Free To Be You And Me
Donald Trump has been out in California and he's gotten a lot of protest, sometimes violent. But even after that I wasn't prepared for the reaction of the West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath. Here's a letter she sent to Trump:
To Donald J Trump & staff –
I am compelled to state for the record how deeply disturbed I am by the Trump presidential campaign. The hate speech and implicit calls to violence coming from your campaign are beyond the pale and have no place in any community in our country.
The people of West Hollywood have seen the devastation and destruction that hatred and hate speech can bring. We are home to Jewish immigrants who escaped Nazi occupation in Soviet Russia, to LGBTQ people of all ages including survivors of the AIDS crisis, and to many other diverse constituencies, of which we are most proud. We know firsthand how charged language can incite dangerous activity that puts our residents and neighborhoods at risk — and at great cost. While we must always make room for free speech and reasonable — even passionate — debate, your reckless rhetoric is wrong at every level.
With the primary making its way to California, as West Hollywood's mayor, I want to make very clear that your campaign of violence and intimidation is not welcome in our city. I demand that you renounce calls to violence and consider the role you play in shaping public discourse, specifically with the words you choose and the behavior you exhibit and encourage.
We do not have to agree or like one another, but as Americans and political figures in the public eye, we share a responsibility to lead by example. I take that responsibility very seriously, and I ask that you do the same.
Respectfully
Lindsey P. Horvath
Mayor, City of West Hollywood
Regardless of what you think of Trump, Horvath has outed herself as an intolerant thug with contempt for basic American freedoms, and a politician who panders to the lowest instincts in her constituents. Shameful.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:03 AM
4 Comments:
I doubt that it took much outing. She's just doing what Trump is doing, promoting herself.
(You know who else promoted himself?)
Maybe she wants to be vice president: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/04/hillary-wants-to-make-it-illegal-to-criticize-her.php
"I really respect the important point of getting money out of politics. Remember, Citizens United was an attack on me, so I take it very personally and even before Senator Sanders got into the campaign way back in April of last year, I said we are going to reverse Citizens United and if we can’t get the Supreme Court to do what I think would be the right decision, then I will lead a constitutional amendment."
Maybe but I am less worried about the mayor of some small town out in time zone land
"Regardless of what you think of Trump" is a bit nonsensical- this has everything to do with Trump.
Apart from strong statements of her own beliefs, the most Horvath says is "not welcome" which I guess can be interpreted to be threatening if you are predisposed to think that way. I don't see a lot of thuggishness in a statement which is perhaps a bit strong in denouncing thuggishness.
I didn't realize criticism was evidence of contempt for basic American freedoms (if so, this post is equally contemptuous I suppose).
Pandering to the lowest instincts seems to be what she is criticizing not advocating here. Probably a raised eyebrow is a better response to him but apparently she's a politician and is prone to being a blowhard too
I'm not going to get into the content of her statement (okay, I will a little: she lies about Trump--as any honest hater of Trump should admit--and her rhetoric is far more dishonest and overheated than Trump at his worst). It's the fact that a mayor goes out or her way (Trump wasn't planning to come to West Hollywood) to make it clear she doesn't want someone speaking in (or even coming to) her town--and, in fact, thinks he shouldn't be heard anywhere--is thuggish and shameful.
She says all leaders have a responsibility to lead by example. A true example of leadership is saying even if I disagree with you (whether you're a leading candidate in your party for President, or someone less popular in his party like Bernie Sanders, or someone more openly pro-violence than Trump such as many who protest him, or someone hopelessly unpopular who couldn't possibly effect the views of anyone in West Hollywood like a member of the KKK), but I believe in freedom of speech so if you want to be heard you can speak here and we will make sure you're allowed to, and if any try to stop you we will stop them from doing so.
Instead, she's thrown in with the thugs and haters. It's bad enough when a private citizen doesn't want to listen to the other side. It's inexcusable when a government leader goes out of her way to line up against freedom of speech.
(And we have had the occasional politician who said things against Democrats, merely "warning" them that they're not welcome around certain parts. They have generally been condemned, and called out for their implicit threats.)
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