Endorsement: Blagojevich for Governor
J-Ry isn’t evil. He is a goofball as his moniker in this space is meant to demonstrate. He has spent more time during this election whining that everyone is unfair to him, that people are confusing his name so he should be identified as JRyan, that Blago has unsavory friends and he has already talked about the Cruz case. No one is unfair to J-Ry, he has avoided most of the tough issues and run a crappy campaign without a message. He is an inspiring man in many ways and a committed public servant. But he has campaigned horribly. The confusion over his name is nonsense and almost as much nonsense as Chris Lauzen’s crusade to be called Chris Lauzen, CPA (he tried to change his name to that–I kid you not). Thus he earned the nickname J-Ry as a ridiculous moniker he deserved. I guess it could have been J Diddy. Blagojevich does have ties to some unsavory types, but frankly the Republican Party needs to be a bit circumspect on that issue this year. Finally, he never actually has answered the questions about the Cruz case.
What J-Ry does right is his support for capital punishment reform. He is far more progressive on this than is Blago and that earns him a draw on the Cruz case in my opinion. He is probably more serious as well.
Ultimately, both are lying. The State of Illinois must reform the school funding mechanism. This has been clear since before 1990 when Hartigan lied about it and I supported Jim Edgar. In 1994, Jim Edgar lied and I voted for Dawn Clark Netsch predicting that he would adopt her plan when he won. He did, but it didn’t take a clairivoyant to figure that out. In 1998, I supported Poshard because he was lying less about education than G-Ry. This year, we have a draw. Neither has been willing to address education or any other issue seriously. Instead they have debated corruption and what they have or haven’t done. Neither will do a damn thing to change it either. Miquelon in Southern Illinois and Fitzgerald in Chicago may, but neither of these two has a snowball’s chance in hell of seriously rooting out corruption.
So why Blagojevich? Ultimately, both are lying about fiscal policy and so the tie-breaker goes to social issues where Blagojevich is pro-choice and more likely to support serious efforts at enforcing non-discrimination against gays and lesbians. Additionally, he is a clear supporter of O’Hare expansion while J-Ry has avoided the issue.
Most importantly, Paul Vallas is in Philadelphia thanks to the Jerry Costello and the cesspool in Belleville. Two things were clear about Vallas to them. One he was no one’s tool and he wouldn’t tolerate their raiding of the treasury. Two, he might just be crazy enough to help Miquelon. And hence he is reforming Philly’s schools. Couldn’t we have gotten Rendell in the trade?
Vallas was a budget whiz who knew exactly what was wrong with the Illinois budget and he had the amazing trait of not being beholden to every special interest. When Democrats in Illinois say they want to serve the public, ask them who they voted for in the 2002 primary. If their choice was Blago, don’t believe a word. They supported a Combine candidate who had only the powerful in mind. But hold your nose and vote for Blagojevich. As Rich Miller points out, unless he learns to pick his friends, he won’t last that long anyway.
Well, he’s lasted some time I’d say.