Putting the Grunt in Disgruntled
St. Paul City Councilman Jay Benanav has been disgruntling the city’s conservatively minded citizens for years. But never like this:
Rachel Goligoski, 39, said she was upset about the prospect of seeing Benanav at a precinct caucus next week when she smashed a picture frame and threw a potted plant at him during a confrontation in his third-floor office.
"I'm not a disgruntled citizen," Goligoski said, discounting a phrase that a city official used Wednesday to describe the incident. "I'm a disgruntled ex-lover."
Ol’ Jay has always been known as a bit of a bleeding heart. Looks like we can now add “heart breaker” to his bio as well.
"He said he wanted us to get married," she said. "He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me."
Broader lesson learned for Benanav, go ahead and raise all the taxes you like. But stay away from raising your constituents expectations.
Sadly, this dust up appears to have resulted in no small degree of violence.
She said she became angry and pushed and kicked Benanav. She said Benanav lunged at her during the confrontation but did not strike her. She said, however, she suffered bruises during a brief scuffle and is considering filing an assault complaint.
Which makes the basis of their relationship all the more curious:
Goligoski said she met Benanav a year ago while organizing an antiwar event.
It seems Rachel “Fists of Fury” Goligoski has been mixing her want for peace with her penchant for violence for years, as a quick Googling of her name shows. She’s a leader of something called Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace (here’s an article with a picture).
But then there’s this Doug Grow column (with more priceless photos) on an anti-war invasion and occupation of Senator Norm Coleman’s office, including this nugget:
When the phone rang, demonstrator Rachel Goligoski answered courteously: "This is Senator Coleman's office. The senator's staff has gone home for the day. His office has been taken over by peace activists."
"I told the man who answered that I was calling from Senator Coleman's office and that it had been taken over by people who want peace," Goligoski said. "He wanted to hang up, but I said, 'Just a minute, some other people want to say something.' I yelled, 'What do we want?' And they [the demonstrators] said, 'Peace!' And I said, 'When do we want it?' 'Now!' "
In the end, the demonstrators had to force the issue, pushing up against St. Paul police who asked them if they wanted to be arrested. Twenty-eight said they did.
She’s also all over this Star Tribune report from a peace rally last March at Macalester college, including this quote:
"I'm really happy," said landscape designer Rachel Goligoski, 38, one of the organizers, as she surveyed the crowd. "But it's hard to feel overjoyed by the huge turnout when our country is committing shock and awe" bombing.
The allegedly happy, peaceful vibe of this march was emphasized by the Star Tribune reporter:
Thousands of protesters, from students to aging baby boomers and retirees, took to the streets of St. Paul on Saturday in a noisy but peaceful antiwar march that extended about a half-mile.
Police Cmdr. Dennis Stensen praised the protesters. "It's a wonderful, orderly group of people," he said.
Still, the day was warm and sunny and there was a festive feel to the march.
Of course, the true spirit of this march for peace was something a little different than advertised, as your faithful correspondents JB Doubtless and Saint Paul documented last March in this very forum.
Here’s more of Ms. Goligoski’s philosophy of peace:
"I am a patriot of the global community. I do not value American lives any more than I value the lives of any human beings from any country on earth."
You got to feel a little sorry for Benanav getting mixed up with this crazy gal. But what choice did he have? Statements like this to him are the equivalent of a Victoria’s Secret catalog to a normal guy.
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