Ah, Jimmy, We Hardly Knew Ye

Failed aldermanic candidate Jim Ginderske wrote in recently. My response is interspersed within his letter, in green text. From: "James Ginderske" To: rogersparkbench@yahoo.com Subject: [Rogers Park Bench] New comment on Ginderske: Fool's Gold James Ginderske has left a new comment on your post "Ginderske: Fool's Gold": Ah Tom, I still go where I always go, and the frequency has changed only because I no longer need to get food at midnight or coffee during the day because we’re not always working on campaign stuff. I’m confused. Are you saying you were at Duke’s Bar four or five nights a week “to get food?” Duke’s has no kitchen. They serve no food. Lie Number One. “Shunned.” Interesting term. I’m not clear on how exactly you would be aware of that, especially at Red Line since I’ve not seen you there recently. But if you say so... Yes, “shunned.” Look at the “Ginderske Poll” on my blog. The question is “Has your opinion of Jim Ginderske changed since the 49th Ward Aldermanic Election of February 27?” The responses: 30% “No change; I still don’t like him.” 45% “Changed: I think he sold out.” 9% “Changed; I like him moore now.” 6% “No change; I still like him.” So nearly half no longer like you. Those are folks who once did. Yes, “shunned.” What you fail to wish to acknowledge is that I was NEVER pro-Gordon in any way, shape or form. Nor will I be, for the reasons I outlined in the letter none of the usual blog suspects had the guts to print. Nobody ever said you were pro-Gordon. But you said over and over again that you were anti-Moore. Your campaign put out a video calling him a liar. So while you may be consistent in your stance on Gordon, your stance on Moore – at least, the stance you presented publicly – was anti-Moore. That would be Lie Number Two on the scorecard. But past that, I mean really, Tom. You are a conservative. I am not. Gordon is closer to your belief system than mine, by far. You knew I was a conservative when I joined up to support you. That reminds me, you never did introduce me to the unnamed campaign advisor as you repeatedly promised you would. You know, the guy who did or does work for the Heritage Foundation. Was that Lie Number Three? As for Gordon being closer to me in my belief system “by far,” that is Lie Number Four. A bit closer yes, but only in this regard: Gordon has not shown himself to be of the old Soviet-Kommissar mindset that you have shown yourself to be. You also omit that our little effort is what forced this runoff to begin with. I did not “omit” it. That’s an obvious truth. I also did not mention that birds fly. Does that mean that I “omitted” that fact? I certainly did run for alderman, and it was around policy issues and as the first lines on my website made clear, I wasn’t running “merely to oppose anyone.” I want desperately to see this place get better for people like you who quit their jobs and raid their 401k’s to do things like start a blog just because it’s their way of making a difference. We agree that people living their vision is one thing that makes this neighborhood special. Nobody denies that you ran for alderman. (Duh.) But you apparently had it in your mind that if you did not win you would use your support base to leverage a position in the Moore Regime. Indeed, you have done just that. You’re not the first one to do it. Cicero wrote about it. It’s a game that is thousands of years old, and you played it well. Kudos to you, Jim. And while you rant about the evil rich people with their 401(k) accounts, you might ask Joe Moore what type of savings accounts and retirement accounts he has. What kind do you have? You and Moore are of the mindset to raid everybody’s pay checks with taxes, taxes and ever higher taxes. As for living their vision, what the fuck does that mean, exactly? Now to the point. Gordon and his crew scare me to death. I had planned to sit this thing out, but when I heard the things that were said by his people I recognized the code from my days back on the south side. The first step to a cure is to admit that you have a problem. Jim, there is help for paranoids. Please seek it out. I should tell you, I was at the Southside Irish parade in 1983 when a guy named Bernie Epton was cheered solely because he wasn’t black and Harold Washington was. When I see Gordon flyers like the one with the scared white girl fleeing that subliminal black shape in the background, brother I know what I’m looking at. Perhaps you don’t. I really hope you don’t because if you do and are ignoring it that would really surprise me. You are no Craig Gernhrot. What the hell does Bernie Epton have to do with anything? I could cite the racist Democrat Governor George Wallace, and it would mean just as little. And again with the paranoia, my God. By the way, you misspelled “Gernhardt.” Talk about the here and now, not other people in another time. Likewise, although you may think lining up with a guy who supported the swift boat vets is “no big deal”, I think it certainly is a very big deal. You’ll recall, friend that my only beef with Joe Moore’s Living Wage ordinance was that it didn’t go far enough. Like Mr. Herro, Don opposed it outright. Dude, people need a living wage or they stay in poverty forever. There simply is no other way. More paranoia. Please, please get help. When did Don Gordon line up with the Swift Boat Vets? Is the fact that you’re so paranoid what makes you guys so intent on sharing your unfounded fears with others? And would somebody please offer a comprehensible definition of “living wage?” You and yours speak in weird, Hegelian dialectic. I know what it means, and it’s not paranoia but years of study that make me afraid of what you say. There are now just two choices. Gordon is more conservative, and you support him because that matches more closely your philosophy. I respect that choice and I respect you for making it. Please consider showing the same respect for more liberal belief systems, as well as a mutual commitment to work for a better future for all of us. Let’s face it, friend you didn’t join us because of my visceral anti-Joe platform. That was available in copious amounts in two other places. You were there because we talked about a better future and clearly explained how we wanted to get there. You’re repeating yourself. Oh, there’s Lie Number Four. You do not respect my choice. God knows I do not respect yours. You just got done telling me why my choice is a bad one, then give me that bullshit that you respect my decision? How typical of you and yours. Double speak. New Speak. Dialectic. Bullshit. And how dare you tell me why I think I joined your band of merry men. I joined only because I was anti-Moore, and you seemed to have the best chance of winning in my estimation. I was wrong, obviously, but I knew full well that you were a neo-Socialist just as Moore is. I live in a liberal neighborhood, and that’s not a bad thing in itself. All four candidates in the February 27 race were left of my worldview, and I was seeking somebody to unseat Moore. In my ideal world would Don Gordon be my first choice? He would not be. But he strikes me as being infinitely more reasonable than Moore. Finally, had you been hit by a bus before the February 27 election, I would have run over the Gordon campaign in a heartbeat. One other thing. I do my level best to treat people with dignity and respect, even if I don’t agree with them on everything. Becoming part of the Gordon “fountainhead” is beneath you, or ought to be. Lie Number Five is writing that you do your “level best to treat people with dignity and respect.” If that were true, you would have not written the very next sentence, “Becoming part of the Gordon ‘fountainhead’ is beneath you, or ought to be.” That is a triple slap in the face, and you know it, not just to me but also to everyone you consider to be beneath you. You have sold out to the elitists.

Lie Number Six is spreading the lie that Gordon is a Republican. He is not. You should be ashamed; Moore was spreading the same lie about you before you lost. And now you shamefully cooperate in his Goebels-like Big Lie campaign. Shame on you Jim. You had such promise. Jimmy, we hardly knew ye.