Backlash to Giles ‘idiot’ remark is ... well, idiotic
For the offense of being an intelligent elected official making an honest remark (while wearing a live microphone), Mesa Mayor John Giles is suddenly getting my email and voicemail. Mr. Mayor, I feel for you.
Giles used the word “idiot” while referencing President Donald Trump.
The vitriolic response he’s gotten has been idiotic.
Though perhaps not surprising. Not these days.
Suddenly, this staunch conservative and lifelong loyal Republican is hearing from people who wish him to suffer a long, lingering, painful death. And they are the least offensive of his critics.
It all began after the microphones on a ABC15 crew picked up a brief private conversation between Giles and Sen. Jeff Flake that followed a public event in which they participated.
Flake made a comment about Republicans, saying, “(If we) become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast.”
Giles then urged Flake to consider a run for the presidency in 2020, a comment he might have gotten away with if he had stopped there. But, believing it was a private conversation, he didn’t.
Giles added, “And I am not throwing smoke at you, but you are the guy. Just for fun, think about how much fun it would be, just to be the foil, you know, and point out what an idiot this guy (Trump) is.”
Blam! Unleash the trolls.
“Dear Mayor Dumbass” began one of the more intellectually crafted missives Giles received.
When the public nature of the mayor’s (supposedly) private remark was brought to his attention, Giles told The Arizona Republic:
“As a lifelong conservative Republican, I am troubled when candidates like Roy Moore send the wrong message about my party’s ethics and policies. We need more people like Jeff Flake in the U.S. Senate, not Roy Moore.”
Fair. Sound. Honest.
But not good enough for the trolls. So, Giles released a larger statement that reads:
“My words, while regrettably informal and imprecise during a private conversation, were a manifestation of my frustration and concern with national politics. I want to apologize to those who might have misinterpreted my comments as being critical or dismissive of the intelligence of the voters who elected both me and the President. Much of the feedback I have received has come from people outside of Mesa and usually Arizona. I hope Mesa residents will look at my history and recognize that I will always put their interests ahead of partisan politics as I work to strengthen our city.”
First, the mayor’s words were not informal or imprecise.
They were, in fact, honest and direct.
Second, the mayor could remind his critics of something the Sisters of St. Joseph told us in grammar school. They said that a person who begins a discussion with an insult or a profan-