Alderman Joe Moore put another nail in the coffin of his political career this morning. (Are you paying attention, Howard Dean?)Speaking live by phone on WLS 890 AM this morning with morning hosts Don Wade and Roma about the humiliating defeat of his two-year old foie gras ban, Moore said that the Chicago City Council has "lost even the pretense of a democracy." Hear the full interview (6.6 mb mp3 file.)
The 49th Ward Alderman complained that Mayor Daley did not turn on his microphone in yesterday's council meeting, thereby shutting him down. "How did the Mayor cut off your microphone?" Wade asked Moore.
Moore said that a technician only turns on Council members' microphones when they are called on by the Mayor. Moore's microphone never went on, he said, "because the Mayor never recognized me."
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He also complained that Daley did not follow parliamentary procedure. Moore then went off on a tangent, starting to tell Don and Roma about his resolution that calls for the United States to "never invade Iran.""Excuse me," said Wade, "what is the City Council of Chicago doing, voting on whether or not the United States of America is going to invade another country?"
"Well, I'll tell you exactly why," said Moore, and he then rattled off dollar figures related to the war effort in Iraq.
"Alderman, Alderman, stop," moaned Wade, exasperated, trying to interrupt. Moore kept babbling on. "Please," said Moore, "it isn't the purview of the City Council of Chicago to decide whether we invade another country."
Roma changed the subject suddenly. "So when are you going to run for Congress or for Senate?"
Moore danced around that question. "I think my Congressman's job is safe," he said, "and the U.S. Senators' jobs are safe as well." And then he veered right back into the antiwar resolution. "To suggest that we should embark on yet another war….is a folly."
And then a surprise came for the audience.
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING MOORE'S PHONE INTERVIEW, 50th Ward Alderman Bernie Stone was interviewed.
Stone, on the phone, said Moore was a "cry baby" who doesn't know proper procedure for City Council meetings. Stone said that had Moore followed procedure, he could have spoken, but Daley called the vote without Moore doing what was required. But that's not all that Stone said.
Moore is a "tool of Hamas," Stone said. He said the particular anti-war resolution that Moore was proposing would serve as a propaganda tool for Hamas, which is sworn to destroy Israel.
The end result of the exchange between Moore and Don Wade, then Stone and Don Wade, is that Joe Moore was painted as a boob who does not understand City Council procedures, is a cry baby who is whining about losing a battle, and he's a useful idiot for anti-American interests.
For Alderman Joe Moore to complain about a lack of democratic procedure in the City Council is the height of hypocrisy. Moore is notorious in his 49th Ward for closed zoning meetings, often ignoring the wishes of constituents, and for alleged voter fraud and allegedly shaking down local developers.
FLASHBACK: Mayor Daley Calls Alderman Moore Incompetent
You can hear the entire interview with Moore here (mp3 file, 6.6 mb).
