Progressive Democrat Issue 45: BROOKLYNFOCUS

The indictment of Clarence Norman is big…REALLY big for Brooklyn politics. Republican corruption is horrible, but we can’t tolerate corruption in our own party either. Clarence Norman not only is embarrassingly corrupt, but he also led a party machine that couldn’t even deliver votes. Brooklyn Dem voter turnout is extremely low. Norman only cared about holding power, not in strengthening the Democratic party. We are better off without Clarence Norman. I should also point out a contrast between the Republicans and our party. The massive corruption of the Republicans has gone unchallenged within the Republican party. The Republicans have generally closed ranks behind DeLay and Blunt and Frist and implicitly supported their corruption. Here in Brooklyn we have a corrupt Dem party, but their downfall comes from WITHIN the Dem party—from the reform Dem clubs and from Charles Hynes, the Democratic Brooklyn DA I don’t much like but who DID lead the legal attack on Clarence Norman. Today, Democrats are willing to clean house, even if it takes some time. The Republicans tolerate and encourage corruption across the nation.

I suggest that we all write our local media and comment on the conviction of Clarence Norman and the contrast between Democrats cleaning house and Republicans wallowing I corruption. I suggest the following newspapers:

New York Daily News: voicers@edit.nydailynews.com

Newsday: tbrune@newsday.com

Jewish Tribune: lijeworld@aol.com

If we all flood these papers with letters, they just might take notice!