The Demise of Kwame

“The Chicken came home to roost and found that it knows how to send text messages…”

- What Malcolm X may have said if he were living today….

The writer of this article chooses for personal reasons to keep this passage anonymous as the individual has good friends that work in city government that he has known for years and chooses not to implicate them without merit or evidentiary discovery. So for once, after a half of decade of silence in regards to the Kilpatrick administration, the release of damaging evidence that suggests significant malfeasance rampant warrants my opinion.

But first I want to offer a few questions that surround this major issue. These questions act as the barometer for what will be the ultimate epilogue of this story:

Can people of African American decent govern themselves?

What would happen if Kwame Kilpatrick was white?

Do African Americans apologize for the transgressions of black leadership because they value “protecting ones own” over accountability even if those transgressions are so damaging to ones race that it should be considered treason?

So let’s put things in perspective addressing the ways of means of how we got here. Through numerous personal conversations with elected leaders, employees in city government and other entities tied to the city it is common knowledge that Kwame Kilpatrick is a charismatic orator who can sell hot chocolate in the desert. But he’s a supremely flawed individual who believes that lies and deceit are invisible without factual evidence and proof. The difference in this philosophy beholden to the administration is what we call the “snowball effect”. As his transgressions have been exposed the lies and cover up tactics have multiplied to the tipping point. If concrete evidence was discovered this in turn would answer many related questions about other improprieties exhibited in this administration over the last six years.

There are too many instances to name when we discuss improprieties associated with Kilpatrick so let’s explore one of the larger stories that made print. This is the underground view of those in the know:

The “Party” at the Mansion:

The party wasn’t a myth and did happen. The investigation was obviously compromised by Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty and this is now being illuminated via the “Text Message Watergate Scandal” (insert laugh here). The participants of the party were all either directly to the administration in either one of three ways – 1) They were on city payroll or had city contracts and wouldn’t speak about the party in fear of retribution. This includes police officers up to the highest levels. 2) They were relatives of the mayor and one thing you can say about the Kilpatrick’s – they are a close and closed clan. 3) They were personal friends of the mayor and feared for their lives if they spoke about the event. The murder of the dancer that was “allegedly” at the event substantiates this fear.

Now I know personally of an employee who happened to be working that same evening at a certain downtown hospital at the time the dancer was brought in after being roughed up by allegedly Carlita Kilpatrick. News organizations tried to obtain medical records but found them to be removed from the facility. This is no coincidence. I could relate other conversations with various entities around the city that have knowledge of the party that has offered additional information about the event. These people don’t know each other but coincidentally their stories match. But to quote an actual transcript “text message” conversation from Kwame and Christine as printed in the Detroit Free Press on January 24, 2008 Section 15A proof goes something like this….

9/13/02, 9:02 A.M.

Kilpatrick: They were right outside the door. They [the mayor’s bodyguards] had to have heard everything…
Beatty: So we are officially busted! LOL (note: LOL is Laugh Out Loud in text speak)
Kilpatrick: LOL LOL! Damn that. Never busted. Busted is what you see! LOL ….
Beatty: LOL LOL. Damn, so they have to walk in before you conceed (sp) busted! LOL.
Kilpatrick: Hell yeah. Walk in.

This line from Kilpatrick, “Never busted. Busted is what you see!” sums up his whole administration. In other words if you….

Weren’t at the “party” then it never happened.
Didn’t use that Navigator for your wife on non official business then it never happened.
Charged up thousands of dollars of non related business expenses on city government then it never happened.
Fired Gary Brown and Harold Nelthrope to squash an investigation and nobody could figure it out (even though the jury did) then it never happened.

I could go on but I choose not to write a novel but you get my drift….

But to understand Kilpatrick you must first understand his ideology. Supported by the misgivings of his first term and now apparently his second, the Mayor is an accomplished politician who knows how to damage control. To make it plain, this is the Kilpatrick manifesto:

Rule One

Use my political power to exact influence by any means necessary even if it’s illegal or is tantamount to possible perjury as long as I don’t get caught.


Rule Two

If by chance my transgressions are discovered but evidence has not been shown to substantiate whatever argument an opponent may bring against the Kilpatrick machine just lie about it and use my charisma, power of persuasion and political influence to make it “just go away”.

Rule Three

If evidence has been shown and it becomes increasingly hard to “wiggle” free then appease the masses of the city of Detroit and blame it on race to trick my “brothas” and “sistas” into thinking that it’s us against them and they are just doing this to a black man again. {Editors note: This exact process was conveyed in the Brown/ Nelthrope trial proceedings this past summer.}

Rule Four

If rule three doesn’t work then feign an apology and beg for the mercy of your constituency to look another way and give that “boy you pulled a switch out in your neighborhood” another chance. Use and manipulate the citizens into having remorse and sympathy for you even though as an elected official you should know better.

Actually, it’s quite humorous. He blames his errors in judgment on youth but states his leadership abilities unequivocally at any other time.

“I did not have textual relations with that woman!

- What Kwame would say if he hadn’t been outed….


What will happen now?

Well, let’s explore the question I asked earlier. I will combine those two questions in one:

Can people of African American decent govern themselves?

Do African Americans apologize for the transgressions of black leadership because they value “protecting ones own” over accountability even if those transgressions are so damaging to ones race that it should be considered treason?

African Americans are an interesting race. We have been maligned by this country for so long that we implore a self defense mechanism for other African Americans accused of wrong doing even when it is indefensible. Because of this trait we tend to look or gloss over behaviors exhibited by people of the same color that we wouldn’t condone if done by any other race. Some of this is attributed to our suspicion of White people. Other times its simple ignorance. But this ignorance masks many of the horrible environmental conditions that exist within our neighborhoods, schools and in this case leadership. A traitor is someone who taps into these insecurities and utilizes that paradigm for personal benefit. If anything, Kilpatrick is a master of this process. But he’s not isolated in this approach. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have been accused of such impropriety and so has many people from the cloth. This philosophy has made ignorant men wealthy. If we are to transcend race then we must hold ourselves as accountable as you would any other nationality. You must first love yourself before you can attempt to love others thus having accountability is paramount to our progression as a race which transitions into the next question:

What would happen if Kwame Kilpatrick was white?

African Americans would have said that what the mayor did was racist, they would say that it was done because he (or she) took the intellectual capability of Detroiters for granted to decipher the truth and that we were used because leadership didn’t respect us enough to think otherwise.

Unfortunately, that reaction should be against anyone (and I also mean black folk) that abuse the powers ordained by the people. Will black people understand that logic in this context? I highly doubt it.


“Text messages thou are loosed….”

- The title of Bishop T D Jakes book if he wrote about this salacious story…



Epilogue

So one of three things are going to happen:

Option One

Kilpatrick will resign. Odds of this happening is nil. Kwame has too big an ego to step down. His ego caused him not to settle the trial which may have avoided this situation.

Option Two

Wayne County Prosecutor Kim Worthy will file perjury charges. If convicted Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty would face up to 15 years in prison. Interesting thought, if Worthy could bring charges against the 911 operators that didn’t answer a youth’s call that indirectly resulted in the death of his mom then you would certainly think that she would bring charges in this case. It will all depend on relationships and if she wants to bring the Mayor down. Word is that she faces pressure to file charges but we will wait and see.

Option Three

Nothing happens. Kilpatrick gets a litany of religious “leaders” to pray for him on one Sunday morning and he indirectly begs for forgiveness in such a “personal” time. Time heals. Memories get rewritten and everybody lives happily ever after. I will take bets on which “Spiritual Advisor” will be the point person. Connect the dots months or years later to a city contract that they will receive for reimbursement and watch them attribute it to “Divine Intervention”. I’m not being facetious here. I’m telling the truth!

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this did happen as I have rarely if at all seen an elected official actually pay for their illegal improprieties. Alonzo Bates went to prison most recently but in his words, “it was because of the KKK”. He’s a subscriber of the rule three Kilpatrick manifesto.


So there you have. I’m curious to hear your comments. Please post to this blog. Kwame Exposed will continue to follow this story.