The right keeps trying to compare Sawant to Trump because theyre bad at thinking.
The right keeps trying to compare Sawant to Trump because they're bad at thinking. CITY OF SEATTLE

The heir to Dick's Drive-In, Saul Spady, called Kshama Sawant "the Trump in our midst" in an interview with Jason Rantz on Friday. During a discussion of her efforts to save the Showbox, Spady claimed she was "burning bridges and making it okay to victimize your neighbors."

Personally and politically, I don't give a fuck about the Showbox. But I do give a fuck about hypocrisy and lazy comparisons issuing forth from the mouth of a burger spawn who keeps insisting on being publicly coy about running for city council against Sawant next year.

That's right. "Reverse white flight," as Mudede calls it, looks like it wants to be on the ballot next year. And it's even wearing a nice white blazer over a t-shirt so you can spot it in a crowd of honest, hardworking Americans who just want a side of free market solutions with their Deluxe burgers.

Local television news stations began paying attention to Spady when opponents of the head tax selected his PR firm to do some work on their behalf, clearly hoping that support from a representative of a beloved burger chain would add the weight of nostalgia to their campaign against homeless people.

According to the Seattle Times, opponents of the bill paid Cre8tive Empowerment Inc. $31,000 for "volunteer and social-media management" work. You can tell Spady's business is a great success on its own not only because of the xtremely cre8tive name, but also because the company's website features the work he's done for Dick's and Mary's Place, where he has served on the board of directors.

This guy—an heir to a fast food company his grandfather created—is the guy calling Sawant "the Trump" in our midst.

The insult is dumb on its face, but just in case it's too early for you to run a power analysis on your own: Trump uses the highest office in the country to victimize immigrants, people of color, gay people, and even the people who voted for him. Sawant, conversely, unapologetically criticizes the capitalists who take advantage of Seattle's generosity at the expense of some of its most vulnerable citizens. Demanding that Amazon and other companies who make millions (and who save plenty due to the absence of a state income tax) pay their fair share to help offset the displacement their unbridled success creates is the exact opposite of Trumpian. Calling out corporate greed isn't the same thing as Trump leading "lock her up" chants.

Sawant sees the causes of social inequality and she calls them out for what they are using the language of protest and revolution, and she does that because her constituents speak that language. Yes, she stumped for Jill Stein, and that was stupid but ultimately harmless. Yes, she seems to enjoy the spotlight. But calling her "the Trump in our midst" because she's a polarizing figure seems like a bit of a stretch.

The comparison is particularly rich coming from a guy who's so clearly benefiting from his grandfather's success.

And it's particularly rich coming from a guy who takes a seaplane to a ski resort.

Back to Whistler

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And it's even more particularly rich coming from a guy who must fly to Europe in order to clear his head after he "fails spectacularly in [his] process of changing & growing."

And finally, it’s a particularly rich comparison coming from a guy who referred to Pike Place market as “Pike’s Place” in the interview with Rantz.