Manny Abarca Vows To Tell 'Entire Story' Amid Battery Charge

This week, decades of Kansas City political work and experience have been threatened by a salacious story of alleged domestic battery and a custody fight during a messy divorce. 

More than anything else . . . We think the statement from Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca deserves attention. 

We'll start by highlighting his words . . .  

"This is a matter of current litigation, so, unfortunately, there is not much I can say about this case at this time. However, I will say that I love my children more than anything, and I will always put them first. I hope that this issue is decided quickly so that the entire story can be told."

 Also in fairness, here's the local mainstream media summary of the sitch so far . . . 

"Jackson County Legislator Manuel Abarca was charged Wednesday with one count of domestic battery in connection with an incident last Thursday in Shawnee.

"The charge comes on the same day a Kansas City, Missouri, Municipal Court judge found Abarca in violation of a protection order. Court records state Abarca failed to return his two-year-old son to his wife, who filed the protection order.

"The Johnson County, Kansas, District Attorneys Office filed the misdemeanor charge Wednesday." 

Now . . . 

We've already talked about our feelings on this case . . . BUT, this is a political blog so let's talk turkey.

At this point, here's the main question . . .

Will Mr. Abarca's many political rivals be able to exploit this crisis against him during his reelection campaign or sooner?!? 

That's a fair question and our answer is . . .

Probably not . . . 

Why??? 

Because bringing up domestic drama involving kids is a bad look for any aspiring elected official. The problem with mudslinging is that everyone ends up looking dirty and, more importantly, Kansas City remains a place that is pathologically polite. 

However . . .

None of this is to say that Manny Abarca hasn't taken considerable political damage from this personal/private conflict played out for cowtown media. 

Even after his explanation . . . The online trolls will hound him with it for the next decade of his career . . . BUT, in doing so will probably make any insinuations less "shocking" with each mention. 

Moreover . . . 

To prove this point ,we notice that social media critics revealing in Manny's misfortune have already confronted push back on their own accounts and had to delete a few of their early, speculative remarks.  

As always, we want readers to look at the big picture and think about political context & history . . . 

The current Prez also has a mugshot and the majority of voters in 2024 thought that was kinda cool.

And we almost forgot . . . 

Mayor Q has a mugshot and that turned out to be a big nothing . . . Nobody even mentions it anymore . . .

And so . . .

As always we love snark, mockery and fun times and only serve to remind readers that the vitriolic debates that SEEM to pose an existential crisis for the Republic continually fade into history in much the same way that humanity's greatest strength & weakness is that we ALWAYS forget the past. 

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

KSHB: Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca charged with domestic battery in Johnson County

KCUR: Jackson County legislator and son reported safe. Manny Abarca faces charges in 2 counties

KMBC: Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca charged with domestic battery in Johnson County

Developing . . .