Campaign 2000: Ancient history

Stephen:

"Desperate for material"? I never have enough time to write up all the material I have. Why should I be eager to have a private, "civil discussion" with you? (All my discussions, public or private, are civil, including this one.) I'm not a schmoozer; I'm a writer. If you want to schmooze, call H. Brown. If you have something to say, let's hear it/see it in this "little" blog. 

I've "betrayed" nothing. My values are intact and fully operational. I went to jail during the Vietnam War, but I'm just a plain old hawk in the war on terrorism, even though I'm a Democrat. Different war, different moral/political argument. 

It may not be evident to many here in Progressive Land, but the kind of terrorism we're seeing in Iraq, Madrid, London, Indonesia, and Afghanistan is the greatest evil of our time, not the exercise of US military power. 

I'm not a "chicken hawk," a term that was coined by Mike Royko years ago to describe those who ducked out on the Vietnam war and then became hawks later, like Dick Cheney, Pat Buchanan, George W. Bush. 

Joining the "dominant party" in San Francisco? Yes, but Democrats are the dominant party for a reason: They represent a majority of sensible San Franciscans and, soon I hope, a majority of Americans. Just because you are in the minority, Stephen, doesn't mean you are right.

Rob,

You are obviously desperate for material and more interested in posting comments to your little blog, than in meeting and having a civil discussion. You seem to be proud that you betrayed your own values, and joined the dominant party in a one party town, and you're a damned chicken hawk to boot. Thanks for the expose. My assessment of the D5 wanker was right the first time around.

Stephen Willis

Stephen:

Actually, I don't think the fact that our views used to converge is a "strange coincidence" at all. Except for homelessness---I was prematurely anti-homelessness, long before Gavin Newsom and Care Not Cash---my views in 2000 were more or less predictably "progressive." I attributed the city's political paralysis on homelessness to the Democratic Party's dominance in San Francisco. Hence, I figured that flanking the Demos on the left with an energized local Green Party could move the city to deal with its shocking homeless problem. 

My analysis was completely wrong. I soon realized that it was the city's left that was the main obstacle to actually doing something about homelessness. This sour leftist opposition to the mayor's increasingly effective, humane approach to homelessness is still widespread in SF, much to the shame of local progressives. The local Green Party in 2000 was dominated by people who preferred bloviating about state, national, and international issues to dealing with mere local issues. 

And the example of Matt Gonzalez was a cautionary tale: Matt showed absolutely no interest in homelessness during the 2000 campaign, a peculiar, self-defeating apathy he maintained even during his campaign for mayor in 2003, while Gavin Newsom---an astute politician, if nothing else---used the issue to win the election. 

In short, I no longer think the Green Party is particularly important in San Francisco; nor will it ever be, given its affinity for fringe leftist bullshit. You only have to take a look at their website to see what I mean. I'm now in the Democratic Party, the country's Big Tent political party, which is where I belong.

Yes, I know we are on opposite sides of the "pedestrian oasis" issue. If you've seen the Concourse lately, you have to admit it is indeed well on the way to becoming a much more pedestrian-friendly area. The 200 parking spaces that used to be on the old Concourse are gone, the through-traffic is radically reduced, and the new pedestrian tunnels look good. The new underground garage is completely invisible and makes it much easier for everyone to access the Concourse and the other attractions in that part of Golden Gate Park. The opposition to both the garage and the widening of MLK Blvd. was unprincipled and uninformed, not exactly the finest hour for local progressivism.

I've completely changed my views on cars and bicycles in the city. The more I learned about it the more I realized that the bike people belong out on the fringe left with the Green Party. For such a tiny minority, they are taking up way too much room in city politics and, increasingly, on city streets. The reasonable balance that any city has to maintain to accommodate cars, buses, trucks, pedestrians, and bikes is being undermined by a politically aggressive bicycle community, as traffic lanes are being taken away in busy neighborhoods with little public notice and no debate. 

And earlier this year the Bicycle Plan was made part of the General Plan with no environmental review and no debate---and it was done unanimously by the Board of Supervisors. And then we have Critical Mass: On the last Friday of every month, the bike nuts converge on the downtown area to make it difficult for working people to get home from work, a contemptible bit of elitism that the city's left, of course, supports.

And there was 9/11, which changed my views on foreign policy and reinforced my opinion about the essential lameness of the left both in San Francisco and the country in general. I don't do foreign policy much in my blog---which is about San Francisco issues and politics---but I think we need to win the war in Iraq against a despicable, suicidal/homicidal "insurgency" that the country's political left is, at the very least, tacitly supporting. American Leftists: so politically lame they won't defend themselves against people who want to kill them.

Regards,

Rob Anderson

Hi Rob,

I was researching Democrat Dennis Antenore this evening and came across your campaign platform from September, 2000. I was very surprised at how closely you incorporated some of the exact ideas that I have held for years. In fact, if I were to run for office, my platform would include several of your key ideas. Strange coincidence, huh? Since we seem to be on opposite sides concerning the Pedestrian Oasis. 

I was a member of the Libertarian Party of Texas for 16 years, a Democrat just long enough to help elect Willie Brown (like a fool) and a SF Green Party member for 12 years, until this past September, when I registered Decline to State. For this reason, I think it would be interesting to meet you and just talk about some of these ideas, and what, if anything, has changed your political views over these past five years. I'll buy the coffee if you let me know when you might have time to meet. Maybe Christian can join us and we can have a hell of a conversation! My mornings are free weekdays, and Friday and Saturday pretty open as well.

Defend the Commons!
Stephen Willis

ROB ANDERSON
Rob Anderson announces his candidacy for 5th District Supervisor in San Francisco.

Rob wants to bring two important issues to the attention of voters of the 5th District:

* The urgent need for new policy initiatives on homelessness in light of the obvious failure of the city's present policy, since more than 100 homeless people die on city streets every year, with 169 dying last year alone. This is both a public health and a human emergency that must be addressed.

* The need for 5th District progressives---and progressives throughout the city---to rally to the Green Party as a political alternative to the ruling Democratic Party. If the people of Mexico can overthrow the PRI, why can't we do the same to the Democratic Party? We need to make the Green Party into the party of rent control, the neighborhoods, public transit, and the urban environment. Rob has a long history in what is now the 5th District, since he first lived in the district in 1962---and was very pleased indeed to be living in the district during the Summer of Love in 1967! Rob was a draft resister from San Francisco in the 1960s and spent more than a year in federal prison for refusing to report for induction during the US attack on Vietnam.

Endorsements: Rob has been endorsed by ex-congressman Dan Hamburg, Green Party candidate for Governor of California in the last election. Earth First!er Darryl Cherney has also endorsed Rob.

Some of Rob's positions on other issues:

* Strengthening rent control and putting a moratorium on condo conversions and T.I.C.s. We must do all we can to preserve the city's rental stock and prevent San Francisco from becoming a theme park for the rich.
* The need to wean Muni off toxic diesel fuel as soon as possible.
* Re-examine Muni's policy of covering the sides of buses with garish advertisements that block passengers' views of the city.
* There are now more than 450,000 vehicles in San Francisco, and more than 350,000 of those are automobiles. DMV figures show that more than 4,000 cars a year are being added to San Francisco's streets. Rob thinks the city can't afford to make this small city a car-friendly place. We already have too many motor vehicles in the city. We should stop building parking lots and begin to enforce traffic violations rigorously. The increased mortality among pedestrians is in large part a result of growing population density combined with more and more motor vehicles on our streets.