Right-wing fascism, left-wing fascism

Chicago rally cancelled

Beyond Chron's Randy Shaw thinks anti-Trump "activists" forcing the cancellation of his Chicago rally was a Good Thing (Activists must protest Trump):

...What most critics have missed is how activists are using these protests to redefine the entire election. They are saying that this is not just another presidential campaign, but rather that Trump has raised the stakes to a new level. In so doing these young activists have demonstrated a deeper understanding of why Donald Trump must be stopped at all costs, a reality the traditional media has been slow to grasp...If you think activists are being too disruptive now, wait until a President Trump issues a deportation order for 12 million. The United States would see a reprise of the Civil War. Activists have called out Trump for what he really stands for. And if many see disrupting Trump events as the best way to highlight the social upheaval his election would trigger across America, they should not be condemned for offering this preview.

Right-wing fascism should be fought with left-wing fascism? Jonathan Chait explains why this is a bad idea:

...Donald Trump may or may not have been forthright about citing safety fears in canceling his speech in Chicago, and disrupting the speech may or may not have been the protesters’ goal. But it is clear that protesters view the cancellation of the speech as a victory, breaking out in cheers of “We stopped Trump!”

Preventing speakers one finds offensive from delivering public remarks is commonplace on campuses. Indeed, more than 300 faculty members at the University of Illinois at Chicago signed a letter asking the university administration not to allow Trump to speak...

But the whole premise of democracy is that rules need to be applied in every case without regard to the merit of the underlying cause to which it is attached. If you defend the morality of a tactic against Trump, then you should be prepared to defend its morality against any candidate. Now imagine that right-wing protesters had set out to disrupt Barack Obama’s speeches in 2008. If you’re not okay with that scenario, you should not be okay with protesters doing it to Trump...

Warren on Trump

Thanks to Daily Kos.

Chronicle distorts poll results---again

From a front-page story (Homelessness soars to No. 1 concern in SF, new poll finds) in this morning's Chronicle:

Despite a booming economy, more than half of San Franciscans believe the city is going in the wrong direction, a significant uptick from last year, according to a new poll from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Concerns over homelessness are fueling that dissatisfaction, with 51 percent of respondents calling it a major issue facing the city, compared with 35 percent last year and 29 percent in 2014. Homelessness has overtaken affordability as the No. 1 concern among San Francisco residents. “Homelessness has always been a big issue, but never like this,” said Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of the business-oriented organization.

Also, people have more negative views of the Police Department, believe traffic congestion is worse and say the cost of rent is as worrisome as ever. One bright spot is Muni, which continued its resurgence of positive reviews...

The Chronicle story rightly emphasizes homelessness and housing, but the distortion comes from what the story doesn't mention.

Every year the Chamber's poll also asks people about the SFCTA's congestion pricing idea, and every year the Chronicle doesn't mention that people always overwhelmingly reject the idea of paying $3.00 to drive downtown in their own city (And every year I write about it).

The poll results on traffic congestion only get that brief mention in the last paragraph above, even though 81% think traffic congestion is getting worse in the city, 71% think parking is getting worse, and 72% reject the congestion parking idea, all unmentioned by the Chronicle.

Since City Hall is deliberately making it harder and more expensive to drive in the city, traffic and parking surely contribute to 51% of the people now thinking the city is heading in the wrong direction.

The city is getting ready to screw up traffic on Masonic Avenue later this year by taking away street parking and traffic lanes to make separated bike lanes. That will make the poll results next year particularly interesting.