Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News

A birds-eye view on why Liberal Ron didnt fly

Two grackles, last seen perched on a wire over lower Broadway back in January, returned for an agonizing reassessment of the way things went.

Ron Nirenberg appeared to be flying against the wind and won. How is it, one of the birds mused in a voice dripping with sarcasm, that http://www.liberalron.com maneuver didnt work to derail this guy?

The other bird, his shiny wings slightly ruffled, let out a heavy sigh.

No, really! the first bird said, with a giggle, his tongue firmly in the side of his beak. Is it that San Antonio voters were just tired of that kind of campaigning? Liberal Ron wasnt anywhere near as pointed as Lying Ted and Crooked Hillary, but it was thrown out there in the same spirit.

Well, the second bird said as he claimed more comfortable footing on the nearby utility pole, political campaigns get ugly from time to time. And pointing out the liberal leanings of a liberal politician is about as hostile as someone calling us birds of a feather.

Oh, clearly were very different, the first bird said, still giggling. But Ill tell you why it didnt work. The campaign tactic fell flat because voters have had enough of name-calling. Theyre sick of the angry campaigns. Theyve had it, and theyre sending a message.

Maybe. Maybe that kind of campaigning doesnt strike the same chord in this city. Maybe the president ruined it for everybody, and now the rest of us cant amuse ourselves by crafting creative names for those who oppose us.

Or maybe, the first bird, smirking, said, it was because a male candidate could come up with nasty names and win but a female candidate cant?

He noticed that a group of smaller birds gathered on a nearby branch were now hanging on to every word. Taking this cue, he puffed his feathers and continued.

Maybe, he conceded. But the Liberal Ron thing wasnt an off-the-cuff remark the former mayor came up with on a lark. A web presence was established, for crying out loud! Someone came up with this idea, someone pushed it out of the nest a couple of times before it was ready, and someone gave the go ahead to let it fly and judging by the image she projected to the public during her time in office it probably wasnt all her.

A half-dozen more grackles and few doves gathered next to them. The first bird, empowered by the growing audience, turned up the volume.

Well, the term liberal shouldnt be a dig, the first bird said, It has become a dig. Its now a polarizing label. Its uttered with scorn. That label was meant to cast him in a certain light. It was bad play. It was a bad move.

Maybe. Then again it might make a good quip on the campaign trail, but labels arent just for soup cans, the second bird huffed as more tiny warblers landed on the wire, chirping asides and tweeting dissenting jabs at the grackles. They are indicators of how an elected official will lead. And isnt that vital in determining which way to vote at the mayoral level, even if the city manager does a great deal of the heavy lifting?

The first bird stopped giggling as a few of the smaller birds sitting next to him flitted closer to the utility pole. By now the lines above Broadway looked as if Tippi Hedren were about to drive past.

No matter, the second bird continued, The system labels and all works. And maybe the time seems to be right for someone who can rock the liberal label. Nirenberg didnt set up a site calling anybody anything, but he won the votes because he is representative of what the voters wanted. Thats the point.

Thirteen percent of them, anyway, said a small bird who was sitting nearby. And if you ask me and I know you arent thats probably a good thing. Too many are influenced by a clever one-liner, an argument that sounds as if its based on facts but isnt, or all manner of nasty campaign maneuvers. And believe me, the noisy, the birdbrained and the easily swayed do flock together.

Luckily, he was able to zip away before anybody figured out who chimed in.

mariaanglin@yahoo.com

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A bird's-eye view on why 'Liberal Ron' didn't fly - mySanAntonio.com