Cincinnati council member Wayne Lippert is set to be a "co-host" of a fundraiser for COAST's political action committee for a June event featuring national conservative-activist Grover Norquist.
Yes, that is "the" COAST.
That is the COAST bent on doing what ever it can to block any type of progress and development the City is trying to push forward.
That is the same COAST that mocks people who live anywhere in the City of Cincinnati that isn't either majority white or majority upper-middle class.
That is the same COAST that has no known members who actually live in the City of Cincinnati.
That is the same COAST that purports lies about anyone and everyone that dares speak out against their vitriol.
You may be wondering why a member of Cincinnati City Council would support a group like COAST. I'm wondering the same thing. COAST represents the mindset that has been holding Cincinnati back. What possible reason would any member of council support this group? Sure, there is the political angle, which likely is part of the game here. There is suburbanite money to be gained, and COAST has some far right-ring surban money out to keep the city down. There has to be more to it than that. Ok, fine, Grover Norquist is a well know speaker to Conservatives. If one wants to go the event as a Republican, I can comprehend doing so. I don't get "co-hosting" the event to benefit a group like COAST. That ties Lippert to the group more than just attending the event. This links Lippert to everything COAST has done.
When COAST wastes tax payer money to file a nuisance lawsuit against the City and the Mayor because they seek to harm the Mayor's personal financial income, that is something that will be linked to Lippert.
Some would ask how I can claim Lippert is going to be linked to everything COAST or a member of COAST does. Well, that is rather easy. Lippert will be linked to COAST because he chose to support them and every time he does not voice his disagreement with a position or action they take, I believe it's fair game to assume he concurs with it. When they do something outrageous and offensive and Lippert does not denounce it, then his silence is a clear sign of agreement. That is the bargain made when you "co-sponsor" an event and willfully show your support for a political organization. You buy it, you own it. Those who get into bed with the Local NAACP, for example, are burdened with the selfishness that is Chris Smitherman, so this fits along the same lines. The problem here is that the local NAACP is in bed with COAST, so that type of mutual opportunism reeks of hazing at a really dreadful frat house, but that's a whole different topic.
What I am seeing Lippert and nearly all of the other Republican candidates for city council do is play politics like this is Washington, D.C. They are playing alliances like they are either running for a Federal level office or for a suburban township board of trustees. We live in a city. It is a real place. We have Democrats here that make up a majority of populace. We also have citizens who mostly believe in reality. COAST lives in a fantasy land with an antebellum political philosophy that ignores the reality of the last 150 years. Over that time cities were and are the center of progress. We didn't win two world wars from ideas formed on farms or
cul-de-sacs, we won them from the ideas born in urban areas. Cities foster ideas on how to live with each other, not on ideas on how to live apart. If Lippert wants to be a leader, he needs to lead the GOP and himself away from the nut-cases like COAST. If not, he's going to end up another nut-case.
A first step for Wayne is to voice why he's supporting COAST (or denounce them for their tactics). I'll open up my blog for a response from him or his campaign, published without alteration. Drop me a line and I'll get it up as quickly as I can. I want to understand why a Cincinnati council member supports COAST and I believe the rest of you out there want to know the same thing, so I look forward to a retort of my comments.
