In last week’s column (Open for Business, August 11, 2011: “No West, Young Man”), we reported about the ongoing fallout from the invitation to speak last month by the Wilton Manors Business Association (WMBA, “Wimba”) to Congressman Allen West. Among reactions to the invitation and subsequent cancellation of the planned August 8th meeting, an email to Wilton Manors Mayor Gary Resnick from Dr. Marc J. Romano outlined the latter’s “objection to” the invitation for West to address the business guild. Of the 22nd Congressional District representative, Romano wrote: “He has made numerous comments that reflect he is homophobic and a bigot. His views support policies and beliefs that discriminate against the LGBT Community and he is not welcome here.”
The invitation from WMBA drew sharp criticism from a number of gay rights activists, including Michael Rajner, legislative director for the Florida Democratic Party GLBT Caucus. The ensuing controversy led to the decision by the group’s Board of Directors to cancel the event.
Lawyer-activist Dean Trantalis, a former Vice Mayor and city commissioner in Fort Lauderdale, says that a want of prudence may have been a factor. “As the saying goes,” notes the Wilton Manors attorney, “‘the road to Hell is paved with the best intentions.’”
Trantalis believes that “the invitation to Allen West to speak at a WMBA meeting shows great insensitivity to the
community which comprises much of the area in which the organization services.”
As to the House freshman Republican’s opposition to such LGBT issues as repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) and federal recognition for same-sex unions through a repeal of the noxious and wholly un-American Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Trantalis, a WMBA member, offers that “Mr. West is offensive by any standard, and his pretense to wanting to discuss just items of business [at the cancelled WMBA meeting] mocks the very core upon which this community has been built.”
Responding to West’s comments in a letter written to WMBA President Celeste Ellich and the group’s members in which West implies that his critics are “intolerable individuals,” Trantalis protests that “we are not intolerable. Every opportunity West is given to speak condones his actions and his rhetoric. We’ve heard what he has to say, we’ve shown the world his very words. Why should we be once again subjected to his ridicule and condescension?”
(As was noted in last week’s column, Open for Business, August 11, 2011: “No West, Young Man”), Your Kindly Scrivener offers the possibility, or even likelihood, that the Distinguished Gentleman’s usage of the word “intolerable” may have been a malapropism – a la “Slip” Mahoney of the 1930s and 40s Bowery Boys movies, 70s Vegas headliner Norm Crosby, or international comedy sensation George W. Bush – that was meant to place-hold for the more civil “intolerant.” Or maybe he just doesn’t like gay people.)
In response to Romano’s email, Wilton Manors Mayor Resnick replied that “the invitation was extended by … Celeste Ellich, as president of a private business association [WMBA]. She never consulted with or advised the city of the invitation.” Added Resnick: “By the way, I’m a member of the GLBT Democratic Caucus and did not learn of this from them either.”
This Ain’t My First Time at the Rodeo, Fellas
Wilton Drive’s newest dining spot, Rodeo, has some enticements to introduce you to their great selection of Southwestern, Tex-Mex, Barbecue, Cajun/Creole and traditional Southern cuisine. On Tuesdays between 4p.m and 10p.m. they are offering 30% off the price for bottles of wine. Wednesday is Teacher Night; teachers who present a valid teacher ID card between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. receive 20% off their individual bills. And their Happy Hour runs from Tuesday through Friday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., which includes 30% off all drinks from the bar.
By the Numbers (Hail to the Chief Edition)
A comparison of approval ratings during the third Summer of recent U.S. Presidents’ first terms:
• 42.5%: Barack Obama approval
rating, Summer 2011
• 62.5%: George W. Bush approval
rating, Summer 2003 (won re-election in 2004)
• 47.5%: Bill Clinton approval rating, Summer 1995 (won re-election in 1996)
• 80.0%: George H.W. Bush approval rating, Summer 1991 (lost re-election in 1992)
• 39.5%: Ronald Reagan approval
rating, Summer 1983 (won re-election – by a landslide – in 1984)
If you’re “Open for Business”, you can contact Business Writer and Director of Sales, Cliff Dunn, with your story at Business@FloridaAgenda.com