Article Contributed on: 9/18/2009 7:59:03 PM
The 1984 movie "
This Is Spinal Tap" had one great quote after another. One of my favorites was from
Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins) that I thought applied to something I read in the paper today, and it goes like this:
"
It's such a fine line between stupid, and clever."
How often to you hear or read someone apologize in this way: "
I'm sorry if I offended you"? When in all reality this person is saying "
I'm sorry you were offended by what I did or said, but I'm not sorry for saying or doing it, it's just an issue
you have, not me." In other words it's not an apology at all, right? Talk about
meaningless mea culpas.
I guess
Longmont City Councilmember Sean McCoy thinks you're all pretty
stupid, or won't read his non-apology apology more than once or read between the lines. For those that don't get the Times-Call, here's what he wrote - with running commentary:
I would like to apologize for upsetting some citizens regarding the comments I made during the Sept. 1 City Council study session concerning a
small portion (
Insult #1) of the community's
uncivil bloggers (
Insult #2) and their comments and behavior during this and years past election periods. I also would like to apologize for providing the opportunity of giving them and others a
convenient excuse (
Insult #3) to cite my forceful words as their reasons to be
uncivil (
Insult #4), and for that I am additionally sorry. (
Sorry he provided reasons for people to be offended? What twisted logic.)
I sincerely back Dr. Richard Juday's "civility and truth in campaigning" efforts and encourage all to do the same. I further encourage all in the community to be civil and to remember always to speak and write positively about Longmont (
echoes of Stalin, Castro, Chavez and others who remind you that you should only talk positively of the mother country. Sometimes the truth isn't positive. Does his statement bother anyone else?). I love Longmont and always want the best for our community (
then resign).
Sean P. McCoy (
left unresolved: the embarassingly ridiculous claim that I/we caused job losses, hurt business opportunities, commercial real estate rental losses, and slow home sales)
Seriously, who helped him write this? Anyone want to come forward? He's just not
clever enough to hide that many insults in a
so-called apology letter to the public. And if someone truly wanted to apologize, they should do it the same forum they "upset" people in, like
during a council meeting.
On TV.
Without further insults.
I'd rather not spend too much time on this, I have bigger fish to fry. Not to worry though, Mr. McCoy will get his turn when he's up for re-election in 2 years (or sooner if someone were to mount a
recall challenge). But just to put it all into context of who's been
civil and who's hasn't (and yes, candidate civility - as well as sitting councilmember civility - isn't a bad thing), here's a walk down memory lane of the last couple years featuring the
YouTube videos of Sean McCoy and friends. Enjoy.
January 31, 2008
Sean McCoy targets "lunatic fringe"
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy scolds the "lunatic fringe" in Longmont who don't pay homage to the People's Republic of Boulder. (Council meeting; 1-29-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008/02/symbionic-smackdown.html
March 19, 2008
Sean McCoy targets Firestone Mayor Simone
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy accuses Firestone Mayor Mike Simone of slander. (Council meeting; 3-18-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008/03/longmontfirestone-dustup-pt3.html
March 26, 2008
Sean McCoy's perceived "
agitators and aggressors"
Paranoid Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy lauds police presence at the meeting to protect against supposed "agitators and aggressors." (Council meeting 3-25-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html
April 02, 2008
Sean McCoy fears being taken out of context?
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy claims people are being cute and taking him out of context when reproducing his on-the-record public rants. (Council meeting; 4-1-08)
May 28, 2008
Sean McCoy cheapshots LifeBridge
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy makes snide inferences and exaggerations toward the LifeBridge Christian Church previous annexation process into the city. (Council meeting; 5-27-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008/05/city-council-cheap-shots.html
July 09, 2008
Sean McCoy shows anti-growth agenda
City Council member
Sean McCoy overreacts with anti-development extremism to a simple IGA for potential access points providing better traffic flow along the CO Hwy 119 corridor into Longmont. (Council meeting; 7-8-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008/07/let-confusion-reign.html
July 16, 2008
Sean McCoy charges "phony patriotism"
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy makes slanderous remarks toward the Vote! Longmont booth presence at the city's Rhythm on the River event. (Council meeting; 7-15-08)
http://longmontadvocate.blogspot.com/2008/07/phony-patriotism.html
January 28, 2009
Sean McCoy disses Centerra development
No-growth Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy decries neighboring Larimer County and the city of Loveland's use of urban renewal tools to achieve its dynamic and successful Centerra development along I-25. McCoy labeled the process "loose and fast play." (Council meeting; 1-27-09)
January 28, 2009
Sean McCoy: Obama worshiper
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy makes sappy praise and a bumbling reading on the evening of Barack Obama's inauguration. (Council meeting; 1-20-09)
February 26, 2009
Sean McCoy bungles agenda reading
Longmont City Council member Sean McCoy stumbles through a consent agenda motion in his typical bumbling style. (Council meeting; 2-24-09)
April 1, 2009
Sean McCoy explains sucking methane gas
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy muddles thru what he learned at recent NLC Conference regarding green initiatives, saying "one of the members of a community close to Portland is sucking methane gas" and "they suck enough methane gas off (from garbage dump) to run a city of 75,000." (Council meeting; 3-31-09)
May 13, 2009
Sean McCoy gripes about noisy minority
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy once again bellyaches saying those who criticize are a "noisy minority" using the local newspaper as a "stick to beat council with on a regular basis." (Council meeting; 5-12-09)
May 13, 2009
Sean McCoy rails against Gabe Santos
Worked up Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy denounces fellow councilmember
Gabe Santos for his supposed rhetoric and negativity. (Council meeting; 5-12-09)
June 8, 2009
Longmont City Council vs. Longmont Times-Call
Longmont City Council members
Sean McCoy and
Karen Benker have it out for the local paper, the Times-Call. Watch the maneuvering in this May 26, 2009 council meeting as the subject shifts from legal notices to marketing materials to, well, any way to divert money away from the paper in this political vendetta.
June 9, 2009
Longmont City Council shares dislike of blogs and YouTube
Longmont City Councilmember
Karen Benker shares a story about "negative blogs", and
Sean McCoy reminds everyone of his opinion on "the YouTube type of stuff".
August 19, 2009
Sean McCoy sinks to a new low
Longmont City Council member
Sean McCoy re-targets the "lunatic fringe" in Longmont with another round of juvenile name-calling and public insults toward those who raise legitimate concerns about public policy done in secret at council executive sessions. (Council meeting; 8-18-09)
September 1, 2009
Sean McCoy slanders "radical negative bloggers"
Longmont City Council member crosses the line into slander by absurdly accusing "fringe groups like LIFT and websites like Wrongmont and Longmont Advocate" of costing the city millions of dollars in lost real estate and business revenue. (Council meeting; 9-1-09)
Sean McCoy: The gift that keeps on giving.
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©2009 Chris Rodriguez/Longmont Advocate LLC (Chris Rodriguez is a Longmont resident, and the publisher and broadcaster of Longmont Advocate, a community website and podcast that raises local issues to increase public awareness and interest)