ArchPundit
It’s not the revolving door–it’s using lobbyists to analyze policy impacts
Rich’s column is good this week pointing out that the close relationship to lobbyists and politicians isn’t that unusual and the G-Rod Administration isn’t much different from others–other than the Governor’s penchant for claiming to be different and ending politics as usual. I’d generally agree, though my take on the Keno story is that using estimates from a company that would be a leading bidder for the contractor, even while saying the administration didn’t take the numbers seriously, is the greater problem.
Quote of the Day
“We should never fund education with anything anonymous — Gamblers Anonymous, Smokers Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous,”
–Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart in the Sun-Times
Sixth District Forum
Liberty Suburban Papers has an article on the 6th District Forum.
Nothing earth shattering, but thought I’d point it out.
Tilting Left at Windmills
Governing’s 13th Floor discusses the political tilt of state centered blogs
. My general take is that state centered blogs have generally tilted to the left, but the reasons for it don’t quite fit the Texas case in Illinois. Obviously, Democrats aren’t feeling left out of the Illinois government, but my sense is that Democrats have fewer grassroots organizations in which they funnel their activism. With the conservative build-up of grassroots organizations over time, there were other avenues for funneling their activism. Left leaning activists are building a bunch of organizations and blogs came along at the same time so they go hand-in-hand.
That’s changing in Illinois even as many who were contributors to the the Leader and such are now taking part in the Illinois Review (which will be blog rolled soon).
More interesting is the change in types of blogs which largely began with people like South Knox Bubba (RIP), Off the Kuff, and me, state centered blogs were largely outsiders who watched politics from afar and most of us became more involved in regular politics through the blog. Now, more of the newer blogs are being started by activists. That will change the nature of the blogs. Charles Kuffner, Bubba, and I began as independent though certainly with a left tilt, but without the entanglements that come from being an activist. That’s changed for Charles and I to some point, I’d guess (Bubba’s out of the game), but it’s mostly changed for those who are starting new blogs.
And IlliniPundit, get your ass back to the blog. It’s participatory journalism, it goes with the whole deal. Stop whining and write.
More later….
But get used to coming back, regular posting is really, really back.
E-mails and Administrative
I’m catching up on e-mail. If you sent me something important and haven’t heard back by tomorrow sometime, send it again. I’m not quite caught up, but I’m getting there.
Also, I’m going to be looking into having guest posters for when I’m swamped. It won’t be terribly often, but there’s a lot I missed and I’d rather have the site with new material all of the time. For now, I’m not taking volunteers as much as contacting some likely candidates.
Also, look for some candidate interviews soon–in fact, any candidates out there who would like to do an interview should contact me. I can’t promise I can do them all, but I’ll do as many as I can.
Durbin Bans all Gifts to Staff from Lobbyists
While it seems bloody obvious this should have been the case in the past, Durbin is still one of the few to have done this. I’d hope to see both the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses institute this rule across the board. In fact, if anyone wants to call their member and get an answer, I’ll keep a running tally.