Rove Alert

I know George Bush was in town recently, trying to scare Republicans who were up for election in the Montgomery County suburbs, For some, Bush visit comes at a bad time, but did Karl Rove slip into town as well?

The City Council-at-Large seat is still up for grabs in Philly, with 7 votes difference between challenger David Oh and incumbent Jack Kelly, see Oh still has Kelly by 7. See also, Still no winner in Oh-Kelly Council race. The above flyer may have had something to do with the close race.

According to A.J. Daulerio of Philly Magazine's blog, The Daily Examiner, Jack Kelly Haters Literally Pulled Out the Gay Boy Scout Cards in an Attempt to End His Council Reign:

Over the last month, the alliteratively named Citizens Opposed to Politicians Who Pander to Perverts (COPPP) placed hundreds of copies of the above flyer under the windshield wipers of parishioners parked at local churches during mass.

Of course, the reference is to the fact that the City of Philadelphia determined that rent free offices provided to the Boy Scouts would violate the City's anti-discrimination policies, which include protections on the basis of sexual preference. As the Inquirer explained, City hikes Boy Scouts' rent by $199,999 over gay ban:

Cradle of Liberty officials have said they could not renounce the scouts' long-established policy of not opening membership to atheists or openly gay people without running afoul of their charter with the scouts' National Council.

City officials have said they could not legally rent taxpayer-owned property for a dollar a year to a private organization that discriminates.

The land belongs to the City of Philadelphia but has been leased since 1928 for that token sum to the scouts, who built the landmark Beaux Arts building.

Clearly, under a 2000 Supreme Court ruling in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the Scouts are permitted to discriminate as a private club, but the City doesn't have to acquiesce by granting them free rent if they chose to do so. Freedom sometimes has consequences. However, the decision to charge FMV rent (of $200,000/year) for the space has not been popular. Thus, the poster.

Looks like pure Rove to me.

Tags: Philadelphia, Philly, Politics