Now we know why it is so important that Billy Hewes Fires Steven Palazzo

Slabbed has steadfastly maintained that our Congressman is a fluffer whose more popular nickname these days is “No Show Palazzo” because he is so scared of his own constituents that he refuses to hold town hall meetings in his district.

It is at this point that I’ll disclose Slabbed has been leaked some crazy sounding tips about Palazzo’s private life which I’ll describe as a kernel of truth buried within a larger lie. For instance it took me less than two hours a few years ago to debunk a tip which maintained Palazzo and his wife were divorcing in Jefferson Parish Louisiana with the reason for the divorce being that the Fluffer was confused about his sexuality. This brings me to yesterday’s Huff Po article about the Congressman which is a must read:

One such example of Palazzo’s lack of transparency is with his family life. The Congressman has been ambiguous, perhaps ingenious, about his marital status. While Facebook pages and official websites indicate he is still married to Lisa Palazzo, court records indicate the two were divorced over a year ago. Palazzo’s official bio at House.gov still reads, “Steven lives in Biloxi, Mississippi, with his wife, Lisa, and their three children.” The LinkedIn page of Lisa describes her as still being the wife of Steven Palazzo.

This in turn explains this Geoff Pender piece published on October 20, 2017:

Republican Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes III is “strongly considering” a challenge of U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo in the 4th Congressional District race next year, sources close to the mayor said.

As I recall on Twitter Slabbed’s reaction was “Run Billy Run!!” or some such. I know some of y’all do not like Hewes but compared to Palazzo:

1. I’ve seen Billy Hewes in public more times that I can count around downtown Gulfport including once when another noted local muckraker and I were eating lunch and comparing notes when Hewes stopped by our table to say hello.  Far from being scared of his own people as Mayor of Gulfport, Hewes embraces that part of the job. I suspect the residents in the 4th Congressional District would again be able to see their Congressman at Town Hall meetings if Hewes were elected.
2. Hewes is not seen as super dogmatic and his legislative career indicates he can work with others to get things accomplished. The best way to spot a wingnut is when the campaign is predicated in not working with the other party to pass bi-partisan solutions to our nations problems.  The wingnuts have an attitude that their ideas are the only ones that matter and refuse to compromise on issues such as immigration, health care etc etc. The fact is the overwhelming majority of people in this country expect our statesmen to act exactly that way. Compromise is not a dirty word in those circles nor is it with ordinary voters.
3. Hewes would put an end to the clown show and restore a measure of respect to the office and Journalists would no longer be writing things like, “Covering the office of Rep. Steven Palazzo has almost become a job unto itself.” if Hewes were in office.
4. The stars may be aligned from a timing standpoint for Hewes to leave the Mayor’s office but that is another post.

I’m sure if we put our minds to it we could think of several more reasons but you folks get the drift that Billy Hewes running in the primary against the Fluffer is a true win – win for the people here.

Something tells me there has to be more that will be leaking out about Palazzo in the run up to qualifying.