Juan Reyes
For over twenty five years I have searched, on more than a thousand occasions, to find the right words to explain to my readers just how low, disgusting, reprehensible and evil politics can be.
Who would have ever thought, after all this time, that I would be able to sum it up in just two words…Juan Reyes.
And who would have ever thought anyone could so outrage me that I would run my weekly editorial instead on the most important news page in my publication?
Seems a lot of people are doing things that are unimaginable. But in my case, I really wanted The Forum readers to see this.
Let me share with you that which has prompted such a response–not only here but in media and political circles all over the city and state.
Reyes has run a campaign best described as malicious from its inception, but earlier this week, the campaign released a piece that steps away from malicious and instead enters a whole new category—we’ll call it malignant.
The mailer was defended by the Reyes campaign as a means to show Ulrich as one who flip flops on his position on gay marriage. But quickly the reader is moved away from the concept of flip flopping and hurtled into a tour of loathsome inferences and accusatory tones.
The piece attacks Ulrich for his friendship with an openly gay city councilman and then mentions that Mrs. Ulrich accompanies her husband frequently when they go out to dinner, not only with the gay councilman but with his husband as well.
It goes on to say Ulrich hired a gay chief of staff and another gay staffer. The tone and language of the piece is as unacceptable as it’s content.
We’re being asked to toss Ulrich to the curb because he dines with gay people? What we’re actually being asked to do answer your call to open discrimination. What’s next Juan, an invitation to a cross burning on Christine Quinn’s terrace? To call you a pig would be to insult swine around the world.
And here’s a question for you Juan–(is that your real name by the way?) What happens if your family is in need of emergency medical care and the driver of the ambulance has a rainbow flag pinned to his collar. Do I hear you say, “Stand back you’re gay. You can’t give my daughter CPR.”
The real danger in this piece is not the message of its hateful, homophobic words. The real danger is in a potential failure to recognize from where it comes.
This is not what it masquerades to be—and hopefully there is not a fool enough among us to think that this is an attack of one Republican against another.
For an attack of such vile proportions would never be aimed at any Republican by any Republican. Nor by any Democrat against any Democrat. This is not primary politics.
So let’s extract what we can from this situation and realize that Juan Reyes is not only what we called him in this newspaper two weeks ago—a liar— he’s a political thug for hire who sold himself at an undisclosed price specifically to cause Ulrich’s campaign to spend money that would have been more effectively spent on the general election.
If you’re a Republican, we hope that you will travel to the polls for this primary and take Juan Reyes off the radar permanently.
Let’s make sure Juan Reyes and his brand of contempt are escorted off this playing field. Now and forever.
