Submitted by ConfiaEnElProceso t3_10kbrnh in philadelphia
Unfamiliar_Word t1_j5prlos wrote
I think of Rebecca Rhynhart and John F. Street very differently. I've tended to think of Mayor Street has having run a crooked, populist administration, whereas I've understood Comptroller Rhynhart as a good-government technocrat. I really have no idea whether this endorsement has value, but it isn't unimaginable that would help to persuade a few voters and I suspect that it's a kind of help that Rebecca Rhynhart needs.
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5psx1z wrote
I agree with the first half. I can also see where she, as a rich (i-banking?) white woman might need prominent minority support. But didn't she work for Nutter? If he isn't running why wouldn't he support her?
And I think there is a downside. It certainly makes me question voting for her, and I was looking at her previously. It seems hard to take her positioning as a good-government technocrat seriously.
a-german-muffin t1_j5q0jjt wrote
Rhynhart needs an edge — she doesn't have union support (yet), so endorsements from name politicians are probably a necessity. Street might have baggage, but he's an institution in North Philly — and his backing is likely a big net positive for her in the 5th District and beyond.
Just getting Street won't be enough, though. We haven't heard other pols weigh in, but if she picks up another former mayor or two (Nutter/Rendell) or other officials, then it starts balancing out unions backing others in the race.
kflan138 t1_j5qy8rj wrote
RENDELL FTW!!!!!!
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5q7j13 wrote
I understand the horse race elements in play here. Rhynhart has no established base like some council folks do from their old district or from the unions like Gym.
However, the only selling point she offers to differentiate herself is good governance and anticorruption. Without that she may as well be Domb or Brown. Not to mention the fact that getting in to bed with Street will surely have effects on her ability to govern. I doubt he's doing this out of the goodness of his heart.
I'm legitimately disappointed because I thought she might be a different type of politician who could do good things if she somehow snuck in amid this wide open field. This feels like the same old b.s.
a-german-muffin t1_j5qiv2q wrote
I get your viewpoint, and I'm not saying what you're detailing is invalid — but you're also disconnected from a Street voter living in Sharswood or Mansion or Yorktown or any of a number of other North Philly neighborhoods. Those folks turned out hard for Street, especially in 2003—he racked up 90+ percent of the vote pretty much everywhere around Broad north of Poplar.
Will Street's endorsement potentially hurt her among the crowd like you, who only see her as the good governance/anticorruption candidate? Sure, potentially. But this isn't about you and voters like you — this is about selling her as a candidate to a sizeable base of voters. She might not look like them or be super connected to them, but Street most definitely is — and that can't be understated when it comes to the potentially tens of thousands of votes coming out of those wards.
oliver_babish t1_j5ql75w wrote
I'm not sure that Street's results in a general election tell you that much about his continuing pull in a primary.
a-german-muffin t1_j5qp59h wrote
The Street name's still got a lot of weight in North Philly — maybe more than you'd expect.
oliver_babish t1_j5qpgft wrote
Oh, I'm not discounting that. (Especially if Sharif is on the same page.)
I just wouldn't look at that particular data point.
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qjqd8 wrote
And i get the horse race part of this. I'm not arguing against that. This is almost certainly good for her candidacy.
it is just disappointing. I think this means, if elected, she will be a shitty mayor. Maybe not as shitty as some of the other candidates, but more of the same b.s. Philly system mayors.
a-german-muffin t1_j5qkok4 wrote
I think you're mistaking horse race for horse trading, which isn't terribly evident here, but even in that sense — what influence do you think Street can have that would so grossly pull down a potential Rhynhart administration? Dude's almost 80, his one kid in high-level politics is set — and Milton's not scoring any contracts any more.
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qnlcg wrote
No, by horse race aspects I'm referring to the coverage of who is pulling ahead or falling behind as opposed to substantive coverage of the issues. See here. In this case the horse race aspect is that this endorsement almost certainly helps her chances of winning.
One of the sleaziest, crooked politicians philly has seen recently is showing her the ropes of how city hall politics works. How does that inspire trust that she will clean up or reform the system? It's not complicated. it makes me think that all her reform talk is just b.s.
a-german-muffin t1_j5qpr0j wrote
Hate to say it, but in a Democratic primary where there isn't a huge gap in terms of policy, endorsements and day-to-day politicking are going to have outsize effects — hell, look at Amen Brown's asking for a do-over; dude drove his campaign into the guardrail right off the start line.
Also, the notion that Street's endorsement is somehow showing Rhynhart the ropes manages to ignore her tenure as controller, which is just... weird. Endorsements are part of the process, and arguably a more important part in a wildly crowded field.
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qr929 wrote
Amen Brown was a clown, not a real candidate.
I'm not disagreeing about the possible impact of the endorsement. You seem to think I'm denying that. I don't know why. Politically this helps her. Period.
Maybe this just blowing smoke up Street's ass and it means nothing, but it gives me pause.
“He is providing expert advice from his experience on a daily basis to my campaign,” Rhynhart said. “Mayor Street is a huge asset to my campaign with the endorsement and then also, his time, energy, knowledge and constructive criticism.”
“I am going to be in meetings. I’ll go to the wards,” Street said. “I will be helping with public policy. I am going to do whatever I can.”
a-german-muffin t1_j5r0bfe wrote
I think you’re vastly underestimating the value of the endorsement of a prominent Black leader for a white woman, especially in predominantly Black districts that could swing tens of thousands of votes.
If Street talking about the nuts-and-bolts of campaigning and working the North Philly wards in favor of Rhynhart (and Rhynhart using pretty basic campaign language to cement the value of his endorsement) gives you pause, then you may be reading way too much into it. Or you’re edging into purity test territory (and then I have some real bad news for you).
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5r13f5 wrote
Jesus Christ, how many times can i say that i think this endorsement helps her politically before you understand that i agree with you???
We clearly disagree about the hypocrisy of running an anticorruption campaign while taking on a corrupt former mayor as an advisor. Fair enough.
Cheers.
MRC1986 t1_j5rm7sh wrote
Illinoisans thought JB Pritzker would be some conservadem because he's a billionaire, and he's been the most progressive Governor in history of that state, as far as I'm aware.
Not that people can't betray their past ideals, but I don't think this is that much of a problem. Rhynhart needs support from Black voters. Does Mayor Street still hold sway with them? I guess more than I thought.
MoreShenanigans t1_j5qkxyw wrote
well said
Hinkie4President t1_j5q8xq0 wrote
Yep she was an ex-banker. MD of the credit derivatives desk at Bear Sterns during the 2008 financial collapse.
MagnusUnda t1_j5pvbd0 wrote
Amen - if you are a “good government” voter like me, the endorsement of a crook makes me look elsewhere on a very crowded ballot
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qpby0 wrote
Does Rhynhart have an army of bots downvoting any critical comment or is the reddit hive mind really that strong?
MagnusUnda t1_j5r6yb7 wrote
Lol. I’ll take the karma hit to speak the truth :)
emet18 t1_j5q8ju5 wrote
Nutter is not supporting her because Nutter is a moderate and Rhynhart is a progressive.
nemesisinphilly t1_j5qcen2 wrote
LOL Rhynhart is not a progressive. She was Nutter's City Treasurer and his Budget Director. If Nutter endorses anyone it will be her.
Also expect Nutter to endorse Eryn Santamoor for Council At Large.
emet18 t1_j5qdmqm wrote
Philadelphia mag described Rhynhart as a “progressive playmate” of Krasner in 2019. The Inquirer said that she was elected in 2017 because she “rode a progressive wave.”
Her plans for mayor seem to cast her equally in the progressive mold. In this interview from late last year, Rhynhart blames gun violence on “racist government programs,” and wants to “reallocate” police funding (read: defund the police) in favor of “community policing” instead.
Rhynhart is Helen Gym for white women. She takes kooky progressive ideas but wipes off the militant activism and repackages them in nerdy policy wonkery, but the ideas are still the same: defund the police, blame everything on systemic racism.
nemesisinphilly t1_j5qf2dp wrote
Don't believe everything you read. If you think Rhynhart is a progressive then who do you think the moderates are in this race?
I would never in a million years vote for Gym and Rhynhart is one of my top choices.
LFKhael t1_j5qfmw4 wrote
Not to mention someone former Wall Street who worked for Nutter being a facsimile of Krasner?
🤡
emet18 t1_j5qt53v wrote
dude idk what to tell you I’m quoting Philly Mag and the Inquirer for that label, die mad about it I guess
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5qpm4f wrote
As a progressive i very much doubt Rhynhart's bona fides as a progressive as well.
emet18 t1_j5qv3zq wrote
I believe what I read when it’s the words of the candidate themselves.
Among the major candidates in this race, from least to most progressive I’d say: Domb -> Green -> Jeff Brown -> Parker -> Rhynhart -> Quiñones-Sanchez -> Gym.
Let me ask you this: apart from Gym and Quiñones-Sanchez, are there any candidates you think are more progressive than Rhynhart?
nemesisinphilly t1_j5r0m44 wrote
Well there are different kinds of progressives. When Rhynhart says the things in that interview I don't believe her because her actions and deeds do not align with those words.
Green wants the City of Philadelphia to open and fund a bank. Possibly the worst possible idea ever. It's not a moderate idea at all.
I want a candidate that's pro development and pro reducing regulations on small business. I would also want a candidate that would be in favor of the sixers arena in market east.
Based on what I'm looking for I would say all the candidates other than Domb and maybe Brown are to the left of Rhynhart.
LFKhael t1_j5qdr5k wrote
KRAAASNEEEEERRRR
[deleted] t1_j5qe0y2 wrote
[removed]
ConfiaEnElProceso OP t1_j5q9gz8 wrote
Has this been reported anywhere? He was the one who brought her in to city hall, no?
oliver_babish t1_j5qk28i wrote
Most politicos expect Nutter to endorse Rhynhart as his protege, but I think the extent to which he was content to leave the rumors of his availability out there raises questions.
crispydukes t1_j5taodd wrote
>but I think the extent to which he was content to leave the rumors of his availability out there raises questions.
He officially said he was not running.
oliver_babish t1_j5tei07 wrote
After a few weeks of allowing open speculation and courtship.
A_Peke_Named_Goat t1_j5tox9b wrote
lol, only in 2023 when all of our minds are completely ruined by social media would a 'few weeks' be considered a long amount of time in politics.
oliver_babish t1_j5ttom0 wrote
Welcome to politics.
A_Peke_Named_Goat t1_j5u13gw wrote
flipside is that because our attention spans are so short, now that he has put an end to the speculation its basically as if he never wavered on not running. Now its all speculation on if he will endorse and who, and if he does endorse someone we will forget about all the speculation just as quickly.
oliver_babish t1_j5u4vg7 wrote
Pretty much. (Same with the now-ended Vincent Hughes flirtation with running.)
[deleted] t1_j5r1fe9 wrote
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