Herenton Should Be Recalled, But....

A couple of years ago Thaddeus Matthews, a local blogger and muckraker, led an effort to force a recall election in which he, and many others, hoped to kick Mayor Willie Herenton, PhD out of office.

He gathered signatures for weeks. The whining from City Hall and its minions at the Election Commission was as comical as it was deafening. It seemed like every other day someone had a new rule, a new exclusion, or a new policy that seemed to make it nigh well impossible for Matthews to get enough signatures. The number needed seemed to regularly change.

In the end, the effort failed. I think a fair argument can be made that the biggest reason was that Matthews was the point person. He's not an easy person to understand, yet alone rally behind.

But his mission was righteous, even if his methods were a bit lacking. He didn't have the bipartisan support he needed to make it happen, i.e. the Memphis black community didn't rally around the flag.

The uproar over MSARC is, for the first time (as I have previously written) an issue that is exposing Herenton's failures and lack of true leadership more clearly than any other I can remember. To publicly say he had no idea what was going on at what is commonly known as "The Rape Crisis Center" clearly shows what kind of arrogant, pompous, reprobate we elected lo these many terms ago.

In the past, the black community has chosen to ignore Hizzoner's many foibles. Bribes? No problem. Under-the-table payments? We're with you. Appointing his many unqualified friends to run key city departments? It's all good. Fathering illegitimate children? Whoa, stop right there, Mayor. OK, let's forget that too."

But along came Hurricane Elvis, which was non-discriminatory in what neighborhoods it slammed. The King of Whitehaven was out of town, and didn't rush back to personally do anything about his decimated city. There was a small note of discord from black Memphis, but mostly it was, "leave OUR mayor alone, whitey."

Then, last year, the Hickory Hill tornado ripped apart an area that has been a guaranteed block vote for the Mayor. Once again, Herenton chose to ignore the plight of his people. He never even did a walking tour to shake hands and tell people help was on the way. For many, help has still not come. This time, black Memphians went on camera and on the record, wondering where THEIR mayor was. But, over time, that chorus seemed to fade.

Now we have an issue that clearly cuts cleanly across racial lines. The Memphis Sexual Assault Resource Center is a critical agency that provides investigative services, aid and comfort. Without it convicting rapists becomes exceptionally difficult, if not impossible. And, let's face it, in Memphis most rape victims are black.

For the first time there appears to be a continuing outcry in the black community, but not nearly as large as what it should be. If a black Memphian worked at a business where the manager continually screwed things up, and if that manager kept hiring his cronies to assistant manager and supervisor positions, bypassing more qualified people, I think it's a safe bet that black Memphians would scream, holler, and demand change.

So, with Herenton's appointees having nearly destroyed MSARC, and with black rape victims about to be assaulted all over again by a system that will now rape them all over again, one might think black Memphians could get past the "he's one of us so leave him alone" stigma that stunts any progress Memphis might make if left to people with better vision.

Make no mistake, some outspoken and educated Memphians, both black and white, see this issue for what it is; an incompetent, apathetic, and arrogant Mayor who simply couldn't care less. Hizzoners comments accusing the media of only caring about the MSARC issue because the recent victims were white once again shows why this racist of a man should not be the Mayor of anywhere, let alone a major metropolis.

I can honestly say I didn't know the color of the recent victims until Bigot Man made his comments. To me color really doesn't matter a hoot in most things, especially this one.

But to Herenton, and many of his sycophants, that's what it's all about. It's what it's always about. Race is the alpha and omega for Memphis politics. It's also what's holding us back. As long as Herenton and his band of brothers keeps using the race card at every opportunity, old wounds stay open and new ones appear. Herenton knows, though, that the race card keeps him in office. I don't blame him as much as I blame the morons who believe his spew and keep the hatred percolating. Racism was terrible here. Electing a black Mayor was a HUGE step forward for this city. It was a righteous thing to do. Make no mistake, black Memphians didn't have a politicial voice in this city until Herenton's election. Now it's a voice they are using to allow the Mayor to rape the city and to make us all look like a bunch of "hatas", to quote Hizzoner. We can't "shake off them hata's", to quote Hizzoner, as long as Herenton is the mayor.

But the bigger issue here is black Memphis' refusal to call him to account. At what point do people finally have enough of the taste of sewage Herenton continues to force down our throats to take a stand for what's right?

The City Council won't. I firmly believe Joe Brown would take Herenton's skivvies to the laundry if the Mayor asked. I wonder how Brown manages to sneeze without giving Herenton an enema.

And Wanda Halbert is nearly as bad. Then there's $5 Barb Ware, Janis Fullidope, and good old Edmund Ford, Jr. They vote as a block. They vote black. And they are, I am absolutely certain, responsible for the many lipstick marks on the Mayor's derriere.

Today's Memphis has no place for those who vote exclusively black or white. There are too many issues of importance to all races, issues that require thought and strong, decisive action. Which is exactly why the Memphis City Council is incapable of doing anything consistently well.

Credit where credit is due, however. By refusing to fund MSARC operations and forcing its leadership to County Government, the council took a brave stand. It stood up to the Mayor and told him to pound sand. It showed him it wouldn't tolerate his refusal to force his appointees to take responsibility for the debacle.

Herenton has, consistently, refused to take anything but credit. If it's something good, it's all about Willie. Something bad is all about whitey, which is exactly the racially charged direction in which Hizzoner took us all again this week.

Which brings us back to how I started today's posting. It's time to recall Herenton. It's time to kick his lying, cheating, bigoted butt out of office. He's hurting us all, but he's especially hurting black Memphis. By not "representing", beyond his portrayal of himself as a ghetto thug out to hep the homeys and hammer the honkeys, (remember, "if you don't bring me no mess, there ain't goin to be no mess?") Herenton hurts us all, black, white, yellow, brown, all of us in this rainbow soup we call home.

Black Memphis has to lead the charge on this one. If not, then it's just those "East Memphis Devils" in action again.

It's time for black Memphis to stand up, and admit the chosen one has failed them and us all.

It takes courage, but it's the right thing to do. And I, for one, will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them to hold signs, distribute petitions, and donate cash for the legal battle that is sure to follow.

It won't be fun, and it won't be painless. But it's painfully clear a Herenton recall is the spoonful of sugar that will help the medicine that has been the crap he's distributed finally go down and go away.

How about it? Are you strong enough to do what's right, or are you willing to continue to ignore what's going on because of skin color?