Christopher Rants, Say it Ain't So!

Christopher Rants, Say it Ain’t So!

Last time out, I admitted to a new-found respect for Council Member Brent Hoffman for having the integrity to identify the recent appointment of Marty Dougherty to city office for what it is: an exercise of political patronage!

In the past, however, I’d similarly expressed a grudging admiration for another local Republican: Christopher Rants. In particular, I’d praised him for his keen political acumen, despite the fact that we rarely see eye-to-eye on the issues.

Well, once again I find myself disappointed. In my estimation, Rants went way over the line in his comments regarding the flap over negative campaign ads in House District 94. You may recall this incident, as it convinced Republican challenger Kevin Winkus to drop his party affiliation in disgust over the unfair attack ads generated by the state Republican Party, ads that essentially accused his Democratic opponent of coddling pedophiles. As the Sioux City Journal noted, the campaign ad in question noted Representative Kurt Swaim’s paid work “as a court-appointed public defender in a lascivious acts case in which a man was convicted but served only four days in jail” (SCJ 9/18/06).

Now, anybody who still retains even a smidgen of intelligence and decency would realize the patently unfair nature of such a charge. Public defenders, unlike trial lawyers, do not generally have the luxury of picking and choosing their cases. Their clients are assigned, and they are expected to defend their clients to the extent possible. That is how the American system of justice operates; whether we like it or not everyone is guaranteed a fair trial, no matter how heinous the alleged crime.

On this occasion, great intellect and decency were shown by ex-Republican Wiskus. Meanwhile, the worst sort of political expediency was demonstrated by Representative Rants. “There’s nothing untrue in that piece and absolutely nothing misleading,” Rants whined, and so everyone should just shut up and leave things be.

Good lord, man! Talk about a Clintonesque overplaying of a semantic technicality! Has Rants stooped so low as to criticize a public servant for faithfully fulfilling his assigned duties? Or is Rants now prepared to start picking and choosing which American citizens are deserving of the protections supposedly guaranteed in the Constitution? [Couldn’t he instead leave that odious task to our feeble-minded president?]

I love a good fight as much as the next guy. A political campaign can be and often is rough and tumble. But such blatant misrepresentation of an opponent’s record is both inexcusable and unethical. That Rants aided and abetted such slander saddens me. Partisanship should never be allowed to excuse the abandonment of principles.

Peace!
Historian

Kudos to The Daily Nonpareil

Thanks once again to Council Bluffs' Daily Nonpareil for taking a stand on our ridiculous congressman's outrageous comments. If Representative Steve King would protect a fellow congressman who solicits sex from children, who else would he protect? (And yes, that's a rhetorical question because we all know the answer!)

Daily Nonpareil - Thursday's Our View Putting on a good face

Patronage Sioux City-Style!

Patronage Sioux City-Style!

Am I alone in feeling that Sioux City suddenly got a little bit smaller, and a whole lot more incestuous?

In a brazen show of chutzpah, the City Manager selected, and the three longest-serving city councilmen approved, former councilmember Marty Dougherty for the post of Economic Development Director. Now, a $70,000 a year job is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and one would expect at the very least that the successful applicant possessed qualifications beyond the oft-cited assertions that Mr. Dougherty served well on council, has lived in Sioux City for many years, and is “a really swell guy.” Perhaps he also had a successful career in the private sector once, although any mention of that has been conspicuously absent. But was there really nobody available with actual, practical experience in the field of economic development? C’mon, with such low expectations even I could qualify for a city job!

But seriously, Tammany Hall would be proud. Hiring your former boss within months of his leaving office, the man who helped set your working conditions and approved your pay increases, well, the sheer audacity of such a move nearly takes my breath away. But I guess by now I should be getting used to small-town politics in Sioux City.

The weirdest part of this hire-your-friend scenario for me, however, is the fact that it’s causing me to gain a newfound appreciation for Brent Hoffman. Along with Jim Rixner, Mr. Hoffman alone has stood up for principle and loudly decried the appearance of impropriety so obviously occasioned by Dougherty’s hire. And while Mr. Hoffman’s impending “2 year no hire” rule for former council members will probably be ridiculed by Sioux City’s imperious “Gang of Three” (Ferris, Berenstein and Geary), at least I have to credit Hoffman for trying to restore a measure of transparency and honesty to council proceedings. At least Hoffman and Rixner aren’t joining their colleagues in trying to insult our collective intelligence.

Perhaps it’s really all moot in the end. Why should we fear a recurrence of patronage Sioux City-style? Unless I’m mistaken, today's city council members can all boast successful careers beyond council service to which they can return some day.

Peace!
Historian