Call It A Comeback
It’s back. I figure it’s time to start up–last time was too early, but now we have regular news to run this as a weekly feature.
So drop your comments down below or in e-mail and I’ll be placing the competitors in my own personal opinionated order–I do take your comments into consideration though.
Obviously Brady is doing better than I expected, but what other surprises are there?
First, for those not familiar with it, GOPILLINOIS is a site run by Dave Diersen, a Republican activist from Wheaton. The site collects some of the more important articles related to state politics–especially Republican politics in Illinois. Rich Miller has pointed it out before. It was originally done in an e-mail, but he now posts each day on the web site and it’s a great resource. Dave is way to the other end of political spectrum from me, but it’s an invaluable resource. I don’t link to it enough–though there is a permalink on the left. He does some commentary as well and has linked to ArchPundit from time to time which I appreciate.
The above is to assuage my guilt over not linking enough and then making fun of one of the events he’s been promoting.
Judge Roy Moore made a visit to Illinois with stops in Wheaton and Rockford
From Dierson’s Summary:
About 350 heard an outstanding address by former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore at the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church in Wheaton Saturday evening, September 24. Sadly, it appeared that the neither the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Wheaton Sun, nor the Wheaton Leader assigned any of their reporters to cover this major news event. Speakers included Sandy Rios and Senator Peter Roskam and attendees included Senator Bill Brady, Eileen Byrne, Paul Caprio, State Representative Randy Hultgren, Peter Labarbera, David McSweeney, Frank Penn, Scott Thomas, Dr. Eric Wallace, and Jon Zahm.
I have to agree with Dierson that it’s odd no one covered that several important candidates and political operatives were in attendance at a talk by Roy Moore. Roskam spoke with Moore–does he approve of Moore? And where does he break with Moore?
Moore is the guy who flaunted orders from superior courts to remove his 10 Commandments monument on state grounds. It wasn’t just that he disagreed with a Superior Court, he flouted the ruling and was eventually tossed from the Court from an ethics complaint initiated by Bill Pryor, a very conservative Attorney General who Bush then nominated to the Court of Appeals.
There are some real serious questions people need to have answers about from those who are seeking office at the rally and whether they support Roy Moore’s challenge to the inegrity of the US Judicial System. Unfortunately, no one asked them that day.
To the Republican who think Moore’s great: Didn’t we learn anything from Alan Keyes?
CORRECTED: Called Dave John and misspelled the last name.
Who knew if you read the blogs? Eric Krol let’s everyone know what the average person actually cares about.
Yeah, one of my pet issues is the utter misunderstanding of many activists when it comes to the average person’s interest in their pet causes. Generally, they don’t give a damn. What do they care about? The weather.
TV isn?t getting off any easier ? I stopped counting the would-be jurors who ?watch TV news only to get the weather.?
The lack of knowledge about recent political events astounded me, not because I labor under any delusion that most of the public awaits every political story with bated breath, but because among a large pool of average people, the ignorance was almost universal. Jury selection also probably just reaffirms Chapter 1 in the political consultants? standard play book: you can win simply by running a flurry of negative TV ads, taking few solid positions and making even fewer promises. Few are paying attention, apparently.
Another day, I’ll defend rational ignorance–at least to a degree, but when political advocates, supporters and junkies get into a discussion of the minutia of a policy or of strategy describing how some specific item will turn an election, they miss that for the most part, most voters know nothing of the event. They have lives, most of us don’t.
Krol’s column is excellent and makes several great observations including the willingness of most people to serve on a jury out of civic responsibility–something most cynical observers of the political world view as little more than a nuisance to our pontificating.
What’s telling is that after Katrina with many emergency management issues being discussed, Burke wasn’t front and center, Michael Chamness was the key contact. Aaron Chambers interviewed him for an article on evacuations.
Who was Chamness? A Ryan loyalist who has testified in the license for bribes scandal. Before that, he was a newspaper reporter–sorry guys, I love a lot of you, but I don’t want you in charge of my evacuation (just as you shouldn’t want me in charge of yours).
I’ll give a pass to Ryan on this simply because many didn’t take it so seriously before 9-11. Now there is no excuse.
I don’t know if most of the readers have figured it out yet, but I’m in a rare state of being undecided in a Governor’s race. If Edgar or Judy were to be the nominee I’d seriously consider endorsing them, though to make it entirely clear, that isn’t for sure.
As I’ve described before there is Good Rod and Bad Rod and depending on which kind of day he’s having determins whether I can’t stand him or see him as annoying, but doing the right thing in the areas that matter most. Obviously if corruption charges led to him, that changes the calculation entirely–and at least on the blog I have an open mind on the situation (buy me beer and it’s a different story). At a minimum he’s been lax at policing those around his administration and doesn’t seem to be able to denounce the likes of Rezko who, after all, is a man who defrauded the government and in doing so, reduced opportunities for women and minority business owners. This pisses me off, but he’s not the first guy to put up with it (see last post).
The thing that gets me about the Governor more than anything is his comfort in cozying up to insiders. Rich Miller’s weekly column covers the history of the Illinois Commerce Commission and the anti-competitive/anti-consumer relationships that have gone on since 2003.
In the interest of preserving the punch line–read the whole thing–the last paragraph is perfect.
The thing about a Meeks candidacy is how it alters the landscape regarding black voters. The assumption, pre-big scandals (when hasn’t there been a little scandal in Chicago) was that part of the reason Daley was invulnerable was a weird position he staked out where he occupied a middle space ideologically. The white ethnics weren’t always happy–especially in the police department, but there is no way to run and win from that side of the electorate. African-Americans voted more and more for Daley giving him a majority of his votes last cycle. Daley accomplished this by targeting African-American ministers in faith based initiatives aimed at their neighborhoods. He had picked off most Latinos in previous elections.
Meeks obviously has the clout with African-American ministers to make inroads relatively easily. He can use the rallying cry from the corruption with minority contracts going to mysteriously pale men.
Leaving the swing vote of Latinos to fight over in the election. The problem here for Meeks is that he would likely have Gutierrez or another Latino jump to hope to split the difference. This far out, it’s hard to imagine that Daley wouldn’t win because he’d be able to hold on to enough of the African-American and Latino vote to go with his base.
The problem for him comes if there is a fourth credible candidate who can take white voters other than lakefront liberals (who are now dispersed throughout the city). I just don’t see that other white candidate emerging. Meeks is an improvement over Jackson Jr. who by my take would simply be another guy with different friends to put into patronage positions, but probably couldn’t run the city very well.
The question then comes down to does Daley want to fight for another term given all the work and time it would take.
My answer: It’s Hizzoner’s city.
Hat Tip To Rich
September 20, 2005
Dear Friends:?
I’m writing to ask for your help in obtaining the?16,000 signatures necessary to place David’s name on the ballot for the March Primary election.
As a long-time friend of David’s, you know that he has been a steady, consistent voice for progressive politics within the Democratic Party.? As Cook County Clerk, David has been at the forefront of voting rights, helping to make voter registration more accessible and voting easier.? He has been diligent in making the County Clerk’s office more efficient, saving Cook County taxpayers millions of dollars.? For more information on all?David has accomplished visit www.DavidOrr.org.
Below is?the link?that will get you started on circulating petitions among your friends, fellow workers, family members and other registered voters in Chicago and the Cook County suburbs.? Before downloading the petition I ask that you please complete the information form in full, even if you?have previously signed up for our?alert list.?
Once downloaded, be sure to print the petition?on plain white 8.5″ x 11″ paper.? Have registered voters sign – not print – their names and addresses on the lines provided.??Remember, this information must appear as it does on their voter registration card.? Signers must be registered to vote in Chicago?or ?the Cook County suburbs and you must witness all signatures given.? After the petition is filled, take it to a notary and sign the certificate stating all signatures were taken in your presence.? Please return to Citizens for David Orr, PO Box 641136, Chicago, IL 60664.
One last thing – we want to hear from you!? Let me know if you have any questions, need help notarizing or would like to drop your petitions at our office.? Keep us posted on your progress.? Send a quick email to info@davidorr.org?or share your experiences?circulating petitions at our Discussion Forum.? Thanks for you help.
Sincerely, Julie Sweet Citizens for David Orr Petition Coordinator O: 312.606.9016 www.DavidOrr.org
Gary Skoien, the Cook County Republican chairman, is gamely trying to rebuild his moribund party, but, to use a literary allusion, he’s sort of like Captain Ahab in relentless pursuit of Moby Dick; however, instead of harpooning the legendary “White Whale,” he’s shooting himself in the foot and tossing his sailors overboard.
And on Edgar and the Republican Senate Debacle in the Making
Concerning Jim Edgar, absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. So does desperation.
Republican strategists in Illinois, and particularly leaders in the General Assembly, where the party is hopelessly mired in the minority, have conveniently forgotten the fact that Edgar made permanent the 1989 “surcharge,” which raised the state income tax to 3 percent; and they’ve also forgotten that in 1997Edgar backed the idea of a “tax swap,” which would have decreased property taxes while raising the state income tax to pay for increased education spending. Those are decidedly “un-Republican” ideas.
But they remember that 1994 was the Republicans’ golden year, when Edgar was re-elected by a 914,468-vote margin and the party won every statewide office, took control of the Illinois House and kept control of the Illinois Senate. They hope Edgar will run for governor again, and that it will be deja vu in 2006.
Edgar, however, is doing his best rendition of Hamlet. One consequence is that the fractious Republican field for governor is frozen in place, awaiting his decision. Another is that party recruiting is on hold. Potential legislative candidates don’t want to risk running if they might be saddled by somebody like Jim Oberweis as their gubernatorial candidate. And yet others fear that Edgar, if he runs, would be attacked as the “pro-tax hike” candidate
To date, the major story in Springfield is the potential implosion of the Senate’s Republican minority. Seven GOP senators are retiring in 2006, of whom two have already resigned, and an eighth is vulnerable in a primary. The Democrats currently have a 32-27 majority, and that could very well balloon to 36-23 after the next election, making the Republicans irrelevant in the chamber. The seven retirees all represent suburban or Collar County districts, where a Republican should be an automatic victor. In fact, the Democratic-designed 2001 remap packed Republicans into those districts so as to make adjacent areas more Democratic.
Go read them all.
From Greg Blankenship both at the Spectator and on the Illinois Policy Institute’s blog.
For the record, I conceived of my post when I thought Edgar was just thinking about running–I’m still not as convinced as many that he will, but think the chances have gone up significantly in the last couple weeks while I’ve been Hurricane Obsessed.
I’ve been particularly struck by the devastation in the largely forgotten areas surrounding New Orleans and St. Bernard in particular. I received an update on the health situation there yesterday in my e-mail
Rita is on the way and we are already feeling the effects here. ?
We have been ?notified that mutual aid teams, including USAR
groups currently operating in ?the New Orleans area, are being
evacuated toward our location. ?We have spent ?the day placing
additional beds in the shelter and restocking food and ?medicine.
?We have made the decision to reserve this shelter for displaced ?
Louisiana fire fighters and their families. ?We are pointing
other fire ?fighter groups to the LSU campus or to the Baton
Rouge Fire Department for ?assistance.The member support team working in Jefferson Parish and St.
Bernard returned ?last night after four days. ?It?s clear from
their report that the conditions ?in St. Bernard Parish continue
to be particularly grim. We are concerned about ?member?s health
and overall living conditions. We are working on several ?
strategies to improve the situation. ?Severe and possibly fatal
staphe ?infections were diagnosed yesterday afternoon among
several St. Bernard ?citizens. ?The clinic there was without
Vancomycin, the drug of choice for ?treatment. ?As we had the
medication here, we arranged to have it flown to New ?Orleans
last night by an Angel Flight team.The member support team working in Gautier, Slidell, Pascagoula
and Biloxi for ?the past three days is due back in a few hours. ?
We currently have an ?additional team enroute to Gautier and
Biloxi to deliver supplies. ?We also ?had supplies flown into
Gulfport and Biloxi on Monday, as well.Tomorrow is a crew change day with the Wisconsin, Boston, and
FDNY teams being ?replaced with ones from Los Angeles and
Massachusetts. ?Also assisting with ?operations are members from
Natchitoches, La; Knoxville, TN; Hoboken, NJ; ?Jacksonville, FL
and Cincinnati, OH.I want to especially mention the physician and SEIU volunteer
nurses who have ?made our medical operation such a success. Dr.
Howard Kravetz from Prescott, ?AZ, originally arrived in Baton
Rouge to serve in a volunteer capacity with ?the Red Cross. ?When
he was made aware of our need he came to the center and ?was
instrumental in setting up and running the clinic. ?He has done
an ?extraordinary job seeing patients, acquiring supplies and
taking care of all ?of the folks here. ?Cathy Stoddart, Marcie
Boyer, Van Thomas Lee, and Donna ?Skirbin are all members of SEIU
Local 1199P from Pennsylvania. They too, have ?done a wonderful
job taking care of hundreds of fire fighters, their families ?and
members of the community in need of health care. We are honored
to have ?all of them working with us.
I had two staph infections about three years ago–one of which was resistant to treatment ending up in me having an IV at home for antibiotics. The seriousness of these resistant strains cannot be made clear enough. While the news media has given some attention to St. Bernard, it still isn’t getting the attention due to New Orleans. Serious problems will continue in that area for months given the type of destruction they have faced.
Also, I know there is a lot of resistance to donating to the Red Cross so consider donating to the IAFF’s fund–many firefighters and related personnel are in the region and the money will go to good use.
Jamie Allman of 97.1 also had an interview with a resident of St. Bernards on Wednesday. You can listen in here
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