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The King vs A Prince in Memphis Mayoral Debate

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    The King vs A Prince in Memphis Mayoral Debate

    Memphis Mayoral Debate.

    Yes, Jerry "The King" Lawler is running. The announcer for World Wrestling Entertainment. As is Robert "Prince Mongo" Hodges, who claims to be from the Planet Zambodia and who painted his legs and hands purple and pink for the debate.

    The good thing about it all, is that it proves American politics are not a circus carnival sideshow.


    #2
    The King vs A Prince in Memphis Mayoral Debate

    Jarvis DeBerry: Memphis wrestles with embarrassment
    By Jarvis Deberry
    September 27, 2009, 6:00AM

    At a mayoral debate in Memphis last month, Robert "Prince Mongo" Hodges showed up barefoot. The prince, who says he was born on a planet called Zambodia and later immigrated to Memphis, wore goggles a la Charles Lindbergh. His bare legs were painted purple and pink. Purple for royalty and pink for (Zambodian?) blood.

    Jerry "The King" Lawler was there, too. If you were anywhere near Memphis on a Saturday morning in the 1980s, you’ll remember the popular wrestler feuding with "Superstar" Bill Dundee and "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant at the Mid-South Coliseum. You’ll also remember him on television wearing a cape, cradling a crown and hawking goods too cheap to be hawked by real celebrities.

    Few people would have cared if the prince and the king had shown up at the debate to ask questions. Aliens need city services as much as earthlings. And if somebody were to steal the king’s crown, he’d need to know the Police Department could retrieve it.

    Unfortunately, Prince Mongo and Lawler showed up to answer questions, not ask them. They are two of the 25 candidates running to succeed Willie Herenton, who resigned as Memphis mayor after an eventful 18 years.

    Threatened by Prince Mongo with a lawsuit — boy, these aliens know how to blend in — WMC-TV let him participate in the debate. He took the stage Aug. 27 with eight others, which means the remaining 16 candidates are either less serious than the extraterrestrial or tragically unlitigious.

    Wendi C. Thomas, a Commercial Appeal columnist who asked questions of the candidates, said Mongo’s participation — he’s been running for mayor since 1978 — "made a mockery of the democratic process. It distracts from the real issue."

    During the debate, Hodges, the self-claimed alien, was seated next to Lawler, the local king of wrestling. They were seated alphabetically, but Lawler — who is desperate that his campaign be taken seriously and was threatening to sue his way into a debate this weekend — must have known his was the worst seat in the house. He reportedly put as much distance between himself and Prince Mongo as he could. But that could be because, according to Thomas, Prince Mongo smells less than heavenly.

    No matter what happens in New Orleans, let’s agree that we will not see a debate between an alien in a ratty blond wig and an opponent who has historically solved problems by wrapping his fist with a chain pulled from his tights. That doesn’t make the anxiety over the future go away, but it could help voters appreciate that the New Orleanians who have announced their candidacies are serious men with a history of trying to improve their communities.

    We have a reputation for absurdity, but it’s hard to imagine us descending to Memphis’ level.

    There are some serious candidates in the city upriver. But the contest has devolved into a freak show, the last thing a city needs when it’s trying to forget an embarrassing, scandal-plagued administration. As downtown Memphis was being redeveloped, Herenton’s real-estate firm sold a downtown lot to one of the mayor’s friends for $50,000, and Herenton bought it back for ten bucks, arousing the attention of the FBI. After Herenton’s police bodyguard served time for a drug conspiracy, he gave her a job rehabilitating felons and a $100,897 salary.

    In 2004, the 64-year-old mayor impregnated a 31-year-old security guard. He dumped her during her third trimester. That mother filed a petition Thursday on behalf of her child for half the lump-sum pension Herenton received when he resigned in July.

    In 2006, Herenton, who had boxed as a youth, stepped into the ring with former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier. The charity event raised money for a local drug court, but at the expense of seeing the two men stumbling around the ring with their shirts off.

    Lawler may figure he’s got as good a chance as any, Memphis having long ago grown used to the sight of him without a shirt. He’ll surely poll higher than Prince Mongo, if for no other reason than "The King" claims Earth as his home.

    Comment


      #3
      The King vs A Prince in Memphis Mayoral Debate

      Follows Giuliani on law and order, but seems rock solid on race issues, including powder/rock disparities. Women also.

      I'd vote for him.

      Comment


        #4
        The King vs A Prince in Memphis Mayoral Debate

        Another video featuring Prince Mongo needing medication to walk to the podium.

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