.  I spent a lot of time researching the NOCE/NOCAP issues and I find it somewhat amazing that the numerous issues I brought up with these entities were overlooked and discredited by not just the TP, but other media sources in the city based on Richmond (not Jack Sutton) producing an invoice which states he purchased A Rolex in 2007.  Even after Sutton originally told me and at least one other reporter that he had located the invoice from 2002.  He told us more than once.  I also find it amazing that none of these media outlets are concerned that there is public record missing from the DA's office and the Criminal Clerk of Court regarding the NOCE case...I guess that's "not news" as I was told by a reporter who interviewed me regarding the story. 

Regardless, I believe everything I wrote to be true and I think the documentation I provided on NOCE and NOCAP warrants your (AZ readers) inspection and consideration as citizens and voters.


Having said that, I want to address a series of posts made this past week on the Louisiana Democratic blog, The Daily Kingfish.


The first one is a commentary, LA-2: An open letter to "Democrats for Cao" (if they really do exist).


Look, I get it.  Your candidate didn’t win the primary.  You are upset.  But you need to realize what is truly at stake in this election.

With all due respect....no.....I don't think you do get it.  (although I am not a "Dem for Cao")

So respectfully – GET OVER IT.

And look, the people who are pushing you… who are bringing up all these rumors attacking Representative Richmond – I think you should ask yourself – What is fueling them?  Could it be cold hard cash?  

The DK goes on to attack Cheron Brylski , a paid political consultant who is on Cao's payroll.  While I find it ironic the DK is attacking Brylski for performing paid political services,  I want to point out that she isn't the only one putting Richmond under the microscope.  I am, Slabbed is, and we are not getting paid by the Republican party or Joseph Cao.  I'm not sure what SOP's political affiliations are, but I don't think it's skewed his pursuit of corruption in Jefferson Parish, nor do I believe my political affiliation has skewed my research in Orleans. 

I believe both Slabbed and AZ are writing these stories because we do, in fact, understand what is at stake...we understand that corruption has destroyed our community for decades and if we are to move forward we have to bring it to an end.  I, for one, believe that issue transcends partisanship.  And while I am concerned about the national political scene, I am most concerned about my immediate community and I will not resort to Machiavellian logic at any expense.  In fact, I've always associated that philosophy to Republicans as opposed to Democrats...it's one of the reasons I consider myself a Democrat.

So as to who is bringing up all these "rumors" attacking Representative Richmond....I would be one of them and cold hard cash is not something I've seen a lot of lately.

18 comments:

whitmergate said...

You are to be commended for your balanced pursuit of the facts and the truth concerning this reprobate Richmond. I am not only embarrassed for those public officials who have endorsed this manipulative scumbag; I am disgusted !

Are we to believe and/or accept the proposition that Richmond is the only Black Democrat in this Congressional District that is qualified to be a US Representative ?

Richmond's candidacy is an insult to the Black community as a whole ! It's unfortunate that race blinds one's otherwise better judgement.

whitmergate

Leigh C. said...

Amen on the points you make - and CONTINUE to make - regarding corruption in this city, no matter what party banner it operates under. The Greenback Party knows no bounds.

Sop811 said...

Since we're sharing I'm a political independent.

I've found the art of corruption and the world of money to be nonpartisan so I do not pay much attention to the letter after the name when blogging about same.

sop

Beth said...

I'm a registered Independent, I'm a liberal, and I vote Democrat most of the time - not all of the time.

I have watched the Democratic party become entrenched in machine politics, and seen it embrace the worst candidates over and over. We're exhorted to keep voting for them because otherwise, "they" will win and then we'll be fucked. Well, we keep getting screwed by our own, so what's the difference?

When we liberals create coffers to help for the underprivileged, we have to stop our elected officials from looting them. When we elect officials who promise to work in our interest, and they fail to do that, we need to stop voting for them. We don't have to be held hostage to party machinations and power games.

Anonymous said...

I love what Beth just wrote about not letting politicians loot coffers set up to help those in need.

Zombie, you are doing a good thing .

You are following and trying to tell one true story about a man who has done wrong and who should not be elected.

What I like about what you are doing here is that you are seeking for the truth and doing your best to tell it, and saying that this truth is important no matter how many people's agendas it messes up.

Some of those 'bigger games' may even be easy to sympathize with.

It is hard looking at how many good Democrats and the sane members of the Republican party are being hurt by the new fundraising rules Citizen United made legal, and by the Palin loons.

I have some sympathy for people who want to keep every Democratic seat possible.

SOME sympathy, but I think what you are doing is ultimately more important.

Outing a local politician as a bad egg seems like a small play to those looking at electoral politics as a national game.

But fighting to ensure that corrupt people don't hold public office is actually an even bigger, more important fight, even a spiritual task.

I have sympathy for the desire to hold onto that seat, but I have more sympathy, and real admiration, for the work you and Slabbed and others are doing to bring this out into the open.

Anonymous said...

Hm. I have zero sympathy for the desire to hold on to a Democratic seat for the sake of national numbers. If our sitting President endorses someone unethical locally just to keep a seat, what does that ultimately say about the other Democrats running elsewhere? Is the priority that Cao seems alone and weak, so go for blood in Louisiana, or are all the other seats up running candidates even worse than Richmond? Neither sentiment would make the Democratic Party worth giving money to, imo. Either they're vultures or crooks, and I can't endorse or support either.

Anonymous said...

Well, national numbers are one thing, but abortion rights, who sits on the Supreme Court, etc., those things do matter.

I don't think anyone likes it. People hold their nose and vote. That is how most people vote most of the time.

For many people, whether they choose to vote for Richmond or for Cao, they will be holding their nose and voting for something they do not want.

Cao seems like nice person, better than Richmond, and he is following his own set of ethics about abortion and other things, but what is a person to do if they want to cast a pro-choice vote for a non-woman hater? Screwed either way.

Hold your nose and vote for a terrible guy who will follow a party line on progressive bills once in office, or hold your nose and vote for a guy who isn't terrible, but who will vote against all those things. Criminal man, or War Criminal party. Some choice!

People are going to have to make their own decision, but either way, voting one's conscience is going to be close to impossible.

Lots of voters are going to feel terrible about themselves no matter what choice they make.

Then the question is, vote for some terrible option, or don't vote at all.

Staying home on voting day feels like participating in the erosion of the franchise people fought hard to win.

The eventual decision in this election will not reflect the unhappiness and ambivalence of the voters, because some person or set of positions that people didn't really want will carry the day.

No matter what the outcome of the election is, I hope that the digging Zombie is doing eventually leads to Richmond being held accountable for his actions in a serious way. Sounds like he might need to be in jail.

Anonymous said...

To Dambala: I respond to your lengthy discussion about your campaign against Cedric Richmond over the past few months. Indeed, you and the two other bloggers you refer to in your post seem to share an obsession to ruin Cedric's good name. One of you has been on Representative Cao's payroll directly, but Iis it true that the other two have also benefitted financially either directly from the Cao campaign or through other business among the three of you involving, for example, the Lafonta campaign, the Smith PAC, lawsuits against BP, opposition to health care reform, legislative lobbying, etc?

You say that cold cash has been hard to come by for you lately. It would be an odd thing for a person out of work to spend months dedicated (and seemingly consumed with obsessive passion) to campaigning for the re-election of Representative Cao.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Who said I'm out of work? I work in video production and i've mostly been shooting the oil spill and working on a documentary about the oil industy and the Gulf but not related to the spill. Just last week I worked on job at the convention center.

Work has been tight but I'm getting by. Care to tell me what you do?

Jason Brad Berry said...

Oh and by the way, I am not voting for Cao nor have encouraged anyone else to vote for him. So wrong again.

So tell me about yourself.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Oh one more thing...if any of those people want to pay me I will sure as hell take their money and not think twice about it. You can pay me too on the donation tab on the blog. I need the money right now to buy some sofware Id like to use for the blog, so since you seem to be such an avid reader please feel free to donate so that I might enhance your reading experience.

And If you know of any deep pockets that would be interested in setting up a funding entity please give me their names.

Jason Brad Berry said...

And one more thing, I'm pretty sure SOP doesn't need to take cash from anyone. But you can check with him about getting any cash from those people.

Juan La Fonta...really? I didn't think he had any cash in the first place.

Destroy Cedric's good name...that's a good one. You're a funny guy, please intoduce yourself.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Oh...one more thing....I know who you are. You're next.

Anonymous said...

"An obsession to ruin Cedric's good name"?

Right, like the obsession to ruin John Georges' good name by alerting people to the Deke's hazing rituals and racist parades.

(An aside: the DKEs just got in trouble in Edmonton, Canada, according to a friend in Ann Arbor where the DKE headquarters are. They were making pledges eat their own vomit and other excretia. There was other gross stuff, too.

If it ever seems likely that W. will face the music for the whole torture of prisoners thing, some guy in PR is going to have to suggest rebranding 'detainees' as 'pledges'.)

Do you remember the poster accusing AZ of an obsession to ruin Greg Meffert's good name, and the good names of everyone associated with him, Aaron Bennett, etc.?

Oh, how about Zombie's obsession to ruin BP's good name? Remember the jerk who accused AZ of that?

These fuckers talk about how crazy or obsessed you are for ruining their good name, right before the shit hits the fan and it turns out that you were not only right all along, but more right than you could have known.

Anonymous said...

This is great! keep sticking them in the eye. Jokem if they cant take a fuck.

This city needs another duche because it still seems to have a bunch sperm heads still trying to run the pace into the ground.

Keep up the goof work

Anonymous said...

From a pro-Democratic standpoint, and, more importantly, from a pro New Orleans standpoint:

- Corruption from any Democrat hurts the party. The image of corruption has taken down both parties in the past, and one more won't help the Democrats, at all.

- Corruption from any federal Louisianan or New Orleanian hurts the City, it hurts our funding, it hurts our political image, it hurts our political power, it hurts our tourism dollars, it hurts our investment dollars (from inside and outside outside the City).

Folks, if you love the Democratic Party and if you love New Orleans the you should oppose Richmond because he has the potential to lump further injury onto that already done by the Jeffersons.

Sop811 said...

My pen is not for hire folks. The anonymous Richmond apologist can kiss my grits. :-)

The boogie man is coming after you Cedric.

sop

Anonymous said...

this just in -- TP endorses.... Richmond, and Vitter.

amazing.