But he also had been a symbol, for better and worse, of Youngstown -- a place that has faced more than its share of tough times.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
At his best, he saw himself as a populist standing up for that city & its people. He rose to local fame as sheriff refusing to evict people.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
And, out of that, he built a congressional career, and became the "beam me up" congressman who was mad as hell and pressed populist themes.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
At his worst, though, he believed that being that man meant he deserved power & deference & the things that, in his mind, went w that power.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
Of course, there were other areas in which he fell short. But, as w so many before him & since, it was that belief that led to his downfall.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
In all, Traficant gave me my first lessons about politics -- the good, the bad, & the ugly -- & that education has proved invaluable to me.
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
A bit more on the topic of James Traficant, who died today, and what he taught me about politics, over on Tumblr: http://bit.ly/YtG7US
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Replying to @chrisgeidner
@chrisgeidner I've always found him fascinating, and planned to request an interview with him rather shortly. Lesson: interview everyone1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
@chrisgeidner Interesting how ignored Traficant was by MSM after his release from prison. I've only heard him interview on Alex Jones show.
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