It was the sort of quote that should call to any columnist, the sort of beautiful, insane quip that could only come out of the world of political doublespeak.
In the middle of December, the Sun-Times questioned U.S. Representative and then-mayoral hopeful Danny K. Davis about his relationship with an allegedly anti-Semitic and homophobic preacher. Davis’ reply?
“Most people call me the Judeo-Christian type. Love everybody, respect everybody, get along with everybody kind of guy who believes in ‘live and let live.’ That’s the characterization of the guy on the street. That’s who the dope dealer will tell you Danny Davis is. That’s who the prostitute will tell you Danny Davis is. That’s who the rabbi will tell you Danny Davis is.”
It was an exercise in coalition building for the ages. The corner boys, streetwalkers, and Jewish religious leaders united behind Representative Davis for a better Chicago. If nothing else, it would make for a heckuva party if he won on election day.
A few things have happened since Rep. Davis took that opportunity to angle for an endorsement from the Gangster Disciples and the Massage Parlor Workers Union. For one thing, Davis has decided to focus his political energies on running the 7th Congressional district (a seat once held by Abe Lincoln, who they say was also the Judeo-Christian type) and has dropped out of the mayoral race to endorse Carol Moseley Braun.
Another development was more personal. Your friendly neighborhood columnist sold out. You are currently reading the words of the newest volunteer on the mayoral campaign of Rahm Emanuel.
Now I think I’ve got some good reasons for wanting Emanuel to be mayor, and if you want to buy me a beer or a cup of coffee I’ll be happy to talk your ear off about them. But this column isn’t for campaigning, it’s for disclosure–because when it comes to the mayoral race, I can’t be trusted anymore.
It feels alright for me to write about Davis for two reasons: 1) he’s no longer a candidate in the race, and 2) it’s not every day that active members of Congress concern themselves with the political leanings of their local hooker. But even though this will be the most important round of city elections in a decade, after today I’ll try to keep quiet about them until after election day in February. Because the minute I decided to get mixed up in the muck of politics, I stopped being a journalist and started having an agenda.
It seems the mainstream media doesn’t share my low opinion of politicos as journalists. Everyone from Sarah Palin to Al Franken passes as a commentator these days, drawing paychecks and dishing out opinions from positions on the major news outlets. I remember at least one campus news organization reporting on a chummy back-and-forth between Rick Santorum and Howard Dean about their media contracts with Fox and CNBC respectively during their visit to campus last fall.
The whole thing feels like letting the foxes guard the henhouse. When our purported watchdog organizations give airtime and column space to political advocacy instead of real reporting, how can we ask the average person to constantly distinguish between the facts and the spin?
Well I want no part of it. I’d like to continue pretending that the news is fair and unbiased, the columnists objective, the politicians civil and well-intentioned, and the Easter Bunny real. So consider me out of the political columnist business until after the polls close in February, at least when it comes to the Chicago mayoral and City Council races.
Of course, that still means federal figures like Davis are fair game–so keep ‘em coming, Representative, for the sake of columnists everywhere. The jury is still out on what the the loan sharks and cat burglars think of your voting record on health care.
It’s a big world, with plenty of politicians around to say things that would make any normal person scratch their heads. To save my shred of journalistic idealism, I’ll take a pass on writing about the ones that come from Chicago while I still have a horse in the race.
Mike Carson is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at [email protected]
