S.F. Disputes Its Bleedng-Heart Image

AP ^ | 11/9/6 | RACHEL KONRAD and LISA LEFF

[SmithL]

Gay weddings in the U.S. Capitol. Hippie gatherings on the Mall. Hempfest along the Potomac.

Republican campaign strategists have evoked such images to mock the Democrats and especially San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi, who has represented Babylon by the Bay since 1987 and now stands poised to become speaker of the House.

But in the district where Pelosi was re-elected Tuesday with more than 80 percent of the vote, constituents say that Middle America has nothing to fear from San Francisco and that the city has more variety than its most colorful elements might suggest.

"They think we are tree-huggers and granola eaters," Mary Graves, 47, a self-described mainstream Democrat, said with a laugh. "I explain that I'm just tolerant and love diversity and having everyone get along and respect each other."

San Francisco is, without a doubt, the nation's unofficial gay capital and a bastion of the far left and the radical fringe. But it is also the home of cutting-edge businesses, rich Internet entrepreneurs and other buccaneering capitalists, and a monied class that thrives on fine dining and the arts.

The results of Tuesday's municipal election, in which Pelosi's Republican challenger got more votes than the Green Party candidate, capture San Francisco's political complexity. Residents approved a measure requiring employers to provide sick pay to hourly workers. But they rejected a proposal to raise taxes on parking garages.

Aaron Peskin, president of the city Board of Supervisors, said San Francisco has such ethnic, cultural and political diversity that its elected officials must be masters of consensus-building.

"The kinds of skills you need to be an effective decision-maker on the local level in San Francisco — having to compromise between various constituencies — makes someone very well situated for doing that in our nation's capital," he said of Pelosi.

[Elsie]

I hate to break it to you, but the edges of the cesspool have widened and now include the outer corridor (Van Ness, parts of Polk and Union streets) of both neighborhoods. The bums are everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIV Jude 1:7
   In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

[colonialhk]

I left when my daughter was born. Great town for a young couple but I cant imagine how to raise a child there.