Monday, March 05, 2007

Introspection

Some interesting comments on the previous post. One commenter naturally assumes that because I am anti-Stone, I must be pro-Dolar. Untrue. My problems with Ald. Stone are equally problems with Naisy Dolar. Dolar has repeatedly used race and talk about oppression as the basis for her run. I'm tired of ethnic politics and divide and conquer tactics in the 50th Ward. She seems to think that because it worked for Stone, it must be the only thing she can do.

Dolar's problem is that she doesn't think better of us. One class or ethnicity must be up while the other is pushed down. If that's our choice, there is really no choice. I oppose all candidates who play this game. There is not much point in "rallying my readers" against Stone when the choice is mini-Stone. The point is to break the cycle of oppression, not change the oppressor.

Another commenter wonders if I didn't underestimate Dolar. I don't think so. I think most people have underestimated Berny Stone. Stone chose Dolar to be his opponent, and we can only speculate why. I have to question whether Dolar had anything to do with her place in the run-off.

Instead of re-writing history, let's remember that a week before the election, Stone ratcheted up his anti-Semitism gambit. In more ways than one, he called Greg Brewer an anti-Semite. Stone tried to argue that "his friends" (presumably a direct quote from Brewer) meant Jews in the 50th. Then he iced it off with that little stunt with a swastika.

Naisy Dolar was the direct beneficiary of Stone's tactics. He didn't call her anti-Semitic. And it's ludicrous to argue that Brewer is anti-Semitic. Add in several of Stone's precinct captains telling supporters to tell their friends and family that if they couldn't vote for Stone to vote for Dolar. Stone, for whatever reason, wanted to face Dolar. He choose the April ballot.

Anti-Stone voters played into Berny's hand. Brewer was seen as a wounded candidate, with hints of anti-Semitism around him, by people tired of Stone. Eager to see Stone defeated, they saw no way that Brewer could make headway among the 50th's major voter group. Dolar was an easy alternative. The newspaper endorsements certainly didn't hurt, either. But there's a reason that Stone wanted to face Dolar, if he had to go into a run-off. I don't know what that reason is, but I can see the evidence behind it.

According to lore, no one has ever overcome a 15 percentage point deficit to win a run-off. It's hard to see how Naisy Dolar can buck that trend, especially without money or union backing. You are welcome to explain how, if you like. I'm just trying to look at this race logically.

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12 Comments:

At March 05, 2007 12:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jay,

If Naisy is just a "mini Stone" how do you explain this glowing endorsement from the Hon. Abner J. Mikva:

http://naisydolar.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BEE8B0E74-1B2C-4FCC-A9E3-31C7AF765B76%7D

I don't know you from Adam, but I DO have the privilege of knowing Judge Mikva and would not dismiss his endorsement lightly (he doesn't just give them away like Obama).

Truth is, you have no idea whether Naisy is a "mini Stone" but we ALL know Stone is Stone (nothing mini about it), and Ilana won't be any better. The choice on April 17 is obvious.

 
At March 05, 2007 1:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Introspection is fine *after* the election. For now, I think Naisy's bloggers need to stop running against Brewer and start running against Stone. Brewer is not the one they need to be worried about.

 
At March 05, 2007 3:37 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Sounds to me like the main motivation driving your comments is to steer blame away from the capmaign by saying that "Stone chose Dolar as his opponent." This is exactly contrary to your previous statements touting Stone's attacks on Brewer as signs that he recognized Brewer as the real challenge.

 
At March 05, 2007 4:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jay is a precinct Captian for Stone. This is a pro stone blog for those that can't figure it out. Remember Breny likes to divide and conquer so don't fall for the bait and keep your eye on the prize. Berny will have plenty of time to ponder the future after he is forced into Retirement.

 
At March 05, 2007 8:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

JS

I’m not sure if you have much political experience, in the trenches or otherwise. You certainly have a strong interest in the subject and I applaud you for creating this 50th Ward discussion.

Stone chose Dolar as his run-off candidate? I’ll buy that argument, (for a few unarticulated reasons), heck, I thought Brewer was gonna be the run-off guy.

Stone still has a very real chance to lose to Naisy Dolar……Stone would have lost to Greg Brewer as well.

I was there on election day, Naisy had her crew in the trenches, doing exactly what the campaign managers blue print say’s should be done if the campaign has the bodies to do it. I’m guessing people underestimated the Naisy Dolar campaign, they earned their 2nd place victory and I applaud them.

If I was a Bernie Stone precinct captain, I would have also pushed either Naisy or Aftab as an alternate (depending on the household). There is a rhyme to this reasoning but I won’t get into the psychology of the details here. Bottom line is, I agree that Stone Captians, as a last resort, (worth repeating), as a last resort, would give a plug to Naisy Dolar.

It is also worth repeating, The Dolar campaign was UNDER ESTIMATED. The Dolar campaign needs to take on a Mad Dog campaign attitude, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”. With a meager 45 precincts, they should win by 1,000 votes. Only time will tell.

Last day to register to vote is St Patty’s Day (March 17th). Get busy with it !

posted by : Dave "Mad Dog Madlener

 
At March 05, 2007 10:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's unfortunate that Dolar's campaign is often connected to race just because she is Asian American.

I saw Dolar at Warren Park on election day. In addition to talking to residents to get their support, Dolar also introduced voters with residents, building bridges within the community. She was so energetic and you can tell that she truly wants a better neighborhood. She may be Asian but that doesn't mean she's only for the Asian community. Her campaign is the most diverse I've ever seen. I am sure she won't leave anyone out.

 
At March 06, 2007 6:01 AM, Blogger Jay said...

Hippo, I see no contradiction between the thought that Stone "wanted" to face Dolar in a run-off and the thought that Stone clearly feared Brewer the most. These two seem logically consistent to me.

To Anonymous, no doubt you see this as a pro-Stone blog. In trying to be fair and honest, I am likely to offend the partisans. I already have. The problem that you have, as a Dolar supporter, is that you need my vote (and everyone else's) but you have no desire to communicate why anyone should support Naisy. If I/we don't vote, Stone wins. If you alienate potential supporters, Stone wins.

 
At March 06, 2007 10:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It makes no sense to say that Stone's precinct captains were at a last resort telling people to vote for Dolar if they couldn't vote for Stone. You say that Stone "wanted" a run-off with Dolar as opposed to Brewer. Why? Because Dolar will drop out of the race in the event of a run-off (according to your previous blog entry), after all the resources and effort she and her volunteers have put into her campaign? Give me a break! Or because Stone thinks it would be easier to defeat Dolar in a run-off?? If that is one of your "unarticulated reasons," that is just as loopy a theory as any I've heard.

Reality is Stone "wanted" a run-off with NOBODY. He wanted to win outright. If you are using the absurd reasoning above (which sounds like it's rooted in trying to explain away the failure of your candidate Brewer than in anytning else), Stone's precinct captains would have urged anti-Stone folks to vote for Aftab.

 
At March 06, 2007 10:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wrote the post above.

The figures were:
Stone: 5,059
Dolar: 2,958
Brewer: 1,906
Aftab: 546

Total number of voters: 10,469.

If Stone had garnered just persuaded 176 of those voters to vote for him instead of Dolar, Brewer, or Aftab, then Stone would have WON. Heck, if his precinct captains had told anti-Stone folks to vote for BREWER as a last resort (and gotten at least 176 of them to do so), then Stone would have won.

JS, I also applaud you for putting up and keeping up this blog, but let's keep this thing rooted in reality instead of incredible theories.

 
At March 06, 2007 12:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops. Made a math mistake there. My statement about if only Stone precinct captains could have persuaded 176 of the total anti-Stone to vote for Brewer is wrong. So I own up to that error.

That is all.

 
At March 08, 2007 1:09 AM, Blogger Hugh said...

> Anti-Stone voters played into Berny's hand.

I don't understand this.

> Stone's precinct captains telling supporters ... that if they couldn't vote for Stone to vote for Dolar

I don't believe this.

 
At March 10, 2007 8:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hugh,you can improve your block---MOVE

 

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