Heard in the Hall continues the discussion about yesterday's op-ed by Mayor-elect Nutter in support of Congressman and Party Chairman Bob Brady. Here's the interesting tidbit that I didn't know before:
Heard in the Hall hears that Brady asked Nutter to write the op-ed, and Nutter acquiesced.
It kind of gives me a new respect for Brady in that I never would have expected him to pay much attention or care about what the Inquirer editorial board had to say about him. In fact, I think he said as much when he sat down with them during their endorsement meeting before the primary. Something to the effect of... I know I'm not going to get this endorsement anyway. It's interesting that he'd actually (a) care and (b) ask Nutter to step in on his behalf. Does his think that the challenge he could be facing next spring is actually that serious?
Dan U-A at Young Philly Politics decided to start up a whole new thread to take up the discussion, focusing on the part of the op-ed that, I have to admit, I must have missed when I read it the first time:
Both as a member of Congress and as head of the city's Democratic Party...
I understand why Nutter would want to curry favor with a Congressman who is poised to exercise a good amount of clout with his new committee chairmanship, but I wonder what point he was trying to make by specifically pointing out Brady's role with the party - the side of Brady with which most progressives and "reformers" in this town have a problem. In fact, YPP contributor Ray Murphy started yet another thread to question whether Nutter has any plan to reform the way politics (i.e. the Democratic party) works in this town.
Both of these threads seem to have about equal numbers of comments in support of Nutter's op-ed as they do concerns about the message he's sending. We tend to forget that it was a mere 15 or 16 months ago that Nutter was a maverick councilman with very little political support and "no natural constituency" from which to draw power. Just because he's come so far so fast doesn't mean he can just clear everyone out before he even officially takes office. He'll need a few concrete accomplishments under his belt to build up enough support for his re-election before he can even consider ruffling the feathers of "the Party."
Let's see where things are in about a year and half, after the new city worker contracts are negotiated, after we have a clearer picture of where city finances are heading, and after we can see whether he's succeeded in bringing down the murder rate.
Finally, one of our readers sent me an email wondering if Nutter plans on keeping his position as a ward leader and also asked when was the last time a sitting mayor was also a ward leader. I guessed Jim Tate but I don't know for sure. Any ideas folks?
I know we like to focus on issues around here but sometimes I just can't dabbling in the politics from time to time.
Comments (4)
inquirer blows
Posted by Anonymous | December 7, 2007 10:55 PM
I swear, Brady could save a baby from a burning house, and those ultra-leftist bloggers/media types would critisize how be bought the shoes he used to run into the building. Brady kept Knox and Chaka out, paving the way for Nutter, your choice, so give the guy a pat on the back, will ya?!?!?!?!
Posted by Tim Dixon | December 8, 2007 9:26 PM
I swear, Brady could save a baby from a burning house, and those ultra-leftist bloggers/media types would critisize how be bought the shoes he used to run into the building. Brady kept Knox and Chaka out, paving the way for Nutter, your choice, so give the guy a pat on the back, will ya?!?!?!?!
Posted by Tim Dixon | December 8, 2007 9:26 PM
You are right Tim.
Posted by Anonymous | December 9, 2007 7:45 PM