Code Pink Supports The Troops In Their Own Special Way
As the Left continues its hysteria over the misrepresentation of Rush Limbaugh's remarks, one wonders when they will denounce Code Pink. In Berkeley, the anti-war contingent defaced a Marine recruiting office, calling Marines predators on children and accusing them of murdering them (via Michelle Malkin and Gateway Pundit):
Marine Captain Richard Lund recruits college students and graduates as candidates for officer positions in the marines. But carrying out that job in Berkeley is not always an easy task.He has listened to a variety of complaints from members of the anti-war group Code Pink in recent weeks.
"We are so shocked and horrified that the Marines have come to Berkeley to prey on our children," said Zanne Joi, a Code Pink member.
Last week, the Code Pink group protested by defacing the recruiting center and calling the recruiters liars.
So Rush Limbaugh supposedly calls dissenting soldiers "phony" -- he didn't, but let's run with this -- and the Left screeches about dishonoring the troops. How about calling them predators, murderers, and liars? Does that count as besmirching the troops? Will Media Matters and Harry Reid call for Code Pink to be shut down, and will Wes Clark demand that they have no access to military facilities?
I'll be waiting for the Left to demand an apology from Code Pink. I'll be waiting for a Senate condemnation of their slander against the Marine Corps, one of the finest institutions in this nation's history, and for whom my father-in-law flew missions in the Pacific in both World War II and the Korean War. I'll be waiting for Media Matters to demand the cessation of funding for Code Pink and its donors to thoroughly reject the organization.
I'll be waiting, but I won't hold my breath. Their silence will show the jaw-dropping hypocrisy of the Left on the Rush Limbaugh smear, posing as the defenders of military honor while their allies fling mud at the Marine Corps. I think the troops themselves can see the difference in support between Rush and Code Pink. Certainly, the Marines at the Berkeley recruiting office have recognized it.
UPDATE: My former co-blogger Dafydd at Big Lizards has one of his traditionally comprehensive posts on this topic, and it's well worth the read, as always.
Comments (48)
Posted by NoDonkey | October 5, 2007 10:39 AM
I feel for CAPT Lund. Running a recruiting station is tough enough, without a bunch of geriatric, matronly hippies shrieking at you.
Time to order a Code Red on Code Pink. They can't handle the truth.
Posted by Scott | October 5, 2007 10:44 AM
Although the original perp can't be caught, can't Code Pink be slapped with a RICO suit over this for defacing government property?
Posted by Derek | October 5, 2007 10:51 AM
Arrest them and have them do community service - at a recruiting station.
Posted by BlueAngel | October 5, 2007 10:54 AM
How about slapped with paper bags over their heads.
That would be good community service.
Posted by quickjustice | October 5, 2007 10:55 AM
We already know that the wacko left, of which Code Pink is a part, is anti-military. That's been true for decades going back to the 1930s, when they sided with Soviet Russia when it divided Poland with Hitler. When Hitler attacked Soviet Russia, they changed their tune.
What's frightening is how the wacko left has essentially taken control of the entire Democrat Party. The Democrat hawks are long gone, although there are a few retro vestiges left like Webb.
That leaves Americans concerned with national security with no choice but the Republican Party, a situation which is bad for the nation.
Posted by NoDonkey | October 5, 2007 10:57 AM
"Arrest them and have them do community service - at a recruiting station."
I support the "arrest" part, but I'm sure the last thing CAPT Lund needs is "service" from these harpies.
Especially since it's likely that none of them has ever done a hour's labor in their charmed lives.
Unlike Ms. Pelosi, Boxer and Feinstein, their hubbies couldn't buck up enough cash to purchase them a Congressional Seat in order to get/keep them away from the manor, but I'm sure they're absolutely of no use when it comes to any sort of labor.
Posted by mike | October 5, 2007 11:03 AM
I'm waiting to see the photos of Murtha in a pink tutu. That should be a proud Donk moment!
Posted by Jim M | October 5, 2007 11:07 AM
I guess it is too early in this thread for one of our Lefty guests to flat out ignore this issue, and instead respond by giving us a list of allegedly comparable things the Right has done in the past:
"Well what about what happened during the CLINTON years!!"
Fred Phelps!!
David Duke!!
George Wallace!! (He might not have been a rethuglican, but he SHOULD have been!!).
SwiftBoaters!!
"We shouldn't be in Bosnia!!"
"See, BOTH" sides can be 'over the top' at times.!!"
Snort.
The other dodge, is to avoid it altogether by sneering: "Boy it must be a slow news day for you wing nuts. Heaven forbid we talk about any REAL news stories, like the Global WARMING!"
Posted by BlueAngel | October 5, 2007 11:11 AM
Code Pinko hasn't mustered enough fortitude to show their true color...red.
Let them take over the Democratic organization, the further to the left they pull Democratic Party, the better for us.
Code Pinko will expose the Dems for what they really are all on their own.
Posted by Otter | October 5, 2007 11:12 AM
They want the military out?
Close all the bases in the region. Open new ones where they are wanted.
They'll be So pleased how it boosts their economy to get the military Out.
On the other hand, the few students at berkeley who enter the military, ARE being subjected to a True education, on all levels. 'tis a shame to see that taken away from them.
Posted by unclesmrgol | October 5, 2007 11:15 AM
My uncle was a Marine PFC who died at Iwo Jima and is buried at the Punchbowl. We visit his grave whenever we are in Hawaii.
The reason Limbaugh is in the Democrats' sights and Code Pink isn't is because the expected sound bite from Code Pink is disrespect and non-support for the military, while Limbaugh's expected mode is respect and support. When Limbaugh states that some soldiers who misrepresent their combat records or claim atrocities which never happened are "phoney soldiers", that disrespect for a few bad apples turns heads in a way the constant pink screaming of the Code Pinkers can't. Of course, it can't hurt that the testimony from phoney soldiers suits the Democratic plan to a T...
By the way, is there any truth to the rumor that Senator John Kerry is a phoney soldier?
Posted by Scott | October 5, 2007 11:22 AM
I'm at work here in San Francisco, but I live north of Berkeley.
There ARE no more military bases here. Since I moved here in 1973, the following have been closed: SF Presidio, HQ 6th Army; Treasure Island Naval Base; Mare Island Navy Base; Oakland Army Base; Alameda Naval Air Station; Oak Knoll Naval Hospital; Hamilton AFB, Marin County.
Many of us here are convinced that the military abandonded this area due to hostility. The greatest harbor on the Pacific Coast has no navy facilities.It's astounding that so many jobs were lost and all the collateral jobs that went with them.
Today the Blue Angels are flying in practice for Fleet Week tomorrow on the waterfront. The Lefties here are peeing in the closed in terror at the noise.
Posted by Otter | October 5, 2007 11:26 AM
There is a rumor that kerry is a Real senator...
Posted by BlueAngel | October 5, 2007 11:27 AM
Scott wrote-
Today the Blue Angels are flying in practice for Fleet Week tomorrow on the waterfront. The Lefties here are peeing in the closed in terror at the noise.
Support our military!
Run up behind a leftie and scream "BOO!".
Posted by Immolate | October 5, 2007 11:29 AM
As far as I know, there is no rumor that Kerry is a phoney soldier. There is, however, substantial proof that he lied to congress regarding atrocities in Vietnam and lied about any number of other Vietnam-related issues, mostly for the purpose of enhancing his "cred" with the anti-war crowd. Christmas in Cambodia, a propensity to get barely injured on a regular basis, using the nonexistant phrase "Jenjis Khan", etc.
Posted by Anthony | October 5, 2007 11:41 AM
Maybe the liberals like to support soldiers but just don't like Marines?
Posted by newton | October 5, 2007 11:50 AM
Code Pink seems to ignore that Marines take an oath to defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic... Hello?!?!?
Posted by nandrews3 | October 5, 2007 12:00 PM
Ed actually deserves credit for putting forward a surprisingly valid idea. Rush on one fringe and Code Pink on the other actually do make for an apt comparison. Both show what happens when you can't manage your own anger. Both demonstrate the effects of alienation from the majority of the public and isolation among like-minded types. There's good reason to denounce each of them.
In fairness, I think there are a few key differences as well, but I'm not the one who came up with the analogy. Anyone who has a problem with it should take it up with Ed.
One of the differences is that Rush remains a fetish for many conservatives. People like Ed defend even his stupidest passing remarks, and faithfully echo his lame efforts to justify them. But Code Pink isn't in an echo chamber. Nobody outside the group itself defends its actions. And it has no partisan ties -- it tries to disrupt both Democratic and Republican events.
It goes to show how far out on the fringe Ed himself is, when he refers to Code Pink protesters as "allies" of Harry Reid or Wesley Clark. Hey, Ed, the broad majority of the American public opposes the war. Trying to tie one person or group to another because they oppose the war is like saying two people must be "allies" because they live in the same time zone.
Posted by DaToad | October 5, 2007 12:12 PM
Blue Angel, did you mean plastic bags? That would be a community service.
Posted by hunter | October 5, 2007 12:30 PM
nandrews3,
When lefties are losing arguments, which you are, the thing they do just before slinking off to another topic is to declare each side 'equal'.
Thank you for being so predictable.
Posted by Otter | October 5, 2007 12:31 PM
The left can only muster One really Lame comment for this?
I've noticed that in several blogs lately, though I admit it has been ongoing for quite some time: That people like nonedrews are attempting to make it out that anyone to the Right of Joe Lieberman is some kind of mind-numbed, reconstructionist, racist robot (or savage, as in the case of filistro). Not that nonedrew said that specifically, but it does seem to be growing worse as the dhimmicrats appear to get closer to control of the White House...
Posted by exhelodrvr | October 5, 2007 12:32 PM
Blue Angel,
Better make it two.
Otter,
"They want the military out? Close all the bases in the region."
That has pretty much been done already.
As a SF native, who did a tour at Alameda from 88-91, lived on Yerba Buena Island, had a daughter born at the Oakland Naval Hospital; it's sad to see what has happened to the military presence there.
Posted by michelle | October 5, 2007 12:34 PM
Of course, you could support the military --and this recruiter in particular-- if you put down that bag of cheetos, walked into this recruiting center and suited up.
Posted by unclesmrgol | October 5, 2007 12:34 PM
immolate,
Given that John Kerry was a member of the United States Naval Reserve at the point he gave that sworn testimony, doesn't that make him a phoney soldier under Rush's restricted meaning of the phrase?
It certainly does under the Democrats' expanded meaning of the phrase to any soldier who expresses the least of anti-war sentiments, such as Marine Captain Richard Lund, one of the topics of this post (bolding is mine):
The liberal view, of course, is that "phoney soldiers" (ones who falsify their service to improve their anti-war credentials) are the real soldiers to be honored, while the others are drones who march to the tune of the President into "unlawful wars".
Posted by Kevin | October 5, 2007 12:41 PM
"Of course, you could support the military --and this recruiter in particular-- if you put down that bag of cheetos, walked into this recruiting center and suited up."
You could join the insurgency and fight against American troops, if you're opposed to the war effort.
That ridiculous argument works both ways.
Posted by Immolate | October 5, 2007 12:46 PM
My point was, unclesmrgol, and I suspect it was too subtle for its own good, was that Kerry's phoniness is not a rumor, it is a fact. There are a number of unproven allegations out there about him, of course, but other than claiming to be an Army Ranger, Kerry has checked pretty much every classic phony soldier box on the checklist. He claimed to go places that he didn't. He claimed to see things that he didn't. He flung dishonor at his former mates. He volunteered to leave combat based on injuries similar to those sustained during the typical weekend of yardwork. He then leveraged his dubious accomplishments as a springboard to public office, in a state where there are countless legitimate heroes who failed to marry into ketchup.
Posted by jerry | October 5, 2007 12:48 PM
It's so funny that nandrews is still plying the Democratic Party/MSM/George Soros meme that Rush is anti-military. What an echo chamber they live it. The next thing he will do is accuse Debbie Schlussel of anti-Semitism for referring to Medea Benjamin as a "Suicide Jew." (I don't if she ever has but I can see her applying the term to her.)
I am not going to get into a pointless argument with a leftwing ideologue who wishes to turn logic on its head. Any sensible person knows what Rush is talking about and so do his detractors. He called them on their use of phony soldiers, and that includes those who falsify what they did in the military to score pro-terrorist (Iraq/GWOT) and/or pro-Communist (Vietnam) propaganda points. The Red-Brown coalition uses moral equivalence not to create an atmosphere of ambivalence but to legitimize their use of phony soldiers.
One more thing, the heritage of Code Pink is the Communist Front Group Women's Strike for Peace. Although the Soviet Union is gone and China has turned to market economics, they remain true to their Stalinist heritage.
Posted by Another Spec | October 5, 2007 12:52 PM
Posted by michelle | October 5, 2007 12:34 PM
Of course, you could support the military --and this recruiter in particular-- if you put down that bag of cheetos, walked into this recruiting center and suited up.
***ding ding ding***
And we have a winner with the first chickenhawk call!!
For Michelle, we have these lovely prizes;
- A map and a compass, to find her way out of the lefty wilderness
- A bar of soap in case she heeds her own advice and is an active code pinko memeber (cuz you know, it'd be so HYPOCRITICAL to tell someone to become an acitve, official member for a cause just because they support it)
- A tall, cool glass of STFU in case she doesn't want the first two prizes
Buh bye, and thanks for playing!
Posted by Carol Herman | October 5, 2007 12:52 PM
You know, human beings fart because it isn't healthy to keep the gas locked up inside your intenstinals walls. Of course, animals fart, too. But it represents something you just can't stop.
In the same way, the Code Pinko's are part of our political system. Just as it once supported the KKK. (Now, can't get elected in most places. With a pendulum swing in Louisianna that sweeps one's breath away.) YES. One malformation produces others. Just like marrying cousins evenutally produce harmed offspring.
Ain't gonna change how "people get together." There are no designer babies out there. Just illusions.
Doesn't pay to eschew reality, either.
But there really is a reason HOPE springs before EXPERIENCE. That's just life.
I'm not against having political factions. One reason you see Code Pinko's displaying their behaviors within our political system ... is that congress is full of gas bags. And, this crap just "floats in." Gets a pass from someone whose got them to give, so to speak.
While all leadership skills seem to9 be bereft of talent.
Also, I don't know about you; but when Cindy Sheehan stopped drawing crowds, the first place I saw it was at a "book signing." Seems, she doesn't attract people who can read. Which is what I thought at the time.
That she can race to the microphones. So can Upchuck Schumer. I don't know how to explain this "better" ... but I'll try. I grew up thinking, as a Jewish person, I at least needed to go to temple a few times a year. Nah. When you go to temple you meet types that make Upchuck Schumer and Diane Feinstein seem "absolutely delightful."
Oh, yeah. It's all about clothing on parade. And, assinine sorority behaviors ... that I just grew very tired, watching. So I left.
Didn't leave all of my bad habits, behind, until recently. Here, I'll give you an example. As you know, Bush has nominated Judge Mukassey (spell it however you will), to be his new Attorney General. And, then I read the judge keeps Kosher. I'M OUTTA HERE!
Do you get me?
Instead of winning an automatic vote; the vote's gone the way of the wind. Sure. For starters I preferred Ted Olsen.
Bush has a very bad habit, just like his dad's, where he's too rich to bother with what the public thinks. Brought up on too many silver spoons stuck in his mouth.
Well. Like Polk. The end result's okay. But there are no compliments to the President, who sat and oversaw it ... through some peculiar, and bad choices.
Sometimes, in politics, it's your friend when you can say "NO" in a hurry. And, stop looking for benefits because someone comes from the "right" party; or is kosher. Whatever. Stick a fork in it.
Posted by NoDonkey | October 5, 2007 1:04 PM
"Of course, you could support the military --and this recruiter in particular-- if you put down that bag of cheetos, walked into this recruiting center and suited up."
Let's see . . . I hate cheetos and I'm not fat, if that's what you're insinuating (6'3" and 215 pounds, thank you) and I can't join the Marines because - I'm in the Navy (of which the Marines are but a small, but vitally important part).
And I feel for the CAPT - I'm sure he'd rather been leading a Company of Marines in Anbar, then dealing with these code pinko idiots in Berkley.
Posted by j | October 5, 2007 1:22 PM
It's true Code Pink decided to pull some "sit-ins" on the Pelosi estate. Wonder if they're still there or if the Dem crowd forced them off???
However, Code Pink may want to think (ok, maybe they cannot) about this: You love to make havoc on other people's belief b/c you have nothing else to do.
Remember, we have one soldier for every 200 citizens. If things go bad here, they will make choices and they know now to think, evaluate, and make quick decisions. Consider this, pinkie.
Posted by unclesmrgol | October 5, 2007 1:33 PM
immolate,
Seven check boxes. He hasn't claimed to be a Navy Seal either. Or Marine. Or regular Army. Or Air Force. Or Coast Guard. Or Secret Service. Unless President Carter added him to the enrollment lists after fixing up his discharge...
Sorry. My subtlety sensor is still malfunctioning.
Posted by Don Miguel | October 5, 2007 1:47 PM
Jim M, given that Fred Phelps and his family are Democrats I think it would be a pretty hard sell to list them with things that "the Right has done."
Posted by GarandFan | October 5, 2007 2:03 PM
Do the Marines get combat pay while on recruiting duty in San Francisco? After all, it is "hostile territory".
Posted by Jim M | October 5, 2007 2:17 PM
Don - it was attempted on another thread.
Posted by Tom W. | October 5, 2007 2:48 PM
Unfortunately I don't have time to join the military. I support the police, so to be consistent I had to join the LAPD. I also support the fire department, so I became a firefighter, too.
Since I drive a car, I had to become a roughneck on an offshore drilling platform, because I can't expect someone to do that dangerous work for me. I also support the building of skyscrapers, incredibly dangerous work, so I had to become an iron worker.
Well, I have to go now. Since I eat vegetables, I have to go out and become a crop duster.
Posted by J. Gocht | October 5, 2007 3:52 PM
Captain you stated...
"...So Rush Limbaugh supposedly calls dissenting soldiers "phony" -- he didn't, but let's run with this -- and the Left screeches about dishonoring the troops. How about calling them predators, murderers, and liars?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Captain] "---he didn't, but lets run with this---"
Check it out Ed...!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian McGough replies to Rush... "So, Rush Limbaugh called me a "suicide bomber." More slander from the high and mighty sitting in his chair nursing the boils on his ass. I can assure you that I am no suicide bomber and that I can think for myself..."
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/2/143649/962
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Olde soldier sends, regards...
jgocht@countryspeed.com
Posted by patrick neid | October 5, 2007 4:18 PM
Here's one good thing Diane Feinstein did.
In 1983 without her knowledge the Blue Angels, practicing south of San Francisco at Moffett field, decided against rules and regs to buzz San Francisco. And buzz they did. Below tall buildings, right by city hall giving her a wave. One jet appeared to fly down Sansome street. It scared the living sh*t out of the whole city. I kid you not I thought we were being attacked by the russians. Some people remember where they were for the moon landing but I remember the approximate time of 1:30pm on a Thursday just after the market closed, of looking up and seeing a jet that appeared to becoming down the street between the buildings. I dropped my takeout lunch as I ran into the closest building. I had no idea who the Blue Angels were.
To say she was mad was an understatement. However the pilots worked there charm and gave her a ride. The result-- the blue angels have been coming to the biggest anti war city for the last 24 years. If you are ever planning to visit SF, I can't recommend strongly enough to come when the Blue Angels are in town. Plus October is the best weather. Because of the topography of SF there is no other city anywhere that affords such a spectacular show with many of the restrictions lifted because of shape of the peninsula.
How low do they fly sometimes? I live in a six story building in pacific heights. You can go up on the roof and see their faces. On occasion, when they are solo, they will give you a thumbs up while you are waving as they look right at you. It's unbelievable. It will be interesting to see if they change their flight plan because of the last accident.
SF may not have a Memorial day parade but it has the Blue Angels--go figure.
Posted by johnnycab23513 | October 5, 2007 4:39 PM
I would love to put down the Cheeto's and join up. However, as I finished my 21 years, 4 months and 4 days (but who counts) of active duty in 1986, that makes me as old as the harpies in the Code Pink terrorist movement. Yes, those who destroy property that is not theirs are terrorists. As it is military property, they could also be considered saboteurs.
Seeing as these fools were in the street, and as a few days ago the streets of San Francisco were full of perverts having homosexual sex in front of children in the streets, I hope these events were not during rush hour which was the excuse used to keep the Marines from filming a short film clip. By the way. I think the photos taken from outside the city were better than any that could have been taken from inside.
Sworn to defend The United States from ALL enemies; foreign AND domestic!
Posted by unclesmrgol | October 5, 2007 4:43 PM
newton,
Isn't Code Pink lucky that neither the President nor Congress considers them a domestic enemy?
Given their behavior when confronted by the Capital Police during Petraeus' testimony, I'm betting that a thousand yards of pink fabric (that's like four of them, maybe?) wouldn't last a microsecond against a Marine.
Posted by Clyde | October 5, 2007 5:54 PM
Those Code Pink idiots are nothing but sore losers. They're still dreadfully unhappy that their side lost the Cold War. They are BAD PEOPLE. And that's all I have to say about that.
Posted by Ray | October 5, 2007 6:41 PM
"We are so shocked and horrified that the Marines have come to Berkeley to prey on our children,"
Children? I thought collage students were adults? Can you say "empty nest syndrome?" The Marines do not enlist children, there is a minimum age requirement. The people being recruited are not children. They are adults who can make their own decision in life and do not need some mommy types to make their decisions for them. It's time for the members of Code Pink to let their "babies" go.
Posted by Carol Herman | October 5, 2007 9:15 PM
One of the marvels of our time, now, is that so many people have cell phones.
If you hear there's a rally ... Code Pinko's. Or, whatever. People go. And, take photos.
Yesterday, Charles Johnson, at Little Green Footballs put up a link to "zombie." Who attended a "street fair" in San Francisco. It might be called "Folsam." But what it held, was a bunch of guys with their penises hanging out. Photos of those.
You bet. I clicked that I was over 18. And, that I was willing to look.
And, I never saw anything like it! Broad daylight.
And, there were even pictures of the cops who were assigned to some sort of duty. But ti didn't touch on the behaviors.
Since I've never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gra, I had no idea people got "this loose."
But now I know.
Because I link to what I want to link to. On the Internet.
Sure. Once upon a time you needed fancy media equipment. You needed to be a professional photographer, to be able to take pictures people would look at. NOT. ANY. MORE!
When did people stop taking pictures of their own shoes?
Oh. And, my dad used to cut people's heads off.
Today, it's just a different story.
In so many ways.
You see? You don't even have to go to San Francisco, and find a street fare, to know what's going on!
And, the media elites aren't afraid?
Maybe, it's like "all boats going up, when the water raises stuff, higher? Everybody likes the Net. And, the freedom.
We score!
And, so far? We haven't run out of things to find.
How cool is that?
Posted by Steffan | October 5, 2007 10:31 PM
One of Rush's pluses, and he does have some, is that he has a sense of humor. Which is far more than those Code Pink idiots have. They take themselves 'way too seriously.
Harry Reid, OTOH, has been having a very bad year. He thought he was going to have it made as Majority Leader, and yet he sticks his foot firmly in his mouth at least every other time he appears in public. The war's lost, Rush is evil, and Bush has a cruel pen. What's he going to do next, accuse Clarence Thomas of wearing a white sheet?
Posted by dpt | October 5, 2007 11:14 PM
Good point above by Scott concerning RICO statues.
These Code Pinker types go around the country harassing and vandalizing military recruiters, so how are they different then some of the anti-abortionists?
Posted by chickendove | October 6, 2007 5:01 PM
Chickenhawk? How about Chickendove? You protest here where it's nice and safe, under no threat of death or even arrest...Why not head over to Damascus or Tehran, where the real warmongering enemies are? Get those terror-supporting regimes to "bring their troops home", and maybe then you might make a real difference.
Posted by amr | October 7, 2007 11:11 AM
I suspect this will get the same lack of coverage that the September 8, 2007 desecration of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, my generation’s symbol of sacrifice, received. I visited The Wall yesterday and the Park Service seems to have restored the damaged area since the damage indicated in a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaIMJuD44qY) was not now obvious. As with al Qaeda’s atrocities, things that might inflame Americans are not covered in depth, if at all, by the media as a whole.
Posted by coldwarrior415 | October 7, 2007 1:09 PM
And yet another Dem "phony soldier" is holed up in an undisclosed location working out a plea deal with federal prosecutors. What is it about the Dems? As a group they are so vocally anti-war, yet in so many cases over the past decade so many have embellished their military records in order to gain a better place at the political trough.
Guess, Atlantic City should be a bit more discerning when chosing their next mayor?