Thursday, January 29, 2015

Ward 33 election: who does Deb Mell see as "us" & "them"?

Letter found in snow. Shared by email January 28, 2015.
Elections are about framing the elections between "us" and "them". This is the line Alderman Deb Mell uses:
I will take on the difficult decisions facing Chicago and fight for what is rightfully ours.
According to Grassroots Illinois Action Mell voted with Mayor Rahm Emanuel 100% of the time 2011-14. So, a more truthful way of Mell saying it would be,
"I will take on the decisions Mayor Emanuel wants decided and vote the way MRE tells me to vote."
But I would rather focus on the second half of Mell's statement.
  1. Who is included in "ours"?
  2. What is "rightfully ours"?
  3. Who or what is the threat to us getting what's "rightfully ours"?