Call It A Comeback
One note, some predicted for both races, some predicted for only Democrats so I’ll break them down both ways.
That said, either way, the winner is
That Colored Fella
Remember Low Score Wins
All 26 (I’m off from Eric by one–perhaps a rounding issue)
Dems 14
Amazing results for him.
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The Novak column today, had a corker,
Illinois also appears to be getting eliminated from serious consideration in the battle between George W. Bush and John Kerry for the presidency because of a change in the way the state is perceived. No longer a classic swing state that could go either way and produce famous standoffs in 1960 and 1976, Illinois is now considered the most reliably Democratic state in the Midwest.
The 2000 election had a lot to do with that revised image. Al Gore won 55 percent of the vote to Bush’s 43 percent, with a 570,000 vote margin. If Illinois were subtracted from the national totals, Bush actually enjoyed a popular vote plurality in the rest of the country.
Josh Marshall tees off on it and another similar argument regarding African-Americans.
Both are based on the rather odd idea that if you eliminate a legitimate part of the electorate, things would be different. It is certainly true, but utterly pointless. Now, if one wants to complain about African-American, American Indian, or, as I’m guessing with the amendment to ban gay marriages, homosexual voters, voting in big blocks then one should address the concerns they have. Not only is the assumption that a group isn’t just as valid as any other, but it assumes they don’t know what is best for them. I’m not willing to be that paternalistic.
I’ve been swamped with the Primary, but the Squire has been all over an on campus referendum over Chief Illiniwek.
I’ve argued before that I find the Chief to be a horrible anachronism that uses stereotypes to represente American Indians.
Certainly a mascot could be a proud figure representing everything noble about American Indian culture in general and the Illini Tribe specifically. Instead, the student playing him performs an atrocious and stereotypical dance that degrades the proud heritage of American Indians.
U of I students still have 2 hours to vote. Squire had this to say in comments:
The two-day campus voting period ends at midnight tonight, and with it the referendum on the Chief. As I stated earlier, the Pro-Chief option will likely win due to the heavy amounts of social ignorance in the student body. The pro-Chief faction will likely decide that might/numbers makes right and trumpet the results while still not getting what the issue is truely about. At least spring break is next week so hopefully no group on either side will do anything too terribly stupid.
With the (underhanded) cancellation of the April meeting the Chief resolution will be voted upon at the June meeting of the Board of Trustees. That meeting will be Allen’s last before his term as UIUC Student Trustee expires. The BoT really does not want to vote on the issue – it’s a lose-lose situation for them – but they really have to sometime soon. Tension on campus is getting a tad out of hand and we need a vote one way or another just to settle the student body down a bit.
He also points to this article on David Gill, Democratic Candidate for the 15th District.
The new on-line magazine The Gadflyer has an article by Charlton McIlwain on what he expects to see in the race
A good friend of mine is running in the 3rd Congressional District to replace Dick Gephardt. His name is Jeff Smith and I’d appreciate if you could drop by and help him reach his March Madness Goal of $10,000. You can just donate, or you can enter a pool for the NCAA Tournament. If you win, you get to play Jeff in a game of basketball. Given his stature, that might not seem like much, but he is very fast.
Also, for those of you in Chicago, he will be having a fundraiser on March 27th. Donations start at $50 so consider attending. Details will follow.
Jeff is running in a fairly crowded field. Amongst them he is the most progressive candidate with a chance to win the primary. He has had good success raising money to date, but needs more help.
His opponents includ State Senator Steve Stoll, former State Rep. Joan Barry, and State Represenative Russ Carnahan. Stoll is conservative for a Democrat, but a decent guy. He is pro-life, anti-gun control an pro-death penalty. Barry is pro-life and also a very decent person. Russ Carnahan has the largest name recognition largely due to his parents, former Governor Mel Carnahan and former US Senator Jean Carnahan. Russ is more liberal than the others, but suffers from a bad case of being inept and horrible in public.
I’m sure Russ is a nice guy, but he is one of the most ill-prepared candidates for office I have ever observed. The reason this matters is that the Republican in the race is one Bill Federer. For those unfamiliar with the wing-nuttery of Federer, you will know that he has the strong endorsement of Phyllis Shafly and Grover Norquist. And he has money-he is already at $450,000 for the race.
While I don’t shun more conservative Democrats like some, I will say that I’d far prefer a progressive candidate in the 3rd to challenge Federer and replace Gephardt. A conservative Democrat isn’t necessary here. The District is 60% Democratic.
I’m asking you to donate to Jeff today to ensure that he remain competitive. For those concerned over whether he is viable, take a look at the articles on the front page–Jeff has already shown that he can raise money and Roll Call has even noticed.
I’ll be asking for lots of donations for candidates in Illinois throughout the year. For those that can do it–that money is essential to a winning campaign by Barack, Bean and others, but this is an option to help out another candidate who can make a difference in Washington.
Lee Newcom was running in the Republican Party for Recorder and beat his opponent Ruth Weber. Weber is reportedly a very nice woman, but probably not up for the job anymore.
However, Newcom is an ethical black hole.
He isn’t as colorful as the two morons who ran for McLean County Prosecutor and got in a fist fight, but he still shouldn’t be in office.
Many idiots have had positions in McLean County government–my own grandfather being one of them on the McLean County Board years ago. But do they keep having to find morons? Break the cycle.
Given the interest is still high, throw some discussions down here.
Secondary thing to do–lots of folks are visiting that have somehow relevant Illinois blogs–put the address in the body and when I get to fixing up the expanded blog roll, I will consider them.
Is probably doing a show tonight at 9 PM on the Illinois Senate Race.
Visit his site Collective Interest as well.
This isn’t Kos or Atrios, but ArchPundit had over 3600 visits yesterday. I’ve had bigger days, but not for regular coverage, so thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
And remember–you can advertise on ArchPundit now. See the right side–and donate to Barack while you are there…..
By Joe Bailey in comments:
The 19th Ward has been slipping out of Tom Hynes’ control for a few years now. His aldermanic candidate, Ginger Rugai, got a big scare last year, he barely carried Lisa Madigan in the ’02 primary, and, of course, last night was an unmitigated disaster. Here’s why:
Age — Hynes’ core precinct captains are all near or at retirement age. They got involved in politics in the early and mid-’70s with Hynes. Several have taken the City’s early buy-out plan. Many of them have a short-timers’ mindset, i.e., “I’m gone in a few months anyway, why should I waste my Saturday knocking on doors.”
Changing demographics — The ward is more racially, economically and politically diverse than it was 20 years ago. There are about 4,000 black votes in the 19th. Obviously, they voted for Obama. But Barack got almost as many white votes in the ward, (probably close to 3,700.) Homes in the Bevery and Morgan Park neighborhoods routinely sell for a half-million dollars or more — they’re not being bought by Streets and San workers who owe their jobs to the 19th Ward organization. Hundreds of affluent, liberal-leaning lawyers, doctors and stock brokers have moved into the 19th. They voted against Rugai for alderman and for Obama yesterday.
Vallas — Tom Hynes stayed nuetral in the ’02 gubernatorial primary, refusing to endorse his 19th Ward neighbor Paul Vallas, who was extremely popular throughout the neighborhood, (Without Hynes’ support, Vallas still got 2,000 more votes in the ’02 primary than Danny got yesterday in the 19th.) Some 19th Warders blame Hynes for Vallas’ narrow defeat, arguing that if Hynes got behind Vallas early he could of raised a more money and softened Blagojevich’s labor support — the key to Blago’s victory. Always cautious, Hynes didn’t want to choose sides and make any enemies for Dan. In the end, he made some enemies in his own back yard by not supporting Vallas. A lot of Vallas die-hards got their revenge yesterday.
Dart — Hynes was always quick to put a brick on the career of former State Rep. Tom Dart, worrying that Dart would get in the way of Danny’s ascent. This stirred deep resentment among Dart and a loyal group of his followers. Dart ran Obama’s 19th Ward and suburban operations during his unsuccessful run against Bobby Rush for Congress in 2000 — Hynes backed Rush. Dart has not been active in ward politics since his statewide defeat for Treasurer in ’02, but his backers have long memories — they voted for Obama.
Tom Hynes had a great run. He quietly became one of the most powerful men in Illinois politics, cleaned up a traditionally corrupt Cook County office, (Assessor,) and built a great ward organization. Yesterday proved his time has come and gone.
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