For City Council: It's Rick James, Bitch

The Memphis Flyer muses on the political landscape of Hattiesburg, Mississippi -- specifically, the travails of would-be city councilman Rick James and his wife, Diane.

Seems that an awful lot of folks in Hattiesburg are fans of Dave Chappelle's show on Comedy Central, particularly Chappelle's signature bit in which he portrays the dead superfreak himself and barks out, "I'm Rick James, bitch!"

The Flyers's Chris Davis writes:

"In a letter to Comedy Central, the couple explained that 'Due to the popularity of the Dave Chappelle show, people keep stealing our 'Vote Rick James' yard signs ... we would appreciate a small campaign donation for more signs. ... Each time a sign is stolen, it costs us $4.75! Every time a 'Rick James' piece runs on your show, we stand to lose dozens of signs overnight ... The yard signs have been spotted at least 100 miles from our home by truckers ... Young children on bikes scream, 'I'm Rick James, bitch!' as we drive by in our car with our 'Rick James' car signs. ... People even drive by our home and scream,
'Super Freak.' "

Davis' suggestion is a valid one: What about just going by Richard James?