Fanon Rucker Running For Supreme Court
Fanon Rucker to run for Supreme Court | CommunityPress.com | cincinnati.com
I can't stand Fanon Rucker because of some mess that happened about 15 years ago. Yeah, that's a long time to carry a grudge. Yeah, I should probably let it go. Yeah, I might even be wrong about what, exactly, Fanon did. (Before he was appointed judge, back when he was running against Joe Deters, another one of my enemies, Fanon approached me and said let's sit down and talk. I declined. Search the archives for more of the back story.)
Anyway, my opposition to Rucker back then was mostly, but not entirely, personal. Part of my opposition seemed from my honest belief that Fanon was one of these fake chumps who would sell Black people out if placed in a position of power. I reasoned that this guy had a record as prosecutor that wasn't good and he'd only get worse. I was glad when he lost to Deters -- better to have a devil you know is a devil than a devil who everyone thinks is an angel. Plus, I didn't think he was qualified so his failure would've reflected poorly on the race.
Well, former Governor Ted Strickland appointed Rucker to the bench. Guess what? I hate Strickland too. As far as I'm concerned, he's a coward. (That's another story. And, yes, its based on some personal bullshit. Now that I'm on a roll I really feel like talking about it, but I won't, at least not today.) So, Strickland appointing Rucker confirmed, in my mind, my thesis that Rucker was stepping on the little people to get ahead. The appointment was merely his reward.
Now, some people have stopped reading and won't get this. I've watched Judge Rucker. I've still got friends and sources who deal with him. I interact with them. My take, based on my observations, my research, and my discussions with people who see him work is while no judge is perfect, Judge Fanon Rucker is awfully good at what he does. He is certainly smart. He is ambitious. He is fair.
I've read quite a few books detailing the history of Cincinnati. On my bookshelf are two biographies of William Howard Taft. Before Taft was President or Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, he was a local judge, hearing cases in the same spot that Judge Rucker now occupies. Taft distinguished himself while in Cincinnati with his legal rulings, his leadership on the court, and his involvement in the community. Not only do Black people need leaders, we all do. Could Judge Rucker be one of this leaders? I think so.
One last thing. Some people, even some of you, my faithful readers, misunderstand what we do here at The Cincinnati Black Blog. We believe iron sharpens iron. Only the best and brightest should lead. (When we can't get the best, we want the funniest!) There is no room for corruption and self-dealing. So, we push to expose the crooks and lessen their ability to fleece the people. (We are actually doing them a favor by keeping them out of the federal penitentiary.) And we spar with the people who have the capacity to lead but need some toughening up. Go back through the archives and read what we've written about Christopher Smitherman and Alicia Reece (two able politicians corrupted by the love of money and power), Cecil Thomas (a fool), Wendell Young (lazy and unprepared). There is a long list full of elected and unelected people that we admire and respect.
Today, we focus on Fanon Rucker. Is he ready? Is he the best we have to offer? Should he have stood for re-election if he was going to run for another seat? There's plenty of time to discuss these things. For now, we are glad Judge Rucker is running.
I can't stand Fanon Rucker because of some mess that happened about 15 years ago. Yeah, that's a long time to carry a grudge. Yeah, I should probably let it go. Yeah, I might even be wrong about what, exactly, Fanon did. (Before he was appointed judge, back when he was running against Joe Deters, another one of my enemies, Fanon approached me and said let's sit down and talk. I declined. Search the archives for more of the back story.)
Anyway, my opposition to Rucker back then was mostly, but not entirely, personal. Part of my opposition seemed from my honest belief that Fanon was one of these fake chumps who would sell Black people out if placed in a position of power. I reasoned that this guy had a record as prosecutor that wasn't good and he'd only get worse. I was glad when he lost to Deters -- better to have a devil you know is a devil than a devil who everyone thinks is an angel. Plus, I didn't think he was qualified so his failure would've reflected poorly on the race.
Well, former Governor Ted Strickland appointed Rucker to the bench. Guess what? I hate Strickland too. As far as I'm concerned, he's a coward. (That's another story. And, yes, its based on some personal bullshit. Now that I'm on a roll I really feel like talking about it, but I won't, at least not today.) So, Strickland appointing Rucker confirmed, in my mind, my thesis that Rucker was stepping on the little people to get ahead. The appointment was merely his reward.
Now, some people have stopped reading and won't get this. I've watched Judge Rucker. I've still got friends and sources who deal with him. I interact with them. My take, based on my observations, my research, and my discussions with people who see him work is while no judge is perfect, Judge Fanon Rucker is awfully good at what he does. He is certainly smart. He is ambitious. He is fair.
I've read quite a few books detailing the history of Cincinnati. On my bookshelf are two biographies of William Howard Taft. Before Taft was President or Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, he was a local judge, hearing cases in the same spot that Judge Rucker now occupies. Taft distinguished himself while in Cincinnati with his legal rulings, his leadership on the court, and his involvement in the community. Not only do Black people need leaders, we all do. Could Judge Rucker be one of this leaders? I think so.
One last thing. Some people, even some of you, my faithful readers, misunderstand what we do here at The Cincinnati Black Blog. We believe iron sharpens iron. Only the best and brightest should lead. (When we can't get the best, we want the funniest!) There is no room for corruption and self-dealing. So, we push to expose the crooks and lessen their ability to fleece the people. (We are actually doing them a favor by keeping them out of the federal penitentiary.) And we spar with the people who have the capacity to lead but need some toughening up. Go back through the archives and read what we've written about Christopher Smitherman and Alicia Reece (two able politicians corrupted by the love of money and power), Cecil Thomas (a fool), Wendell Young (lazy and unprepared). There is a long list full of elected and unelected people that we admire and respect.
Today, we focus on Fanon Rucker. Is he ready? Is he the best we have to offer? Should he have stood for re-election if he was going to run for another seat? There's plenty of time to discuss these things. For now, we are glad Judge Rucker is running.
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