It's called the Manoogian Mansion (pictured above). It's the official residence of the mayor of Detroit, including during the tenure of notorious former Detroit mayor and democrat Kwame Kilpatrick (who's current serving time in the joint). The longstanding rumor in Michigan political circles is that Kilpatrick threw one or more wild parties at the mansion in 2002, and that at least one of those was attended by republican Mike Cox (pictured immediately above left) -- the Michigan attorney general and a candidate for governor this year. Now just one week before the GOP gubernatorial primary (a very tight race), a new (and sworn) allegation that Cox carried on with an exotic dancer at the party has only added fuel to the old rumors (links at bottom).This crazy saga begins with one Tamara "Strawberry" Greene of Detroit, who is reportedly "rumored" to have been one of multiple exotic dancers at the party. Greene was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 2003 at the age of 27, and her family has filed a lawsuit alleging that the cops intentionally botched the investigation of the crime. In connection with the lawsuit, Detroit resident Wilson Kay, Jr., 35, has signed a sworn affidavit that includes the allegation that, "I saw Mike Cox getting a lap dance from one of the female exotic dancers while he was present at the party." Kay alleges that he worked security at the party.
First of all: Why in the world is Kay talking about Cox's behavior at the 2002 party when that would appear to have absolutely nothing to do with the 2003 crime or the current lawsuit? There's no connection made evident from the online accounts I've read, which makes this whole thing very politically fishy. The only common thing between the party and the crime is apparently Tamara Greene's presence, and it's not even being alleged that Greene is the exotic dancer who gave Cox the alleged lap dance. In short, something's rotten in Denmark.
Leaving that aside, Cox has come out today with guns a blazin'. He calls Kay's allegation "absolutely ridiculous" and says that his attendance at the rumored party is just an "urban legend." For good measure, he's even released Kay's criminal rap sheet today, which includes convictions for breaking and entering, carrying a concealed weapon, arson and pot possession. Now while those things do make Kay one bad dude, I'm not noticing anything on his rap sheet relating to fraud or to making false statements. The newspaper accounts describe Kay as a "motorcycle club member" who owned six motorcycles. I was personally wondering whether he might be a "one percenter" -- meaning a member of a bona fide "outlaw" biker club -- but there's no discussion of that topic in the linked articles.
Finally, the kicker (at least for me): Who the hell cares if Cox got a lap dance from an exotic dancer at some private party?! I don't. Good for him if he did. Only in the deranged world of the republican party would such a thing be considered as potentially derailing an entire candidacy. You can just imagine the mindless TV attack ads from his GOP opponents this week: "Not only has Cox sided with illegal aliens and had his picture taken with Barack Obama -- he also once got a lap dance from an exotic dancer! Chose traditional, conservative values on August 3! Choose John Q. Candidate!" Yep, just my daily affirmation of why I'm an Independent.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100727/NEWS01/100727029/1319/Mike-Cox-issues-statement-on-man-who-claims-the-rumored-Manoogian-party
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/07/mike-cox-denies-partying-in-ma.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0710/Sentences_that_are_never_helpful_for_candidates.html?showall
http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/07/mike_cox_denies_attending_rumo.html
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