Chaos and Crooks in Napa Wine Country

Crooks and chaos have come to the Napa Valley via an important political campaign.

When your political opponents start vandalizing and stealing to make their point, you can rest assured that they’ve run out of anything sensible to say in support of their position. And this is exactly what has begun to happen in Napa Valley as supporters of Measure C turn to thieving and vandalism in lieu of issuing facts and debate.

Proponents of Measure C, the land grabbing initiative that is a first step in rolling back the wine industry in Napa that will be voted on in June, have taken to vandalizing and stealing “No on C” political signs in the valley. And there are pictures.

Among the photos are those capturing a man stealing No on C signs. Other photos depict the vandalism proponents of the measure have undertaken. These photos have been posted on the No on Measure C, Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture Facebook page.

Good political debate with strong rhetoric is a hallmark of American politics. Love or hate its intensity, there is no denying it is part of the process. But here is what’s always true. When one side of the debate eschews the rhetoric in favor of criminal activity in an attempt to sway voters, they have lost all moral authority they may have possessed, not to mention having lost the debate.

It has always been easy to assume that the proponents of Measure C had no interest in debating the issue. Having been asked over and over and over to lay scientific data on the table to support their hyperbolic and fear-mongering claims about the state of the Napa Valley watershed and oak woodlands, they have refused to do so. Instead, they post pretty pictures, make absurd claims about “deforestation”, make unfounded claims that the Napa County water supply is under threat and endorse embarrassingly facile and envy-laden assessments of members of the Napa Valley farming and winemaking community. But they refuse to offer any facts to back up their claims.

This should have told everyone what they needed to know about the proponents of Measure C. They are an envious, anti-jobs collection of nimbys trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the community.

But with the rising evidence of vandalism and theft on the part of the supporters of Measure C, we are coming to the understanding that they are much more than simply incompetent wannabe movers and shakers. They are crooks and vandals and thieves too.

At this point, anyone who puts any trust in the pronouncements of the supporters of Measure C has clearly put themselves on the side of chaos and crooks.

 


10 Responses

  1. bill mciver - April 20, 2018

    Good work, Tom!

  2. Julie Ann Kodmur - April 21, 2018

    Well said Tom!!!

  3. tom merle - April 22, 2018

    This self righteousness is a reflection of our times. Moralistic posturing is inevitable when proponents of a cause believe only their point of view is noble and deserves support These Social Justice Warriors let their resentment and sense of victimization overcome good judgement.?

  4. Brian - April 23, 2018

    Yes, Tom, what some people are doing is despicable.

    Remember when Hillary called Trump supporters “basket of deplorables”? You’ve just done the same thing.

  5. Tom Wark - April 23, 2018

    Brian,

    What about stealing signs and vandalizing signs is not deplorable?

  6. Brian - April 23, 2018

    Tom,

    I didn’t say that wasn’t. As I said, the people who are doing this are despicable. But you’re putting any supporter of Measure C in this basket when it’s just a handful of Measure C supporters that are stooping to this level. As someone who recently expressed concern about this campaign by saying “Will the same unethical campaign tactics that defined those of the victors in 2016 rule the day in Napa County in June? I certainly have my fears.” you don’t seem to be taking the high road by putting any supporter of Measure C in the category of a criminal.

  7. Karen Ulrich - April 23, 2018

    Tom,

    I live in the small town of Alameda, and this type of petty, childish behavior happens every election year. While I’ve read both sides of the issue, if I were to vote, it would be “no.” I think underneath the altruism of protecting the watersheds/oaks is a dislike of wine tourism. It’s like moving to Las Vegas and decrying the casinos, saying I came here for the climate, and I want to protect the climate.

  8. Bill Tobey - April 23, 2018

    Tom, Tom, Tom- Would you please knock off the broad brush about the people you disagree with. Also you have blamed of the people you disagree with for the vandalism. Come on Tom- My experience with political campaign signs is that the vandalism is a very very very small group of people.

  9. Matt - April 23, 2018

    Tom, thanks so much for calling this out. Measure C is a misguided effort and an over the top expression of NIMBYism in a county where environmental regulations are among the strictest in the nation. The fact that it focuses on vineyards only, and not McMansions or the roads used to access either (and other potential sources of erosion) reveals the authors’ bias and short-sightedness on behalf of this ridiculous measure.And I wouldn’t limit this vandalism to just a small subset of Measure C supporters – the Vision 2050 folks and their loosely affiliated eco fanatics are passionate and at times unconventional.

  10. Kathy - April 23, 2018

    It doesn’t look like an isolated incident. There are 3 separate incidents documented in these photos. Perhaps the vandalism is more widespread than Bill Tobey and Brian think. Wonder if the fellow seen carting away the sign will be charged.


Leave a Reply