Ron Sims Mugabe Watch

King County Executive / Contender for the Democratic nomination in the Washington gubernatorial race Ron Sims, in his speech to the state Democratic convention earlier this month:

Sims beat up on initiative king Tim Eyman--"I want to send him a message: There's a new sheriff in town," Sims thundered

The word "sheriff" is clearly intended to suggest that Eyman is a criminal. But he is not any kind of a criminal, he is merely a political activist who organizes ballot initiatives (most of them quite popular) that challenge the entrenched political elites, such as by lowering taxes. Reasonable people can disagree about the initiatives that Eyman supports. But to imply that Eyman's legitimate opposition to Sims' political machine marks him as an appropriate target of the criminal justice system, is well, exactly how Robert Mugabe operates.

On a lighter note, it occurs to us that both Zimbabwe's "President for Life" Robert Mugabe and King County's "Executive for Life" (unless he gets elected governor) Ron Sims prop up their failing regimes by using the charms of female dancers. Robert Mugabe:

Zimbabwe's Government has begun a huge propaganda campaign to cheer up the country with music, football and sex. All the main forums of popular culture have been harnessed to depict government policies as reasons to smile and break into song.

State-sanctioned jingles with upbeat tunes that feature wriggling female dancers and next month's African Nations Cup football final dominate television and radio.

Ron Sims' gubernatorial pageant at the Democratic convention:

But King County Executive Ron Sims was clearly determined not to be outdone by his opponent's pageantry. When his turn came, a throbbing tribal beat, more African juju than Scottish war clan, filled the auditorium. The audience began to clap rhythmically as a crew from the Alpha Phi Alpha step team performed a synchronized hiphop dance routine. Two elaborately costumed ranks of young Asian women--the Filipino Youth Activities Drill Team--marched into the hall in regimented lockstep, followed by a large posse of Sims partisans. Their chieftain, standing at the podium, raised his fist in the air, gyrating it wildly.

Ron Sims gyrating his fist wildly	Robert Mugabe gyrating his fist wildly

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 17, 2004 09:50 AM