Mayor earns 'Nay-gone' title New Orleans

[thepurpose]

I wish Ray would stay home and get that wonderful city rebuilt.

Saturday, August 26, 2006
By Gordon Russell
Once, his opponents derided him as "Ray Reagan."

These days, Mayor Ray Nagin is wearing a new nickname, courtesy of talk-radio host Garland Robinette: Mayor Ray "Nay-gone."

While his press office tried to play down reports of a national tour after his re-election May 20, Nagin has since kept a travel schedule rivaling a professional sports star or a touring rock act. A partial list of the stops thus far: San Diego, Chicago, Baltimore, Memphis, Indianapolis and Houston.


In some cases, he's made a speech; in others, collected campaign cash for as-yet-unnamed political offices Nay-gone may seek in the future. Term limits prevent another run for mayor.

For a while this spring, the mayor struggled to raise campaign dough, but he's apparently rolling in it now.

"People want to give me money, man," a grinning Nagin said this week, adding that he's turned down some invitations to far-flung fund-raisers. "I'm just taking it. You want to give me some money? I'll take it."

Nagin's most recent trip was to Philadelphia, where Andre Duggin, a politically active insurance broker in that city, hosted a fund-raiser Aug. 17. Among the guests were Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor John Street.

Nagin called the event "a follow-up from the election."

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1156572779292430.xml&coll=1

[iamjoy]

1. What A Jerk

how could the people of NOLA re-elect that man?

He should be home, trying to get his city rebuilt. And if he has no more success getting his city rebuilt (because it really is beyond one city's resources and the Feds sure aren't helping), he should at least be in the same boat as his contituents, not partying elsewhere.

Or, is this a "liberal media" hatchet job, is he out trying to get money to help with the rebuilding? Hope springs eternal.

[BOSSHOG]

3. The story is no hatchet job

Nagin is unfit to be Mayor. Mitch Landrieu would have made an excellent Mayor and as during Katrina he would be there for the city. Nagin is rapidly collapsing into buffoon status. The citizens of the Big Easy did themselves no favors by keeping him in office.

[jonnyblitz]

4. Douglas Brinkley, in his awesome book, "The Great Deluge"

(about Katrina) had not one kind word to say about the man. I could just feel the venom eminating from the pages whenever Brinkley was discussing Nagin. I won't get into the specifics but after reading that book, if it is accurate, I have nothing but contempt for the man. I don't believe Brinkley is some right winger doing a hatchet job on a "democrat" either.

[BOSSHOG]

5. Douglas Brinkley

is a brilliant historian. His book is an objective portrayal of what happened and who did what.

[RamboLiberal]

10. I read The Great Deluge - and you're right on how Brinkley

portrays Nagin. I respect Brinkley as a historian and felt he was not portraying the mayor unfairly. I couldn't believe it when NOLA relected him. If Brinkley was writing truthfully, Nagin basically holed up in that hotel and didn't even have the guts to venture in to the Superdome or the Convention Center, while Blanco had the guts to go. And Mitch Landrieu was out there tirelessly rescuing people.

I remember I got trashed on DU for criticizing Nagin for going to Dallas for several days the week after the hurricane while they were still recovering dead bodies and what was left of his police force was camped out in a Wal-Mart's parking lot or living dormitory style in another officer's surviving house. Brinkley relates that cops left in NOLA took to calling Nagin "Dallas One". Guess cause of his rant on the radio he was a hero to many here. Isn't this pundit now criticizing him the same one whose show he did his rant?

IMHO Nagin is a glory-hound DINO who has a bad habit of inserting foot-in-mouth. Politically I hope his career ends in NOLA.

[sonroadera]

2. What do you expect from a guy who endorsed Bush in 2000

and was a Republican until he ran for mayor?
I wish they would have elected Landrieu, but oh well. :shrug:

[BOSSHOG]

6. He also endorsed the republican

turd who ran against Democratic candidate Kathleen Blanco in 2004. Blanco took the punk to the wood shed but he's lurking in the shadows to most likely run again next time.

[LA lady]

7. Blanco

If Blanco gets the nomination again (Please God, no!) I think she'll get beat this time. We HAVE to look for someone else.

[RB TexLa]

9. Get's what nomination?

Open primary, remember.

[LA lady]

11. Sorry

I guess I mean gets the La Dem party backing.

[Kickoutthejams23]

8. New Orleans got the mayor they voted for again.

The city was a broken down disaster and they vote for Nagin..... Then the Hurricane shows up. he performs about as badly as a public official can. (No it does not reduces shrub's culpability to point out that Nagin was horrible during Katrina)And then they reelect him. It's like the Palestinians voting in Hamas (okay it really isn't but follow me here) You can bemoan what the people choose but an election is an election and we need to respect their choices no matter how bizarrely misguided we may feel they are. Maybe New Orleans will learn their lesson.