I Pity the Fool

Today's edition of the Tulsa World took up valuable space on its editorial page (it could have been so much better used for another "Great Plains failed because of 9/11 groaner), with an unusually windy screed by "Wind-Bag Emeritus" Ken Neal.

Neal goes to great lengths to portray "A City In Crisis," which is the title of his polemic on how five duly elected officials have, in just over six short months, brought our city to its knees. This aside from the fact that one can argue that, after years of pursuing policy suggested by Mr. Neal and his cronies at Tulsa's monopolistic news source, one could easily argue our city has been knocked prostrate. When lying flat on one’s back, any movement to your knees is an improvement.

To read Neal’s foolish diatribe of innuendos, half-truths, untruths and fallacies, is to be lead to the conclusion (if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to believe Ken Neal knows what he’s talking about) that District 6 Councilor Jim Mautino and I are responsible for a string of miscues that will lead to run-ups in, among other things, water rates. Even if this were true, which it isn’t, doesn’t is seem a tad disingenuous for a newspaper which has pushed a number of federal, state, county and municipal tax increases to suddenly develop a concern for the tax payers wallet? Seems disingenuous to me.

Although there were many statements and allegations in Mr. Neal’s cry for better representation, one jumped out as more interesting than any of the others. It was as follows:

“Now a group composed of upset business operators, developers, home builders and civic activists and many of the hundreds of citizens who serve without pay on the city’s authorities and agencies, have mounted a recall action against Medlock and Mautino. The movement is in its first stages and most veteran observers of City Hall are appalled that Tulsa has come to what amounts to a city civil war.”

Gosh…where does one start with a statement like this one?

Well let’s start by saying that the only two people that our less than competent newspaper has told its readers are behind the recall effort are Jon Davidson and Herb Haschke. In that one paragraph alone, Neal mentions five different groups that have “mounted a recall action.” Are we to believe that Davidson and Haschke in some combination represent all five groups? Even that is suspension of disbelief with too high of a degree of difficulty to be attempted by anyone but a professional delusional.

No…what it should tell the discerning reader is that Mr. Neal is aware of more of the names behind the Coalition for Responsible Government 2004 than just Davidson and Haschke. However, I’ve yet to see these names reported by our newspaper of record. Could it be that the Tulsa World actually IS colluding and coordinating with the recall advocates? Or is it just Mr. Neal that is withholding information that fair-minded Tulsan’s would like to know? Or, is he just making it up as he goes along? You choose for yourself.

Let’s look at the paragraph even closer. My translations are in parentheses:

“Now a group composed of upset business operators (the Metro Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and Bob Poe), developers (NAIOP and its former presidents Jim Cameron and Lou Reynolds), home builders (the Metro Home Builders which now does 80% of its business outside of Tulsa) and civic activists (Schnake, Turnbo, Frank, Erling and all the other Great Plains investors?) and many of the hundreds of citizens who serve without pay on the city’s authorities and agencies (Norma Turnbo, Steve Schuller, Herb Haschke, David White, Joe Westervelt and the dozens of others who want to hang onto their appointed positions of power), have mounted a recall action against Medlock and Mautino (with the exception of Cameron, none of whom live in either Districts 2 0r 6). The movement is in its first stages and most veteran observers of City Hall (those wonderful department heads, board appointees and gadflies that buzzed about the 11th floor when our city was a “Savage Nation”) are appalled that Tulsa has come to what amounts to a city civil war (Dang…the natives are restless and starting to fight back! Effectively!).”

Its amazing how one paragraph can say so much.

I’ll rebut other claims made by Mr. Neal later on. For now, suffice it to say that Ken Neal has to be a very unhappy man. As he drifts out of the sunset years of his career, just think of what he is having to endure. November 2nd, 2004 will stand as one of the strongest rebukes of the World’s editorial policy that Mr. Neal has had to experience.

Our nation is safely in conservative hands for the next four years and there is a good chance that the Supreme and federal courts might be in conservative hands for a generation. Oklahoma is only few scant years from completing its inevitable transformation from a one-party state to a two-party state, then back to a one-party state, again; only this time, with a different party in control.

All that is left for the liberal leaning Mr. Neal to cling to is Tulsa. Is it any wonder that before he retires to the Old Yellow Journalists Retirement Village, he might want to influence just one more change in city government? One that would lead to a “non-partisan…form of government” that would give his ilk one last fighting chance to “support progressive candidates without regard to partisan advantage?”

Don’t hate Ken Neal…pity him.