Has Kwame messed things up for his mom?

[BrnSuga]

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_el_ge/detroit_mayor_congresswoman

Detroit mayor complicates mom's congressional bid By COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 23, 2:33 PM ET


For a dozen years, Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick has routinely defeated all opponents in the Detroit-area congressional district she represents.

But a text-messaging scandal involving her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, could help her two challengers link the congresswoman to turmoil at city hall — and serve as a referendum on the mayor's conduct.

"She continues to defend her son, enabling him to fail," said former state Rep. Mary Waters, one of the challengers. "How can you continue to justify that behavior?"

The three-way primary in August will all but determine the winner in the heavily Democratic district. Kilpatrick, leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, has faced only token opposition during the past decade.

But the mayoral scandal has turned the typically sleepy congressional primary into a bitter contest. Waters has frequently referred to the troubles of the mayor and his former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, who are both accused of lying under oath about having an intimate relationship and about their roles in the firing of a police officer.

The mayor and Beatty deny the charges, but excerpts of sexually explicit text messages left on Beatty's city-issued pager contradicted their testimony at a whistle-blower's trial. They face a Sept. 22 preliminary hearing on perjury and other charges. The City Council also is pursuing ways to remove the mayor from office.

Waters launched a scathing television ad focusing on the felony charges against the mayor. "We deserve better," the ad concludes.

She also has accused Kilpatrick of being slow to endorse Barack Obama for president and orchestrating the entry of the third candidate in the race, state Sen. Martha Scott.

Scott has denied claims by Waters that she entered the race to split the vote and ensure a victory for Kilpatrick.

"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard," Scott said. "Anybody who knows me knows I don't support Kwame Kilpatrick. I've been out here for 35 years. I have a record on my own, and I don't ever do anything like that."

Rep. Kilpatrick has pointed to her record on the House Appropriations Committee, where she has helped steer more than $500 million in projects to her home state. She recently endorsed Obama and met with Obama's vice presidential vetting team.

In an interview, Kilpatrick declined to comment on any single ad by her opponent. But she urged voters to watch her ads as they begin to air in the next couple of weeks.

"I don't go in the gutter like that," she said.

Waters' television attack could bring its own risks, said Barbara Goushaw, a political consultant based in the Detroit suburb of Berkley.

"I suspect that an attempt to smear a mother for defending her son will backfire," Goushaw said. "Mothers understand the desire to protect their kids. Behind the scenes, I'm sure Ms. Carolyn has slapped him upside the head a few times."

Despite the mayor's legal troubles, efforts to unseat his mother may be difficult because voter turnout has been low in summertime state primaries. And Michigan voters have consistently re-elected incumbents, giving the state one of the oldest congressional delegations in the nation.

Rep. Kilpatrick's district borders two seats held by veteran Democrats: Rep. John Dingell, of Dearborn, who is on schedule to become the longest-serving House member in history in February 2009; and Rep. John Conyers of Detroit, who was first elected when President Lyndon Johnson won a landslide victory in 1964.

"Once you get there, you stay there," Goushaw said.

Kilpatrick was one of the few candidates to unseat an incumbent when she knocked off three-term congresswoman Barbara-Rose Collins in 1996. Collins, who now serves on the Detroit City Council, came under scrutiny for her spending of public and campaign money but was never charged with any wrongdoing.

The embarrassment surrounding the mayor's scandal is "bound to hurt a little bit," said Bill Ballenger of Lansing, editor of a Michigan political newsletter and a former Republican state lawmaker.

"The people that don't like the mayor may take it out on the mother or may take it out on anybody named Kilpatrick," he said.

___

Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this report.

[dappa]

That is a bad move. One, this is a mother defending her child. A child could screw up from here till kingdom come but the one person who will still defend that child is a mother. Two, all mothers understand that and three to blame what her son did on her is just stupid. Dude is grown, his mother did what she had to do. She has to be a talented mother because before all of this, homie was a political star large in part because of his mom.

[Cambist]

Dear Alphas:

Stop texting.

Fraternally,
CamelToFoot

[Bigs]

Jun 24, 2008 7:08:21 GMT -5 Cambist said:

Dear Alphas:

Stop texting.

Fraternally,
CamelToFoot

Does that count if you're not a gubment employee?

[Cambist]

Only marginally, Big. Please erase all text messages IMMEDIATELY upon receipt!

[Prissy New Year!!!]

Jun 24, 2008 5:40:58 GMT -5 dappa said:

That is a bad move. One, this is a mother defending her child. A child could screw up from here till kingdom come but the one person who will still defend that child is a mother. Two, all mothers understand that and three to blame what her son did on her is just stupid. Dude is grown, his mother did what she had to do. She has to be a talented mother because before all of this, homie was a political star large in part because of his mom.

No one can blame her for defending her son, but his shenanigans have cost the taxpayers lots of money and they may even be criminal. She can choose to give him her unconditional support, and as a mother, I understand, but as a taxpayer, if I lived in Detroit, I would not be as understanding. We all have choices, but with those choices come consequences...she needs to be willing to accept those consequences (as does her whorish son).

[icebraka]

Jun 24, 2008 9:35:01 GMT -5 Prissy New Year!!! said:

Jun 24, 2008 5:40:58 GMT -5 dappa said:

That is a bad move. One, this is a mother defending her child. A child could screw up from here till kingdom come but the one person who will still defend that child is a mother. Two, all mothers understand that and three to blame what her son did on her is just stupid. Dude is grown, his mother did what she had to do. She has to be a talented mother because before all of this, homie was a political star large in part because of his mom.

No one can blame her for defending her son, but his shenanigans have cost the taxpayers lots of money and they may even be criminal. She can choose to give him her unconditional support, and as a mother, I understand, but as a taxpayer, if I lived in Detroit, I would not be as understanding. We all have choices, but with those choices come consequences...she needs to be willing to accept those consequences (as does her whorish son).

Hey Soror!!!!! I need to make sure you see something that has transpired at our other meeting place!

This is a terrible situation at its best. I understand taking up for your children but when they are in the wrong you shouldn't take up for them the way she has.

[dappa]

do you have children?

[icebraka]

Jun 24, 2008 13:12:08 GMT -5 dappa said:

do you have children?

Who?

[dappa]

just saying its hard to simply say a parent should just let their child be eaten by the wolves. I am sure she tightened him up behind closed doors but at the end of the day he is still her son. And besides what he did doesn't mean the mother condoned it.

[Colourgirlie]

Jun 24, 2008 18:01:43 GMT -5 dappa said:

just saying its hard to simply say a parent should just let their child be eaten by the wolves. I am sure she tightened him up behind closed doors but at the end of the day he is still her son. And besides what he did doesn't mean the mother condoned it.

Sometimes children have to suffer all of the consequences of their actions and their parents have to let them suffer through them by themselves. Yes, it is hard as parent to do this I'm sure, but many times, some children are hard headed.

And no, what he did doesn't mean that his mother condoned it but her rivals are going to use this situation to their advantage. Welcome to American Politics 101.

[dappa]

oh I know the routine. My thing is unless you got little ones, you can't say to let them face the punishment while you stand by, its very difficult to do.

[Prissy New Year!!!]

Jun 25, 2008 5:48:22 GMT -5 dappa said:

oh I know the routine. My thing is unless you got little ones, you can't say to let them face the punishment while you stand by, its very difficult to do.

I understand. I am a mother and I certainly want to shield my children from any hurts that await them in life. A big part of that is to allow them, at this young age, to begin to understand that actions have consequences. Better that they suffer the little hurts now and learn than to have me buffer them, then they grow up and real life smacks them in the face hard.

Now, I am not saying that Kwame's mother did not subscribe to this theory when he was younger as well. It doesn't seem like it though. If he had any sense of shame or any understanding that the things that he did as mayor were reprehensible and wasteful of the taxpayers money and abusive of his constituents' trust; he would have stepped down immediately. As a matter of fact, at some point, while he was so callously ruining careers and disrespecting his wife and children, that sense of learned decency and fear of the Lord/the law/or karma (whichever was most applicable to his system of belief) should have kicked in and made him do a 180 degree turn.

Yes, I am a mother, and I love my children with everything I got. But wrong is wrong, and at some point even she should have acknowledged that publicly. She chose not to, now the voters have a choice...

[B Strugg]

Jun 25, 2008 6:15:20 GMT -5 Prissy New Year!!! said:

Jun 25, 2008 5:48:22 GMT -5 dappa said:

oh I know the routine. My thing is unless you got little ones, you can't say to let them face the punishment while you stand by, its very difficult to do.

I understand. I am a mother and I certainly want to shield my children from any hurts that await them in life. A big part of that is to allow them, at this young age, to begin to understand that actions have consequences. Better that they suffer the little hurts now and learn than to have me buffer them, then they grow up and real life smacks them in the face hard.

Now, I am not saying that Kwame's mother did not subscribe to this theory when he was younger as well. It doesn't seem like it though. If he had any sense of shame or any understanding that the things that he did as mayor were reprehensible and wasteful of the taxpayers money and abusive of his constituents' trust; he would have stepped down immediately. As a matter of fact, at some point, while he was so callously ruining careers and disrespecting his wife and children, that sense of learned decency and fear of the Lord/the law/or karma (whichever was most applicable to his system of belief) should have kicked in and made him do a 180 degree turn.

Yes, I am a mother, and I love my children with everything I got. But wrong is wrong, and at some point even she should have acknowledged that publicly. She chose not to, now the voters have a choice...

lol...you took the words right out of my hand

[Worthy Most Ancient Matron]

Jun 25, 2008 6:15:20 GMT -5 Prissy New Year!!! said:

Jun 25, 2008 5:48:22 GMT -5 dappa said:

oh I know the routine. My thing is unless you got little ones, you can't say to let them face the punishment while you stand by, its very difficult to do.

I understand. I am a mother and I certainly want to shield my children from any hurts that await them in life. A big part of that is to allow them, at this young age, to begin to understand that actions have consequences. Better that they suffer the little hurts now and learn than to have me buffer them, then they grow up and real life smacks them in the face hard.

Now, I am not saying that Kwame's mother did not subscribe to this theory when he was younger as well. It doesn't seem like it though. If he had any sense of shame or any understanding that the things that he did as mayor were reprehensible and wasteful of the taxpayers money and abusive of his constituents' trust; he would have stepped down immediately. As a matter of fact, at some point, while he was so callously ruining careers and disrespecting his wife and children, that sense of learned decency and fear of the Lord/the law/or karma (whichever was most applicable to his system of belief) should have kicked in and made him do a 180 degree turn.

Yes, I am a mother, and I love my children with everything I got. But wrong is wrong, and at some point even she should have acknowledged that publicly. She chose not to, now the voters have a choice...

As a mother of two, I couldn't have said it better. There was a something on the news a few months ago where the parents turned their own child in to the police. Wrong is wrong.