Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Jane Kim: Opportunist---and birdbrain?

We already know that District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim is an opportunist: she moved into District 6 early in 2010 to run for supervisor, opposing another progressive, Debra Walker, who has lived in the district for 20 years. But that kind of unprincipled opportunism---it undermines the very concept of district elections---is not uncommon in San Francisco.

Kim also abandoned the Green Party when Barack Obama made being a Democrat fashionable again here in Progressive Land.

And it's not hard to find evidence that Kim is a lightweight intellectually, even by the city's rather low standards. Check out her campaign website, where you won't find the "issues" category common on other candidates' websites. Kim doesn't do issues very well, but she hasn't had to, since a pretty face, a crude opportunism, and her ambition have been enough---so far.

And take her response to the Bicycle Coalition's questionnaire that is remarkably lame even for a candidate seeking that group's endorsement:
I am currently learning how to bike with the awesome tutorial help of my Bike Coalition friends! It is something I have always wanted to do, and I am a perfect example of how learning to ride a bike isn't limited to age. Having grown up in a city my entire life, I never learned to bike or drive...I am excited to grow into a stronger and more confident biker and I live in a district where biking can get me to meeting and errand destinations quicker than other modes of transportation..
"Awesome" and "excited"! The valley girl diction is typical---gag me with a bike lock---and her opportunism is on display again: she doesn't even know how to ride a bike, but, with the Coalition's help, she's willing to learn! Meanwhile, she'll support whatever the Bicycle Coalition wants to do to our streets, because that's what's fashionable in her "progressive" political/social circle.

Okay, I would say that, since I'm the main critic in SF of the great, planet-saving bike revolution.

But today's Examiner provides more evidence that Kim is a birdbrain: she won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance because "I don't believe we are a nation with liberty and justice for all---yet."

Well, no shit! The pledge is aspirational---what we hope to become as a nation---not descriptive of what we are, like The Star Spangled Banner isn't necessarily an historically accurate account of the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

Kim digs herself in deeper: "I think I am very loyal to the country...I've expressed my patriotism through my years of doing organizing work, being a civil-rights lawyer and being a public servant now."

Kim doesn't understand that reciting her oh-so progressive resume is irrelevant to acknowledging her loyalty to the country, which is the United States of America.

I disagreed with termed-out District Supervisor Daly on almost everything---except his attempt to ban handguns in the city---but even he was smarter than this.

Kim's backers---like Willie Brown and Rose Pak---should take her aside and get her to dump the facile, left-wing anti-Americanism that she learned in the Green Party. But recall that Kim supports dumping JROTC from city schools, a position that's not even popular among Asian-Americans in San Francisco.

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11 Comments:

At 8:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

im sorry. i cannot agree with your trenchant assessment of her dopey comments because i am blinded by her hotness.

 
At 9:37 PM, Blogger Rob Anderson said...

Well, I'm not, maybe becase I'm 68 years old. Just another pretty face with nothing much going on behind it. Chris Daly without the brains.

 
At 12:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rob--come on, man. Birdbrain? I'm pretty sure Ms. Kim would beat you pretty bad at a game of boggle. And she'd probably score higher on the LSAT than you, too. Just because she's a little, um, driven (to be charitable) and willing to spew empty platitudes (she is a politician after all) doesn't make her stupid. Yes, her pledge of allegiance thing is ridiculous. But lots of things are ridiculous. Like the fact that your pathological animus towards people who ride bicycles has somehow vaulted you into the ranks of quasi-legitimate political commentators around these parts. (With links from major local blog sites and everything.) Yes, Jane Kim and her lame anti-pledge stance is most certainly an "only in San Francisco" phenomenon. But you, sir, are definitely a dyed in the wool OISF'er yourself.

 
At 8:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I live in D6 and unfortunately ended up supporting KIM, another mistake on my part. The thing that burns me is that she swore she would work on crime issues... the first thing she did was establish a committee to look into the bed bug issue. Go figure.

 
At 9:46 AM, Blogger Rob Anderson said...

"Like the fact that your pathological animus towards people who ride bicycles has somehow vaulted you into the ranks of quasi-legitimate political commentators around these parts."

Unlike your typically fact-free comment, my post on Kim is based on verifiable facts, as is my alleged animus to the bike people. Kim has yet to show even a flicker of intelligence on a single issue.

Actually, I have no animus at all toward people who ride bikes, most of whom behave themselves on city streets.

What you and my other spineless critics---always anonymous!---ignore are the facts underlying my critique of the Bicycle Plan, the EIR on the Bicycle Plan, and the city's moronic determination to screw up city streets on behalf of this PC minority.

Kim is really an excellent representative of "progressive" San Francisco in the 21st century: a privileged background, a pretty face, a bogus ethnic identity---she's Korean the same way I'm British, that is, not at all---an empty head, and a driving ambition.

 
At 10:05 AM, Anonymous Brock Keeling said...

It's unfortunate the Kim will take a lot of (unnecessary heat) for a) her looks, b) her age, and c) because she's a woman. She's bright and eager. Way too early in the game to make this kind of call, Rob.

- D6 resident, Brock Keeling

 
At 10:27 AM, Blogger Rob Anderson said...

No, it isn't. Her opportunism is already evident---leaving the Green Party, her carpetbagging---and, in spite of her presence in city politics for several years now, she has yet to show a glimmer of intelligence on a single issue. She's been coasting so far, but she can't do that any more. I think she's way in over her head, which will be apparent over time.

 
At 11:02 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kim just came out with a denouncement of the 2nd Street bike lanes. Truly a birdbrain.

 
At 11:12 AM, Blogger Rob Anderson said...

Really? Maybe I'll have to revise my opinion.

 
At 10:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I could not agree with you more. She is a fake and deserves to be called out. Good job. I will sure as hell not be voting for her to represent my district. I voted for sparks last election and I hope she runs again 2014... Unless there is a way to recall Kim? I think that would get plenty of support!!

 
At 2:25 PM, Blogger ThermalCameraGuy said...

I live in D7 but if Kim were my supe, I would want her recalled.
She proves she is a birdbrain and a carpetbagger. But you D6 peeps elected her so it's your call.

 

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