Cliche ‘left’ labels mask lazy reasoning
According to Saturday’s Free Press editorial page, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly is “left-leaning,” a cliched pejorative apparently intended to terrify public officials lest they be similarly slurred.
At ease, city government employees. Mr. Kelly is not a toxic spreader of suspicious politics. Remember that cliches are lame substitutes for sound reasoning.
Frankly, I never thought that there were “right” and “left” ways to pave streets, collect garbage, fight fires or keep the city safe with professional policing, among other vital services.
It’s unclear from the editorial whether our “left-leaning” mayor is just one of many suspects in city government. If so, should City Council members investigate? Maybe – but clearly those who might share the mayor’s purported “ideology” must be required to abstain.