Ray "School Bus" Nagin wins re-election, despite Dean's meddling

I feel badly for people who lost their lives, homes, and livelihoods due to Hurricane Katrina. However, I do not feel sorry for the citizens of New Orleans who have chosen to rebuild the city under the leadership of a mayor whose incompetence resulted in immeasurable heartache that could have been avoided.

Despite a clear and obvious display of pisspoor leadership and bureaucratic bungling, Ray Nagin was just re-elected as mayor of his "Chocolate City." Hindsight being 20-20, I'd say his "Chocolate City" remarks were a rare act of political brilliance on his part.

It's a tactic that works nearly every time: remind the disgruntled black electorate that Th' Man is out to bring "your people" down, and said black electorate will vote for you every time...whether they like you or not. I watched it happen in my hometown of Memphis in 1991. Memphis, a predominantly black city, had a black school board superintendent named Willie Herenton who was fired for sexual harrassment. He wasn't fired for sh#tty schools and abysmal graduation and school crime and teen pregnancy rates...but for sexual harrassment. He predictably blamed Whitey for his firing, despite the fact that his accuser and victim was black.

Herenton exacted his revenge by running for mayor. Yes, the man whose leadership resulted in over half of TN's failing schools being in his jurisdiction wanted to bring the same failure to Memphis. The electorate complied, electing him in 1991. He's been mayor ever since, and not surprisingly, Memphis' public schools have deteriorated, crime has gone through the roof, and the city has been eclipsed by Nashville in nearly every economic category (categories that Memphis used to lead in). People have left Memphis in droves. Though Herenton's arrogance and condescension have caused the majority of Memphis to hate his guts, they continue to vote for him every time. After all, what's the alternative...voting for a Caucasian? Yeah, that'll happen, right after Bill sleeps with Hillary!

However, there is a possible silver lining on this otherwise dark cloud of human stupidity: Howie "the Scream" Dean and the national DNC suffered a humiliating defeat. From Drudge:

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) secretly placed political operatives in the city of New Orleans to work against the reelection efforts of incumbent Democrat Mayor Ray Nagin, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean made the decision himself to back mayoral candidate and sitting Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu (D-LA), sources reveal.

Dean came to the decision to back the white challenger, over the African-American incumbent Nagin, despite concerns amongst senior black officials in the Party that the DNC should stay neutral. (I guess affirmative action and "diversitry" are only palatable when there are no party goals being interfered with, huh? - Ed.)

The DNC teams actively worked to defeat Nagin under the auspice of the committee's voting rights program.

The party's field efforts also coincided with a national effort by Democrat contributors to support Landrieu.

Landrieu had outraised Nagin by a wide margin - $3.3 million to $541,980.

Preliminary campaign finance reports indicate many of Landrieu’s contributions came from out of state white Democrat leaders and financiers, including a $1,000 contribution from Sen. Ben Nelson's (D-NE) PAC.

The defeat of Mitch Landrieu is the latest setback for Dean's often criticized field operation.

Hey, there may be hope yet for the GOP! As long as Howie is running the DNC, the inept and incompetent GOP will always have a fighting chance to win elections that they otherwise would be doomed to lose.

"We need more of this kind of leadership in our Chocolate City!"