There is a situation brewing in the theme-park centered City of Anaheim that really deserves much more attention than it has been getting on the FlashReport. We’ll try to rectify that in the coming week, but let’s give FR readers the 30,000 foot view.
Anaheim is one of Orange County’s largest cities, and is on the national map because it is the home to Walt Disney’s original theme part, Disneyland. It’s home to the Angels, the Mighty Ducks, and to former Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, who is the city’s Republican Mayor — coasting to re-election next month.
Trying to follow the politics of the Anaheim City Council isn’t too easy, and I am not really going to delve into that in this short summary. Suffice it to say that there is one candidate who is running for City Council that is being talked about not only in the coffee shops and around the water coolers of Anaheim — candidate Bill Dalati is quickly becoming a topic of conversation nationally.
Why would local Anaheim politics make the national scene? Well, Bill Dalati is a controversial figure, it turns out. A local businessman, it turns out that Dalati has been involved with some pretty crazy, far out folks. We can start with his $500 donation to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. This liberal Democrat is famous not only for being one of the most strident socialists in Congress, but she has taken on attacking the United States’ War on Terror as her cause celebre. So much so that she has been a recipient of the generosity of contributions from around America as she verbally assaults the President and our efforts to fight radical extremists in their ‘home court’ as it were. (McKinney is pictured above to the right exercizing her free speech rights.)
I should add, by the way, that McKinney was collecting contributions because she was being challenged in her own Democratic primary by the forces of sanity — and despite funds from Delati and others, she was defeated, and will be out of Congress by the year’s end.
Dalati’s connections to radical activism go beyond his big check to the lefty across the country, he has been involved with groups that sponsor rallies against the war, and his ties to the Council on Islamic American Relations (CAIR) are disturbing. I was with Congressman Dana Rohrabacher the other night, and he was telling me about a talk he gave to a CAIR meeting, and how their brochure actually said something to the effect of telling members not to cooperate with federal authorities if they are questioning you about potential terrorist activities. Give me a break.
There is more on this Republican In Name Only, such as his strong support from labor unions, his support from mafia-type organization of ultra-liberal Irvine honchy Larry Agran, and the fact that he is being supported by the two Democrats on the Anaheim City Council.
You can’t make this stuff up — but I will tell you that this is the first time that I can think of where national politics may very well play a roll in the election of a local city councilmember. But that is more Dalati’s doing that anyone else’s. After all, this IS America and you are free to choose what you say, what you do, and certainly to whom you send your contributions.
Today in the FR there are three featured columns — the Golden Pen award went a columnist from the Jewish Journal who has taken the Los Angeles Times to task for their coverage on this Anaheim race. Also the Orange County Register today features a column from Dalati himself (in which he thematically refers to himself as a ‘moderate’ while at the same time taking an extre view that he opposes the War on Terror on the grounds that he opposes the death of innocent people… We ALL oppose the death of innocent people, Bill!). There is also a piece from Shawn Steel, former Chairman of the California Republican Party, on Dalati…
Check it all out on this quiet Saturday… Pretty slow in the political news department…
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