Comments

1
On my way out the door, no time for video, but Anna, do you know if Ksawma is asked whether she reads Goldie's Slog Bible Study on Sunday mornings? I'd like to know which ancient words of wisdom she finds interesting, and worth sharing to us fellow Socialists on a weekly basis. Maybe she's Jewish? Christian?
Speaking for me, I'd love to dig into something different than Judeo-Christian verses. Haven't we beaten that to death? Time to broaden our shriveled minds.
2
Transmit this far and wide. We are such a racist and patronizing people here in Seattle. I feel embarrassed for all the thoughtless questions I've asked people. "You're different. Why are you different?"

Ouch.
3
"A little girl in a dress in India..."
I can hardly finish this! It's so horrible!
Embarrassing!
4
@1 STFU you insufferable twit
5
This makes me puke in my mouth. OMG.
6
I can't watch the video right now, but questions seem kind of racist (caste??) and sexist (women talk too much! they wear dresses sometimes!).
7
Oh god... how condescending.
8
Yes, Kshama, you were elected, not the Socialist Alternative pseudo-party. So the interview is your chance to introduce yourself to the 49% of voters (and those who didn't vote) and give the media nice sound bytes.

But it was funny that the interviewer tried to peg her as a lower cast member... as a girl who was wealthy enough to get a US education.
9
All very fair questions. What were the answers?
10
The flaw is that Brill wants to make the story about Sawant.
Wants the personal interest story.

Personally, I don't care about Sawant.

So far Sawant has done very well and Brill's questions are basically stupid and embarrassing — and I say that a person in significant opposition to what Sawant is saying.

---

Brill asking Sawant to answer questions "quicker." Stupid remark though might in fact be helpful criticism for Sawant.Unfortunately she will have get out the sound bites since the media won't give her the time.

The question about caste is in fact quite interesting...or at least Sawant's answer is interesting.

"How to agree with her Council colleagues?" Reasonable question but phrased so stupidly.

Btw, does anyone here remember that Brill was involved with a long and bitter lawsuit against KING-TV about discrimination against women? Just FWIW.

"Teaparty's nightmare?" "Something in common with Tea Party?"
Good answers. I'd emphasize the discontent with Tea Party and common concerns about imbalance of power.

"What do you have against millionaires?"
Again a stupid question and answered reasonably well though she could have a number of canned but true answers ready.

"When did you become an American citizen?"
Interesting but she might want to emphasize how great America is and how an immigrant can gain political office.

Overall Sawant did well in the face of an inept interviewer.
11
To those of you who have not heard the whole thing, DO.
12
I haven't had a chance to watch it here at work yet, but trust me, I'm pre-cringing.
13
@4

How about I email Sawant (or her staff) once a week asking for a simple phrase from her wisdom lessons as a child. If she responds, I'll forward it to Grant Brissey who then can post Sawant's Ancient Phrase Study. Ta-da.

Is this suggestion evil? Breaking protocol?!
14
1, you should go into broadcast journalism. intelligence isn't required, obviously. neither is any insight or unique point of view. all you need is the ability to a) say the most inane, useless fluffs bits of non-sequitor and b) use smarmy arrogant language to antagonize your subjects to get a major reaction.

or perhaps you're just aping what you see on tv & don't have any innate talent at all.
15
I DID watch this and it makes me angry...King 5 really needs to make an apology for this dimwitted interview.

purely offensive bullshit.
16
@14

Chill out, listen to some Saint-Saens. Better yet, write that you like Saint-Saens on the Internet to show how cultured you are. Include some self-depreciating humor.
17
a person in significant opposition to what Sawant is saying.

No shit, David Sucher? You're in significant opposition to what Sawant is saying? Wow, who would have ever thought that?!
18
I'm about 8 minutes in, and I'm relieved so far that she hasn't asked about Siddhartha, yoga, or the Kama Sutra yet.
19
It's a long way to the South, but I'd ask her about the singer M.I.A.'s father. I think Schmader is a big fan of the song Paper Planes.
20
First the corporation apologists, then the racists shouldn't be that far behind. It's almost like when president O was elected. But this time is the so called progressives and she hasn't been sworn in. Here is hoping she kicks ass in her 2 years, because they're coming after her. He'll they're already making her " the other" the tea party left, the untouchable. Such racist crap. Who knows what kind of administrator she will be. Give her a chance. This town needs an enema.
21
We were on our way to mass socialism in Seattle the moment the council passed the bag fee.
http://horsesass.org/?p=4568
http://www.horsesass.org/wp-content/uplo…
22
@10

You don't care about Sawant? Are you shitting me?

David you post 20 comments a day about Kshama Sawant. You claim you voted for her.

You sometimes claim she won by pure luck. Other times you blame the weather. You've pretty much never given Sawant herself an ounce of credit for doing what nobody before her could do. You'll say anything to avoid admitting she did this. She won. She did it herself, asshole.

And now, today, this is like your 10th Sawant comment so far, and it's not noon yet. But you'll bend down to admit she did well in the interview.

You're so arrogant and condescending. She'd be nowhere now if she'd listened to any of your smug advice.
23
I really don't have an words for this Linda Brill person. WTF? How do they find anyone this awful? How does a little D average ignoramus grow up to be a local TV news interviewer? What's that story?

I do love Sawant's reply to that asshole "You talk too much" comment.
24
We should be like the Swiss and cap CEO pay at 15 times the lowest wage in their companies including part time and contract work
25
I'd like to know this:

what is the soc alt party you are in?

why are they different than the labor or SD party over in Europe where they are active?

they believe in democracy and elections, right?

so when I hear they are Trotskyite, what does that mean, is that true?

who are the soc alt party members who've been elected other than you -- coupla council members in liverpoor, some euro mps from Ireland?

do they propose to nationalize airbus as well as boeing?

do you have to get party approval of your positions?

who are the other soc alt party members here in seattle if they are approving what positions you take?

you want to nationalize 500 corporations, since the us constitution requires payment, are you saying let's change the constitution, or act illegally under it?

do you support it?
26

Just spit it out

Saag Paneer or Bhindi Masala?

Answer the question!

27
I watched the whole thing and it was worth it. Thank you Kshama for acknowledging that the "tea party" in not 'astroturf' but a true grass roots movement as well as hers but at the other end of the spectrum.

Yes, Brill was condescending.
28
@10

"Interesting but she might want to emphasize how great America is and how an immigrant can gain political office. "

She went from being a Brahmin -- upper, upper class socially, and middle class economically, in India, to being middle class economically in the US and reaching the bottom rung of the political ladder. Or the social equivalent of an American Brahmin.

So basically, a graph of her socioeconomic journey would be a horizontal line, more or less. It's your kneejerk reaction that you expect every politician to spew some generic pablum about how great America is every time they see a camera. Purely for the benefit of mouth breathers.

Sawant is unlikely to credit America with her 'meteoric rise' because, as we know, she didn't rise at all, she stayed where she started, and because America is not the country with greatest opportunity to rise. The poor become rich or middle class much more often in the social democracies of Europe, not the US of A.

You're bound to repeat a lot of received nonsense about socialism and capitalism if you can't let go of the factual misconception that America is the land of opportunity. It might have once been, but not now.
31
This is the first time I've seen Kshama Sawant speak. I was expecting a newspaper-selling Socialist dogma-spouting idealogue from the way she's been presented in the media so far. This Linda Brill interview is so condescending, racist and sexist, and yet Sawant handles it admirably. I'm excited for her to get started.
32
@31
"This Linda Brill interview is so condescending, racist and sexist, and yet Sawant handles it admirably."

This is actually might not be good. I've read numerous Slog posts by Paul Constant dealing with sexist and racist people. And I've learned that handling this sort of news like a whiny brat is Paul's preferred reaction.

So which is it? Ksama's dignified reaction? Or Paul's infantilism?
33
Let King 5 know - This is their comment line - 206-448-5555
34
@10: "The media won't give her the time," you say, in response to a half-hour interview of a council member-elect in a midsize city who's been on TV, radio, and online stories across the GLOBE (the Guardian, Slate, Salon, NPR, the LA Times....) That's pretty rich!
35
@24

Is capping CEO pay at some ratio because of Swiss law?
Or just some sort of custom?
36
I wonder if there a way for the City of Seattle use its buying power to create some sort of health insurance for all Seattleties. The City already has insurance for all of its 10,000 or so employees. I wonder if there is some way to spread coverage to more people.

Sawant would be a natural to initiate the inquiry.
37
I wonder if there a way for the City of Seattle use its buying power buy a bunch of model airplane kits give to David Sucher give him new hobby.

Sucher would be a natural to built a fleet of airplanes.
38
@37

And why do you think that the City has no role to play in health insurance?

You seem to be quite sure of yourself so I wonder if you could explain the reason for your sarcastic remark.

Your analogy isn't even apropos. I didn't say that the City should run a hospital or manage health insurance.

I was asking a mild question about whether the City could do something by way of using its power to include more people in its existing group plans...by having other people buy-in in some manner. If not possible, then fine. I claim no expertise in health issues so that is why I am ASKING and NOT TELLING.

But your response is peculiar and I hope that you will desist, which means "Be Quiet" unless you are going to be productive.
39
@38

I agree. You should not claim expertise.
40
Well that was a dumb interview. Real nice job trying to paint the picture of a wide-eyed immigrant ending up through crazy circumstance as the unlikely member of big scary Seattle, but Kshama really didn't want to be painted that way, so she got squirmy.

But at least they recorded it in shitty monophonic audio to add credibility.

Having said that, hopefully Sawant learns to deal with these types of interviews a little more. . . smoothly.
41
@40

I think Sawant did OK. Not fabulous but she is a beginner.
She actually came across as a nice person. And especially in the face of an interviewer who was sort of weird. Didn't really hone on the obvious big ones such as "Are you really suggesting that we nationalize Starbucks and Costco? That's what your web site says" so Sawant got off light on that one. How she steps down on nationalizing the Fortune 500 is not going to be easy but she had better have a good answer to that question since it is such an obvious one. (Obvious except for Conlin.)

Suggesting the dog was very good. My dog just died on Monday and so seeing Sawant there with HER dog starting me thinking unconsciously "She has a dog...Nice woman...maybe I should become a socialist." (Hey! It worked for Nixon.) Maybe that is why Brill got her to push the dog away.
42
YOU'RE A GIRL RIGHT. YOU WEAR DRESSES RIGHT. AND DO GIRL THINGS. WITH OTHER GIRLS. NORMAL GIRLS. PLZ HELP ME BE NORMAL GIRL. PLZ.
43
And this is why I don't have cable TV and NEVER watch the local news in this town.

Racist is about the nicest thing you can call this "interview"
44
@43 - I'm with you, Cato. I haven't watched local news in more than a decade.
45
The terrible thing is that it sounds like a Colbert Report interview. Really. It's so terrible it sounds like a parody of itself. The interviewer is so sure of herself in her vile tone, I almost expect her to say at any point, "Socialism? Ooh, you think you're so edgy!" or "Here's a question... why the K?" This is life imitating art in a really depressing way.
46
@ 29 - Uh, this was on KING 5, not KIRO 7.

Yr welcome.
47
"I don't know that I really got to the heart of your heart."

Yeah, I don't know that you did either, Linda.
48
Since Brill already sued her employer about gender discrimination and she's now old enough to sue her employer over age discrimination, she's likely to hold her job until she becomes unable to utter one word after another.
49
WOW. Woman on woman hate. Linda's gobsmacked snark is audible. Cringe-worthy indeed. Also, condescending, offensive, ignorant. Fucking shame on you, Brill. Gross.
50
I wonder why KING put the entire interview on line. It doesn't reflect well on KING.

The interview was so poor that I wonder if the real target of the attack was actually Linda Brill.

Maybe some of her colleagues at KING wanted to undermine her? by releasing an interview which was poorly-done and shabby, whether you like Sawant's ideas or not?

Who knows but _stranger_ things have happened in bureaucratic infighting.

Sawant comes across well even if you don't agree with her ideas. She has a very likeable side. So I don't think that KING made Sawant look bad at all. In fact most people cringe at the interviewer's questions.
52
I watched that interview on the K5 website. It was billed as unedited and the interviewer was not identified. I couldn't believe how bad the interviewer was. Sawant was a model of patience, never rising to the obvious baiting, ham handed questions the interviewer was throwing at her. Thanks for letting us know that it was Linda Brill though I am not surprised it was her. It was a dreadful interview.
53
By way of comparison, KING did a reasonable uninflected job of interviewing Sawant:
http://www.king5.com/news/politics/Ksham…

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