Sawant Recall Dec 2, 2021 at 1:35 pm

Let's be honest. No one gives a shit about the recall charges.

Comments

2

Sounds like Rich is cracking.

3

1 the whole point of the recall was an Al Capone style "get her for stuff we could technically hold her liable for, so we can stop her from doing the things we absolutely hate but can't legally penalize her for."

I douby the recall people give a shit that she marched with protestors to Durkan's house (I'm guessing they hate Durkan as much as everyone else, albeit for different reasons). There were no known COVID cases that came from people entering city hall, and even if they were I doubt they'd care. And for the money violation, she paid it back and then some just like many other Seattle politicians as Rich mentioned.

No, the recall exists because a lot of rich people don't like that they had to raise the minimum wage for the city due to Sawant's work (that Bruce Harrell now proudly co-opted despite not doing anything for it except being dragged to vote yes for it). They don't like that landlords now have to give 6 month notices for rent raises and they can't fuck their tenants over. So they'll use pictures of Sawant, a woman of color snarling to whip the lily whitey homeowners with waterfront views into a frenzy making them think that "she's divisive" or other dubious bullshit. If they cared for democracy they would have put it on the November election, but they know a special election 1 month is an easier path to victory.

4

I don't know Rich. It sure sounds like the Supreme's felt Sawant led the march and/or divulged the Mayor's address. From their ruling "although she says she did not organize the protest, it is no coincidence that the protestors found themselves in front of Mayor Durkan’s house. Further, since the subject of Councilmember Sawant’s speech at the protest was Mayor Durkan, a voter could find that Councilmember Sawant intended to protest at the mayor’s home and went to the mayor’s home to deliver a message to her."

It's somewhat ironic you are complaining of the Recall effort using "slippery" language to influence voters when that is Sawant's entire campaign strategy. Not once has she addressed the charges other to demonize those who brought them. Her entire strategy is designed to mislead people into thinking this is some right wing coup attempt and smear anyone who dares object to her violating her oath of office and ethics guidelines while putting the safety of her constituents and other public officials in danger.

I still go back to the fact that not once has Sawant taken any accountability for her actions, expressed any remorse and provided any indication she will attempt to do better in the future. Instead its just attack, attack, attack and the Stranger not only going along with it but actually joining the fray is just sad and pathetic. I appeal to the voters of District 3 to see through the dogwhistles and bullshit Rich and the Solidarity campaign are shoveling you and demand a representative that actually cares about District 3 and ALL its constituents. There is a better future and it starts on December 7th.

5

...more popcorn...

6

FACT Rich Smith is a propagandist masquerading as a journalist.

7

Let’s be honest. No one gives a shit about what Rich Smith thinks.

8

@7 I wish that were true but unfortunately Rich and TS have a powerful voice in the progressive community as evidenced by how badly they f'ed up the city atty's race. It's a shame they choose to use that voice in support of flawed candidates who are more interested in watching the world burn that trying to make it a better place. TS could be part of the solution but instead they choose to be part of the problem for what i can only assume are clicks. Sad.

9

"All of this means the corporate forces aligned against Sawant will have much more money to spend on misleading ads and mailers"

Sawant has outspent the recall campaign on mailers by a huge margin. It's right there for everyone to see in the campaign finance disclosures.

10

Color me confused..."When I taught introductory composition to first-year college students, the fact that the word "fact" did not equate to "truth" always spurred confusion. The truth is, of course, that the word "fact" means something different in different contexts. For rhetoricians and lawyers, a fact is simply a statement that something exists. If I tell you I am an alien, then I am stating a fact. It's up to me to provide evidence to support my fact, and then it's up to you to determine whether it's true."

Stating you're an alien isn't a fact. It's a lie. It's not the truth. Believing the statement is the truth is an even larger problem.

Common problem among GOP members.

11

Pro-tip: When you have to revert to definitions to make your case, you've already lost.

13

For someone so adamant that "No one gives a shit about the recall charges", the author sure spends a lot of time and words dumping on the recall charges. And he quickly resorts to flat-out misreporting to do so:

"The Seattle Democratic Socialists of America and the families of victims of police violence did."

From the Stranger's own reporting:

"The event was organized by Socialists [sic] Alternative and the Democratic Socialists of America. Sawant was invited as a speaker." (https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/06/30/44005217/mayor-durkan-calls-for-investigation-of-kshama-sawant)

Of course, the Stranger now rams that inconvenient truth (ha!) up its Memory Hole, and for an obvious reason. Once they admit Socialist Alternative co-sponsored the abusive 'rally', their claim Sawant had nothing to do with where it went becomes risibly ludicrous. Of course she provided Durkan's protected address to Socialist Alternative, and of course she intended the bullying 'rally' to arrive there; once there, she vilified Durkan in a prepared speech. Socialist Alternative's assembled mob then dutifully attacked Durkan's family home. If no one actually cares about the recall charges, then why has the Stranger repeatedly lied about the basis of one?

"...and if there were maintenance workers in the building, then none of them reported catching COVID-19 as a result of the protest..."

And they were just workers, anyway. Neither CM Sawant nor the Stranger could possibly care less about mere workers. CM Sawant wanted to park her mouth in front of a bullhorn, and both she and the Stranger believe that anyone who dares to get between her mouth and a bullhorn deserves to sicken and die.

"Moreover, other Seattle politicians have broken the law and have even been arrested, and yet somehow they didn't inspire calls for a recall either."

That's because this recall isn't about breaking the law, it's about her repeated, premeditated abuses of the powers of her office, powers which the voters of District 3 granted her, and which they can now take away from her.

Voters of Seattle elected Ed Murray to be their city's mayor, and on the basis of "things that happened 33 years ago or maybe didn't happen," the Stranger demanded he resign. Voters of Seattle then elected Jenny Durkan to be mayor of their city, and the Stranger demanded her recall. Now voters of District 3 consider removing CM Sawant from office, and the Stranger complains this is anti-democratic. It appears the only Seattle entity which should wear that last adjective is the Stranger itself.

14

@4 If Durkan's address was federally protected, what is the basis for your assumption that Sawant even knew what it was? The feds generally don't mess around when it comes to witness protection and the like. Hence the claim that Sawant somehow ferreted it out and divulged it seems a bit of a stretch. (Though as I've said before, Durkan should never have run for mayor if she needed to keep such a big secret. There were plenty of other ways she could have been of service to the city that didn't involve becoming a high-profile public figure, especially one that in many other cities involves living in a publicly owned, landmark building. But as Rich correctly surmises, no one supporting the recall actually cares about Durkan.)

15

Ooh #13 “Ten-Sores-On-Your-Ass”-tensor,
You mewl: “But but Mayor Durkan’s residential address is Top Secret! Classified!! Mum’s the Word!!!”

Well, we all know that Mayor Durkan lives inside Amazon Billionaire Bezos’s $350,000 Pajamas — or maybe Space-Suit, given Bezos’s recent Exospheric Extravaganza. 
:)

The same Mayor Durkan who, over many days, doused thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters with police chemical weapons — banned in war even by the bosses’ Geneva Convention, used on us with sadistic glee by the police-thug hierarchy — but the recall attempt against Durkan was denied by the bosses’ court.

One law for the Billionaire bastids and their hireling politicians — another law for us workers and our elected representatives like Kshama Sawant.

Your next whine is just as silly: “Socialists don’t care for you-OOO” !

On the contrary.

We care most profoundly for all our class, all the 99 Per Cent, all our sisters and brothers.

Heck, we care even for nitwits like you!
:)

Equally hilarious are your comical caterwaulings about Kshama’s alleged “repeated abuses”.

You’re obviously indulging in “repeated” “self-abuse”!
:)

The rightwing racist recall’s PACs are allowed unlimited amounts as contributions — and has already received about $2Million from our Wall Street and local elite overlords.
* Such as Carl Haglund the Rodent Realtor.
* Such as the Seattle Times Editorial Board — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
* Such as the Amazon company directors — they bought Mayor Durkan for $350,000, then they poured in millions to try to get the Amazon Tax repealed, yet the Seattle working-class beat the plutocrat scum.

Despite their profound political errors Kshama and Socialist Alternative remain effective and enthusiastic fighters for all our class — Women and Men, Black and White, Gay and Straight.

As seen by:
* The great $15 Minimum Wage victory in Seattle now reverberating nationwide.
* The historic Seattle Amazon Tax victory.
* The ongoing battles for Police Accountability, Rent Control, and free construction worker car-parking.

We, the Independent Socialist Group, say:

Critical Support for, and Unconditional Defense of, Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant!

Vote “No” — Smash the billionaire scoundrels’ recall attempt!

Together let’s defeat the rich Wall Street filth in this and all other battles — for a livable planet, a fulfilling life, the socialist future of all humankind!

https://independentsocialistgroup.org

https://www.socialistworld.net

16

"then none of them reported catching COVID-19 as a result of the protest — nor did anyone else, for that matter, including the essential workers who counted themselves among the protesters."

So, according to this logic, if I walk down the street late at night randomly shooting a gun, as long as no one gets hit, then no problem? Or should we expect better behavior out of our elected officials?

Look, if you want argue these charges don't warrant recall, then go ahead, but stop trying to defend the actions with such idiotic excuses.

17

What is the end game here?

Do certain old fuddy-duddy Seattleites with entitlement issues really consider it appropriate to depose elected leaders who do not mirror their doctrinaire beliefs, rather than allow the electorate to choose their representatives by plebiscite?

Let democracy happen, you hairy inbred green-orange howler-monkey Trump supporters.

There is so much asinine Rotary Club resistance to human progress here that it is difficult to fathom the strategy of these country club red necks with African American jockey statues in their gardens and Elks Lodge donkey-sex on their puerile minds.

This is why we have representative democracy, which facilitates the policy realization of our individual perceptions and world views.

Councilmember Sawant represents a progressive, pro-labor, socially sensitive district, which is why she got the job and should continue to represent her constituents.

This anti-Sawant canard has a racist, sexist odor, and brings to mind the wrinkled-butt perversions of the white aristocracy and their aversion to the social advancement of the impoverished and minorities, which is the theory upon which America is based.

Something in the inbred Scandinavian DNA of the Seattle business community has brought forth this foolish witch hunt which is nothing more than a racist diatribe against a progressive woman of intellectual merit and talent.

19

@5: And I hope you and your MAGA ilk choke on it.

@17: pollysexual for the WIN!!

21

District 3 person here:

This recall effort is wasting a shitload of money and is totally unnecessary. How dare the powers that be trample on our right when we voted for Sawant and you disrespect our choice.

This money should have gone to providing good housing and services for the homeless who have more than paid for your (the very rich) greed, contempt and disrespect for the rest of us.

It was ok to NOT recall Durkan when she ordered poisonous chemical sprays to protestors. Spare us your crap and justification for slander and outright lies because you want so desperately to keep your boots on our necks. Shove it.

Wasting our tax monies after we voted for Sawant.

You can kill a revolutionary but not the revolution. Just an old saying that is a reminder.

22

smells fuckin desperate around here. oof.

23

Voted NO and asked other to vote NO and they all did.

24

No services for us by the elite that love poverty and control over all our lives. Sawant has done plenty of good that the elite never wanted us to have. She was never alone because labor, activists and many others are so much a part of this movement for change which includes workers rights, BLM, women's rights and no more police brutality because we can have positive treatment for all the downtrodden instead of the cruel legal system and political system that allows us normally to vote for one corrupt politician against another corrupt politician. There is so much more for us. We will not stop,

27

I think a lot of people care deeply about the recall election.

There are a lot of things which Sawant did which she not ought to have done. And as an elected official, that doesn't fly. She should have had the common sense to have resigned. If a sitting, white male council member had pulled the stunts she pulled they would be out before the sunset.

The plain fact is she is supposed to represent D3. This means the people and yet she speaks and acts for a small minority with a very special, focused and narrow agenda.

She needs to go. Now and if she would stand down, then she needs to be taken down.

28

@24: How pathetic. Your arguments never gain any traction so you say that the elites "love poverty" - out of a hail Mary desperation to say something provocative to get people to read the rest of your drivel?

29

I believe progressive ideals and policies are too important to let a clearly divisive person like Sawant be the champion of them. It turns potential allies into foes. It feels like the progressives in the city are trying to shove her down our throat much like conservatives try to shove things down our throats. No matter how the Stanger tries to portray it, her involvement in the progressive movement is like taking a piece of Dave's Killer bread and spreading dog shit on it. You can have her.

30

Let's be honest, if Seattle really was as progressive and socialist as Rich and the stranger writers purport it to be, progressive and socialist candidates would have won in the most recent election. But looks like progressive and socialist enthusiasts just can't be bothered to turn out to vote, I mean, fill out a ballot and drop it in the mail.

31

You're right, no one really cares about the actual charges against Sawant -- including The Stranger. If the infamous Alex Peterson had been accused of the exact same charges leveled against Sawant, The Stranger would do a complete 180 and be calling for his head!

33

Don't let Kshama Sawant take you home away from you...don't let her force her beliefs upon you. She does not represent district 3 she represents the Socialist Alternative party. The SA does not believe in private property ownership...they do not believe in separate detached houses. They seek to destroy any individualism and privacy.
DON'T LET KSHAMA SAWANT AND THE SA PARTY TAKE AWAY YOUR HOME AND LIFE.

34

33 Kshama's not going to take away anybody's home. No one political figure has the power to take away the right to private property, fer crissakes.

35

Ooh #18 “forestwater”-on-the-brain, #20 “Unamusing Donkey” and #29 “Burrito101”,
You must be the “second coming” — of the “3 Stooges”!
:)

Given your piteous bleats for recalling the sole progressive Seattle City councilmember, you’re certainly not “pwogwessive” — instead each of you three is a retrogressive, a strike-breaking scab, a gullible fool clinging to our Billionaire overlords like “dog-shit” to a cast-off blanket.

Despite Kshama Sawant’s and Socialist Alternative’s profound political errors, they have immensely helped our class in our fight-back against the bosses’ ongoing “aerial bombardment”:
—The great $15 Minimum Wage victory in Seattle now reverberating nationwide.
—The historic Seattle Amazon Tax victory.
— The ongoing battles for Police Accountability, Rent Control, and free construction worker car-parking.

We, the Independent Socialist Group, say:

Critical Support for, and Unconditional Defense of, Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant!

Vote “No” — Smash the billionaire scoundrels’ recall attempt!

Together let’s defeat the rich Wall Street filth in this and all other battles — for a livable planet, a fulfilling life, the socialist future of all humankind!

https://independentsocialistgroup.org

https://www.socialistworld.net

36

I love how the stranger let's this independant socialist group basically advertise its website for free here just because they try to troll other commenters. and they ain't even good at it.
pretty sad.

37

@36...The Seattle Stranger is tacitly the Socialist Alternative. Party"s media outlet.

38

Ooh #36 “420blazeit”-Buffoon,

Yes you do look “pretty sad”.

Hopefully we’ll make you, and the Billionaire bastids you’re grovelling before, even “sadder” — by crushing their racist rightwing recall attempt.

We, the Independent Socialist Group, say:

Critical Support for, and Unconditional Defense of, Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant!

Vote “No” — Smash the billionaire scoundrels’ recall attempt!

Together let’s defeat the rich Wall Street filth in this and all other battles — for a livable planet, a fulfilling life, the socialist future of all humankind!

https://independentsocialistgroup.org

https://www.socialistworld.net


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