Why Does Muench Have a Column Again?

For some reason Joe Muench has a political column in the El Paso Times. Not sure why, but somewhere along the way he ended up with the job. Although now I guess he's retired.

I don't really know what the deal is with him and his column but his column on Sunday said something I think he needs to be called to the carpet on.

First, mark the date and time. I am about to defend Norma Chavez. Yes, that Norma Chavez. The one that I've had a very public and often brutal feud with for the past few years.

I don't have to recount why the feud started because you all basically know. But the feud got pretty bad. Very, very, very personal. So you know if I'm defending her, then Muench must really be off the mark.

I mean worse than the time he thought Sergio Lewis and Dan Haggerty lived in the same precinct.

Apparently Muench finds Norma's facebook page quite entertaining and he wrote that she has been "Ms. Congeniality" on facebook lately. He ended the blurb about her by saying, "Norma is now nice, gentle - and boring."

Okay first of all, how bad do things suck that you find entertainment in Norma's facebook page? Granted, I don't have the first clue what she writes on FB because I blocked her or she blocked me or however that shizzle works. But checking out her FB to see what she writes, and then being disappointed by it...that is some teenage ex-girlfriend stuff Joe.

Seriously, you've got to get out more vato.

And then to talk about her FB in your column...thats a little creepy. Trust me, I have my own little army of people who search my page and harass me. Once there was this guy Tierra O. Muerte who later became Dolly Llama who was stalking me and sending me all kinds of messages. I pretty much dared him to meet me in person and eventually found out it was that creepy guy who was harassing Marquez that one time.

And he's a teacher!

Muench, you should be better than that.

But lets actually talk about the sentiment. Muench was actually disappointed that she's nice and sweet on FB now. Isn't that what we all wanted? Didn't we all just want her to go away quietly and do no harm?

Now that she has, Muench is disappointed?

I'll be the first to admit that I have been very critical of Chavez. She once called my show on election day and had a full-blown meltdown on the air. I pleaded with her campaign team, all of whom where friends of mine, to take her phone away from her, wrap it in duct tape and toss it in the largest tower at Asarco.

I've been critical of her style. I've been critical of her approach. I've been critical of her votes. I've been critical of her quotes.

Hell, she once followed me around the courthouse taking pictures of me all the way until I got into an elevator. I think I know how Norma can be more than anyone.

And Norma thinks people write about her because they need attention. She thinks it gets people more traffic on their blog or they sell more papers when they write about her. I know, its silly and not remotely true.

Not in the least.

Muench's column sure makes you wonder though. Why would he bother writing about Chavez. She's gone now. Not only is she gone now, she went out with class. I know my progressive friends won't like to hear this, but she's actually been pretty classy in defeat.

When she lost to Naomi the first time she was very classy in defeat. I know because she called her from my phone to concede. I didn't think she should've run the second time in the recent election. I think she should've let Eddie Holguin run for that seat.

Nonetheless she redeemed herself in her mind by defeating Gonzalez and she didn't whack her in the process. When Chavez lost to State Rep-elect Blanco, she not only conceded, but she showed up to congratulate him in person.

Being graceful and classy in defeat used to be the norm. Somehow that stopped happening.

Even in high profile races people who were once held in high esteem in this community let their defeat affect them personally and they never did a simple thing like reach out to their opponents and congratulate them.

That says much more about our community than the fact that Norma is now Nice Norma on FB.

She's gone. She's done. I think she knows she's not ever going to be viable for another political office. She's wishing people well, asking them to drive safely, and to be "swell".

So what? (Sidebar: Only old white people like Muench use the word "swell". Norma is a lot of things and there are many colorful words in her vocabulary, but "swell" isn't one of them)

Muench has never really been dialed in too well but the Nice Norma isn't new. It started since she became a candidate. I was pessimistic about it as well and I thought that it wouldn't last. I figured the first time she was hit, she'd go back to the same old Norma.

She didn't and from what Muech says, she hasn't.

Maybe this last election has given her some perspective. Maybe she really is different. Maybe its all so that she can have the ability to earn an income.

So what? She's tame, quite, and boring now?

Good.

Isn't that better than bitter and angry?

Muench is held to a higher standard. Not because he knows anything more about politics than even the crappiest blogger in the El Paso blogosphere because he clearly doesn't, but because he writes for the paper.

Do I think Norma's off-limits? No. She's a former elected official and will as such always have a level of scrutiny that is more than the average citizen. If she does something crazy, or cool for that matter, it will be of note more so than the average person.

That being said, mentioning that she used to be nuts and now she's boring in a political column lacks relevancy to the reader and is nothing more than a columnist practicing a little figurative public political masturbation.

Including her name in the piece served no purpose other than to expose the fact that Muench clearly has a lot of time on his hands during retirement.