The Cut DC Taxes Mayoral Endorsements

I know you all have waited with baited breath, so here they are - the official Cut DC Taxes Mayoral endorsements (they are like the Marion Barry endorsements but carry a little less weight with hookers, crack heads and the mentally infirmed).

If you are a Democrat -
Adrian Fenty for Mayor.

I had earlier issued a half-assed, half-hearted, kinda, sorta endorsement of Fenty (which I will admit had more to do with my total disgust for Linda Cropp). Well today I get off the fence and outright endorse Fenty in the Democratic primary.

Sure I wish someone would have run a real outsider/reformer campaign (opportunity missed by the Johns campaign), but the fact is no one did. I am not always going to agree with Adrian Fenty but I am confident he will not let the bureaucracy and the system hobble him the same way Mayor Williams has - and the same way I am sure Linda Cropp would.

Fenty brings enthusiasm and optimism to the city, and hell even someone as pessimistic as me wants to feel good about the city every now and then. It also doesn't hurt that Fenty is the only candidate in the Democratic primary who pledged not to raise taxes!

If you are a Republican -
Dave Kranich for Mayor.

Yes, there are registered Republicans in the District (myself included) and yes there is a Republican primary for Mayor today. Dave Kranich, who is endorsed by the DC Republican Committee, is facing off against Dennis Moore.

Moore's campaign seems to be little more than a concerted effort on his part to post long rambling comments on as many DC-related sites as possible. Kranich on the other hand, is running a serious campaign. I have spoken to him before and he seems like a nice enough guy. Unless a write-in-Carol Schwarz campaign springs up in the next few hours - I recommend DC Republicans vote for Dave Kranich.

My MNF Interrupted by a Clearly Drunk Vincent Orange

Is anyone else seeing these Vincent Orange for Mayor ads during the Skins Monday Night game?!?!?!? Seriously, the first one was just some mumbling shit, I couldn't understand a damn word. The second ad was some sort of poem that Orange read (as I watched it I actually wished it was the mumbling ad again!). Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the third ad in this series was a seemingly drunk Orange babbling about voting against the Washington Post and mumbling something about how voters should vote for him since he's first on the ballot.

These are unquestionably the WORST campaign ads I have ever seen in my entire life. Here's my question - who in the Orange campaign saw these ads and said "Yeah Mr Orange, I think these are GREAT!"???

UPDATE (9:14 pm): OK, I have had 2 beers, 2 glasses of wine, and I am working on a tequila and OJ (while watching my beloved Skins) and I am still way less drunk than Vincent Orange appears in these ads. It's like some shit you would see on Public Access.

Barry's Magic 8 Ball Says "Fenty"

Marion B!tch Set Me Up Barry ended the suspense yesterday and announced his support for Mayoral candidate Adrian Fenty. Fenty can now count on a surge in support from crack heads, hookers, and the mentally infirmed.

In typical Barry fashion, he didn't bother to coordinate his announcement or messaging with the candidate he was endorsing. From The Post:

The Fenty campaign was caught off guard by Barry's public announcement. Barry's e-mail listed campaign events with Fenty today, but Fenty said he had prior commitments. He added that he has no plans to campaign with Barry before next week's vote.

Barry's endorsement has questionable value, and certainly brings with it some potential downside, which I am sure the anonymous Cropp supporters who comment on this blog will be happy to point out.

More from The Post:

Political analysts said Barry's stamp of approval was not likely to hurt the chances of Fenty (D-Ward 4), who has waged a vigorous 16-month, door-to-door campaign.

"It's an expression of political consensus and a widening of his base," said Ronald Walters, a political scientist at the University of Maryland. Walters said there had been speculation that Cropp (D), the council chairman, might receive Barry's endorsement. Several longtime Barry associates, including Cropp campaign chairman Elijah B. Rogers, are working with her campaign.

Certainly, it was the least valuable endorsement Fenty received yesterday. Yesterday alone Fenty received the endorsement of the Washington Post, the Washington Examiner and Planned Parenthood of Metro Washington. Not a bad day for the Mayoral front-runner (and he still enjoys the half-hearted, half-assed, kinda, sorta endorsement from this blog!).

The Post Endorses Fenty

This may be the nail in the coffin of the Linda Cropp campaign. For weeks now, Cropp supporters, and others watching this race, predicted that Cropp would enjoy a late surge, particularly among white voters, as a result of an anticipated Washington Post endorsement of her campaign. Alas, for Linda Capt of the Titanic Cropp, The Post didn't endorse her - choosing instead to endorse front-runner Adrian Fenty.

From The Post:

The criticism from his opponents notwithstanding, there is more to Adrian Fenty than a youthful, energetic and politically ambitious grass-roots campaigner. There is a can-do quality in him that suggests the government can be reformed, that schools can be rebuilt and that institutions in this city can come together to improve people's lives. He offers a vision of the city that challenges the best in people.

The Post's closing in its endorsement probably sums this race up about as well as one could:

The 2006 mayoral campaign is all about the District's future in a dynamic and uncertain environment. Democrats inclined to vote their fears may look elsewhere. A vote for hope, however, is a vote for Adrian Fenty.