So Who Should Replace Cohen?
I’m going to be optimistic and assume sooner or later Cohen is going to see the writing on the wall. That may be a bad assumption, but Illinois Democrats need to plan ahead. Who does the party choose to replace him on the ballot?
While no one exactly knows what the oracle in the Speaker’s office thinks, he seems to want Art Turner to get the spot. Let me say first, I would have voted for Turner. He’s a decent guy from what I understand and it angers Rickey Hendon.
That said, we are no longer in that same environment. Right now, the notion that Pat Quinn is incompetent is only being fed by the clown in the Lt. Governor spot. It’s not entirely fair given he has no real power to do anything other than ask they guy to get lost, but it fits a predefined narrative and Quinn isn’t entirely free of blame since at least someone in his campaign was warned. There is a lot of blame to go around so he doesn’t bear the entire burden, but he gets a bit of it.
The answer I keep coming back to is one Pat Quinn isn’t going to like, but I hope he sees the wisdom in it. Pat Quinn loves Lincoln and sounds like a tourist commercial for him (not a bad thing btw).
First, think about the Republican ticket. At the top is likely to be Bill Brady, a State Senator who has served a long time, but hasn’t had much experience with large organizations and certainly doesn’t fully understand the state budget. His running mate? A 27 year old ideologue who had his family buy the seat.
The perfect anecdote to an ideological Republican ticket is….the cliche…a Team of Rivals. Dan Hynes. It resets the election in favor of Quinn and the Democrats by putting up two experienced leaders. It unites the party (major kudos to Dan for his speech yesterday). It puts competence at the forefront of the election against conservative ideology in a blue state. It ends the incompetence dodge as Hynes so overshadows the Republican Lt. Governor Brady has to run against two guy.
Oh, and Dan Hynes learned to throw a punch. Remember how much it stung Pat Quinn as Hynes launched into him? Think of that stinging Bill Brady? It’s not time to take a typical route out of this mess, it’s time to be bold and secure enough in his own leadership for Quinn to put together a top of the ticket that outshines the Republicans.
February 5th, 2010 at
Who else is on the ticket?
U.S. Senator–Greek, male
Gov–Irish, male
AG–Irish, female
SoS–Black, male
Treasurer–Black, female
Comptroller–Black, male
Who is coming off the ticket? Jewish, male
In addition, all the candidates are either from Chicago or suburban Cook County.
Either the replacement should be a Jew. Julie Hamos is available.
Or it should be a Downstate female who is not Black and preferably doesn’t have an Irish name. Latino? Polish? Anglo? German? Linda Chapa LaVia? What’s Phelps doing with his life?
I’m not hugely opposed to Dan Hynes getting it, but I doubt he’ll take it.
The candidates who ran against SLC need not apply. They’ve demonstrated their ineptitude.
February 5th, 2010 at
Hynes – I don’t think he takes it
Hoffman – I don’t think Madigan would approve and not sure he’d take it.
Turner – finished 2nd; has to be considered, but wouldn’t help with swing voters.
Krishnamoorthi – would help downstate
Hamos – as Carl Nyberg describes
February 5th, 2010 at
Hoffman is male and from Chicago, but he’s also Jewish and Puerto Rican.
How were Hoffman’s vote totals outside Cook County?
February 6th, 2010 at
Cohen isn’t the only candidate with a scandal the press ignored. The party better take a hard look at Art Turner’s campaign spending reports for the last few election cycles because the Republicans will.
In the election after Blagojevich, do Democrats really want to explain why Turner wrote himself a $10,000 check for “cash” from his campaign account? The best part is that it only shows up in his amended report filed after the deadline. How does someone “forget” to report that he gave himself 10 grand? That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Let’s not have two LG nominees in a row be forced to resign.