Friendly Fire
One of the great things about working in politics is the array of people you meet.
Now, there are partisans on both sides of the aisle who refuse to associate with their adversaries. I’m not one of them.
If Mary Matalin and James Carville can make it work, there’s no reason why Ds and Rs can’t sling mud at each other and go out for a beer afterward. Lawyers do it in the courtroom all the time.
Case in point: This blog. I disagree with Abdul more than I agree with him, but we can both appreciate that there’s more to life than politics. Heck, before I met my very Democratic husband almost eight years ago, I’ll even admit to dating a few Republicans. I eventually saw the light.
One of the finest folks I’ve met in politics is Robert Vane, who sat squarely across the aisle from me for a year when he was the Communications Director for the Indiana Republican Party, and I served as his counterpart at the Indiana Democratic Party.
I write this post because the secret that he is leaving the private sector to work for Mayor Greg Ballard is no longer a secret.
Robert and I agree on practically nothing, but he is very good at what he does, and I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate him and wish him the best.
Lord knows I’ve been critical of his new boss, who, almost a year into his term, has been unable to articulate a vision for our city or explain issues beyond the simple stuff that he’s comfortable with.
Ballard hasn’t been much helped by his communications gaggle, a true C-team headed up by one Marcus Barlow, who couldn’t negotiate his way out of a tough media situation if you handed him a map, compass and talking points. The guy managed to tick off practically every reporter within a month of arriving on the job. It’s little wonder the folks at the other end of Market Street were eager to ship him to the 25th floor.
Barlow, if he sticks around, will now have to answer to someone with lots of experience and good media relationships.
It won’t be easy for my friend Robert to teach politics and spin to a Mayor who clearly doesn’t get it, but if anyone can do it, he’s the guy.
Don’t expect me to be any nicer to Ballard as he traverses the learning curve, but I thought I’d take a few moments to prove to the readers of this blog that hack does not have to mean hate.
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One thing this life has taught me is that even people don’t agree with me, that doesn’t mean they are evil…just different. That’s what attracted me to the Obama campaign so early, was the sense of hopefulness and a focus on what we can do, not what we can’t. Obama never once attacked McCain personally….
I hope your friend does a great job and I hope Mayor Ballard stops reminding me of a mix of Inspector Clouseau and Maxwell Smart. I hope he starts doing a great job as mayor…but I’m not holding my breath.
Ma Wags taught me that if I can’t say something nice, I shouldn’t say anything at all. Clearly, that didn’t sink in, but I do believe we can accomplish more by working together than by fixating on our differences. I, too, was an early Obama convert, and I was so proud to attend the joint township government press conference with Greg Ballard and Bart Peterson.
I think Ballard, in his heart of hearts, wants to do the right thing for the city, but he has no idea what that thing is.
He ran a campaign filled with things he could never accomplish, and now he’s stuck trying to reconcile dreamland with political and fiscal reality.
He’s had a prolonged honeymoon because of the national spotlight from this year’s election. During this first year, he hasn’t made any inroads with the business community or put any projects in the pipeline.
If this election taught us nothing, it’s that people are focused on the economy — and things don’t look like they’re getting any better.
I was just reading Indiana Legislative Insight, which pointed out that local Dems are giddy at the prospect of running against Ballard in 2011, but the fact remains that he will be well funded and much more on-message than he was last year, and we may cannibalize ourselves in a 12-way primary.
Lots of work to be done on both sides.
I don’t believe it…someone actually dated you?
Sugar, someone married me.
How’s life in bitterland?