Who thinks an Illinois scandal will be in the news soon?

[FlemingsGhost]

After California, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania... Illinois has the most electoral votes.

[bluestateguy]

1. Hasn't George Ryan been indicted yet?

[greatauntoftriplets]

16. Not yet

and I'm surprised it hasn't happened so far. On the other hand, he also has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

[frank frankly]

2. so damn scary

good eye, DemsUnite

[wuushew]

3. Did I miss something?

What news reguarding Illinois is there? I will eat my shoe if somehow it goes for shrub in 2004.

[smallprint]

4. I doubt it

Blagojevich is a brand new Dem governor... even if he was forced out somehow, the voters are still overwhelmingly Democratic -- Chicago is still run by the Dem "machine"...

[FlemingsGhost]

5. Yah.. so is Philly.

I'd say the very fact that "Chicago is still run by the Dem 'machine'..." puts a big red bullseye on the back of any high profile Democratic politician there.

[ProfessorGAC]

41. No Recall Provision Here

So, Blago is safe from that. Besides, the Repubs in IL are in disarray. The leadership has been shown to be ineffective dweebs and there is a leadership vacuum, and no new blood to fill it.

I think IL is pretty safe, even given the atmosphere of dirty tricks.
The Professor

[KharmaTrain]

6. What Illinois Repugnican Party???

Smallprint has it on mark...

Blago won convincingly last November and all but one of the top state officials are Dems...the lone Repug is a moderate/pro-choice, who probably will go after Blago in '06, but for now is the lone GOOPer in a state that a decade ago was all but Repugnican.

The only glitch our new Gov. has had is in taking wards of the state from a very popular Catholic "academy" effectively closing the facility down, but he buckled and supposedly the academy will clean up it's act. Moral of story: don't f with the Archdiosese of Chicago.

George Ryan still twists in the wind as the probe into selling drivers licenses for campaign contributions while he was Secretary of State plods along (this probe started prior to Ryan's election in '98) and it's all but at his doorstep...many of us thought he'd be indicted by now. It could happen next year, but I thinks it's a non-starter even in Illinois for the Chimpster's re-selection.

The only race next year will be for Senate with a rich Ice Cream/Dairy owner as the current leading candidate...he's running commercials around the state; featuring his mug, for his dairy, outside of campaign rules. I'm still not sure if he's a formally declared candidate.

Yep, the Daley machine is as strong as ever...the rifts during the Washington years are long gone and the GOOP iron grip on the collar counties around Chicago continue to erode.

Just like California, the GOOPs here are splintered between wingnuts and moderates...with neither group very strong right now and still fighting each other over the Ryan fiasco and other messes.

Illinois was never WhistleAss' favorite state and his chances of even getting 45% of the vote is doubtful at this point. If downstate unemployment continues to be at the high levels it's at 40% could be more realistic.

Yes, there's good news here for whomever the '04 Dem. candidate is. This is safe ground, and I think the same can be said for my neighbors in Wisconsin and Iowa. The GOOP has done little for this part of the country and people here know what caused the loss in revenues (too bad Davis couldn't connect it in California, he'd still have a job).

(Ohter Illinois DU'ers please feel free to add on or correct where I messed up)

On edit: The "Chicago Machine" is not a target...it's a massive asset as it turns out the vote election in and out. The only anger at the machine are from suburban CONs who are still fighting among themselves. Plus I still have several generations in my family on the roles :evilgrin:

[FlemingsGhost]

8. Thanks for the insight, IM.

I admit to not having a very clear pulse, regarding Illinois politics, but it doesn't take a genius to see what the GOP is up to...

[Cocoa]

32. the machine IS a target

but not every Dem is part of the machine.

Durbin is not part of the machine, and a few of the candidates for the other Senate seat are not part of it either.

And the feds seem to be training their eyes closer to Daley these days, as they should. The investigation of the Duffs hit very close to him.

[Gore1FL]

7. New York

has way more than IL. Its as Blue as IL.

[FlemingsGhost]

9. Of course, you are correct.

But I figure the "Clinton-factor" has ruled out any hostile take-over there.

What's the situation in Ohio?

[0rganism]

10. Maybe the poster forgot because...

New Yorkers are voting for Bush in 2004. Can't you feel it? The repukes are having their convention in New York City, right next to what used to be the WTC. They're returning to the crime scene for a few more laughs and photos. It's a fucking lark to them.

New York's been electing a lot of republican mayors and governors, it's not too big a stretch to think that they could vote for the ever-vigilant shrubby, who will love and protect New York as if it were Texas.

Be very afraid.

[KharmaTrain]

12. Does Bloomberg create GOOP Blowback?

I know he's as popular as a fart in a spacesuit...but does his unpopularity go beyond the burroughs into the burbs?

Also is there gonna be a "Rudy" factor in '04? I fear that...especially with that 9/11 roadshow they're putting on (those shameless, feckless bastards)

[KharmaTrain]

11. Davis Was The Weakest Link

Since Day One this guy has been the butt of jokes and contempt...almost all based on his personality and being a "politician" (Hollywood stereotype: slimy weasel).

I admired the way the man handled the mess thrown at him during the Energy Crisis (I was following it closely with my brother who lives in San Diego) and how he was able to keep the lights on. We conjectured then that this was a major manipulation by energy companies and there's PROOF that was the case. Why Davis couldn't get that message out...when it was happening...is a major cause of his new daily golf regimen.

[scots]

13. Apparently...

Nobody here is actually *in* Illinois? Blago is 'new' but he's suffering from a case of Davis disease: So far, he's alienated pretty much everybody except downtown Chicago. Even members of his own Democratic cabinet have called him, point blank, lazy and a liar. He bungled the budget, and a prime example of his priorities was closing an orphanage (some 120 kids) in Des Plaines that mayor Daley had just gotten done praising, while blowing $140 million to renovate an opera house nobody much likes except Blago. He's expressed his contempt for the rest of the state more than once, and really pissed people off when he refused to move to Springfield. He tried to socialize the state's casinos (?!?!) and was blocked by a federal judge for trying to hand a huge, illegal line monopoly to SBC Illinois (which, coincidentally, is run by Daley's brother). It could go on for pages. There are hundreds of stories about his incompetence and corruption featured in every paper in Illinois outside Chicago, and even the Chicago papers are having trouble holding back their vomit now, because his new business fees (clever way around raising taxes, which he promised not to do, but...) are scaring jobs out of the state now. It was bad to begin with under Ryan, and now it's getting worse. Some people are afraid we're heading towards a California-style collapse.

He's fast becoming one of the most hated governors in America, and he should count himself lucky that Illinois has no recall provision. We'd do well to dump him in 2006. Unfortunately, if a huge scandal is uncovered, it will be because Blago is a mobster (he actually thanked a convicted vote fraudster for "helping" with his campaign in one of his inauguration speechs) and a crook, not because of a GOP scheme. How the hell this guy got on the ticket, I don't know. (Hey, this isn't my fault: I voted for Vallas in the primary.)

[FlemingsGhost]

14. You and IMRadioactive need to hash this out.

Two very different stories, from what I can see.

Hmmmm...

[Padraig18]

15. Thanks for the GOP spin

His overall approval rating is approximately 58% statewide, according to the latest Chicago Tribune poll--- not bad considering the horrendous deficit he inherited, and the God-awful choices he's been forced to make in order to deal with it. Jesus Christ himself would be fortunate to have num,bers that high, in Blagoevic's place.

I still detect a bit of 'my guy lost the primary' bitterness in your post.

[scots]

20. GOP Spin? Illinois spin.

I agree, he's doing good with the approval rating. You might want to check into that a little further: Blago hijacked Department of Corrections staffers to monitor local news broadcasts and forward relevant video clips to keep him aware of how the media is covering him when it became obviously that he was in serious trouble. It started a whirlwind tour downstate and a *whole lot* of backpedalling when he found out how bad it was getting down there. He's clawing to keep it from collapsing.

Regardless of his approval rating, the facts of his administration are going to be a horrible liability when opponents start looking for ammunition. He's cut the deficit some, but largely at the price of the state's function, and yet has been blowing literally hundreds of millions on personal pet projects. It's not about 'my guy', it's about a governor who's willing to step up and run the state, which Blago is not. Like I said, even his own people were calling him out in July. (As a matter of fact, they saved it for *right before* Independance Day.) The hatred is bipartisan. I'm surprised no one has accused him of killing Jimmy Hoffa. (He's got the ties, for sure.)

Another of his fun measures: For completely inexplicable reasons, he gave Daley the authority to condemn buildings in another communities. As if Illinois Democrats need to get any *more* pro-GOP rage in Du Page county, where that authority is liable to be used to ram the O'Hare expansion through in other townships. I'm not sure that's even *legal*.

Considering Bush's approval rating is still over 50%, I'm surprised you're using that number. A lot of people are likely to say 'yes' because nobody's yet gotten to them of explanation of reasons they should be angry and say 'no'. Wait til there are active campaigns to inform them. It would be interesting, too, to see that 58% broken down by Chicago and the rest of the state. Davis and Bustamante got a lot more than their 22% approval rating, too. It just doesn't mean much when the infighting starts. IM is right when he says that there's not a lot of GOP leadership or viable opponents, but give it a few years of this, and it will get bad. Ryan is screwed, of course, but it seems unwise to me to distract the disgust he earned with an equally (if not more so) reprehensible weasel. He's not even liberal. He has no coherent policy or strategy. It's *not* an admirable job with 'what we got saddled with'. It's neglect. He's so reviled that when he refused to move to Springfield, one state official suggested he move to get the armed guards at the mansion, since by the time he released his (demented) budget, he'd need them.

All of these are some examples of what Blago is facing just recently. I especially love selling branding rights to Illinois properties, as though it isn't bad enough that the White Sox play at US Cellular Field. It's usually assumed that new problems are his fault, and they often are. Run the google news searchs yourself and try to find somebody who really *likes* him.

In my opinion he's bad for Illinois, he's bad for the Democratic Party. He's what people mean when they say 'politician' and make a disgusted face. However, what's *not* my opinion, what's mere fact, is that all this is going to be used against him to devastating effect come the election. Every community has at least one "Blago sucks" story. Wait til they start talking to each other. It's going to be a crucifiction, and Chicago's business community probably won't be sitting out. The Party needs to kick his butt into line, and maybe the "early days" of his administration will be forgotten. Otherwise, we could end up with a bloody GOP revolution in Illinois.

Not to be glib, but the rest of the state would appreciate it if Chicago Democrats would quit voting the 'mobster/weasel' straight ticket so we didn't have to deal with this kind of crap. How the heck did we end up with Carol "Nigerian bank scam" Moseley-Braun as a Presidential candidate? Blago ran promising to fight corruption (this is one of the most corrupt states in the union, hands down), and instead turned out to be a ringleader.

[scots]

22. Oh...

Not sure if I linked about the SBC Illinois monopoly attempt. This was an opinion rail in a downstate paper. The whole thing was crushed by a federal judge, and rightly so. Who's in who's pocket, here?

[Padraig18]

42. I live downstate, and I don't hear much complaining, overall.

The one thing I continue to NOT see in the criticisms (yes, SOME are justified) is alternatives. The Repukes whined and bitched, but they didn't offer any viable fiscal alternatives. The Dems are whining now because he didn't suddenly become Santa Claus, bestowing DP largesse all over the State like confetti.

One thing I think very few people consider is this: if he's pissing both parties off by not screwing anyone too badly, maybe he's spreading the pain around, and trying to be fair. Ya think, maybe?

[laylah]

52. Scots

I have to agree with you, to some degree, about Blago. One example is that he formed the Inspector General's office to weed out unethical and corrupt behavior in departments under his jurisdiction. Well, let me tell you, he needs to start with the DOC! They do what they want, when they want, to whom they choose to do it to, with impunity and no backlash. They deny one person work release based on past history (non-violent) yet allow it to others with horrendous backgrounds (and family ties)! They disallow one gentleman based on the fact he had an armed robbery (NOT defending the behavior!) 23 years ago but allow a man with 4-Class X convictions, one current, of manufacturing and distibution of drugs, to go on work release not for the first but THIRD time!

The DOC also threatens any lawmakers that may put their names to letters of support of a particular in-mate, telling the lawmaker that they "...strongly advise not to attatch their name to any further letters of support for ...". I know for a FACT that this was done to State Senator Denny Jacobs and State Rep Mike Boland......they both folded! I have been lied to and spun by the DOC's director of public affairs as well as a representative of Lt. Gov. Quinn's office. I have NEVER encountered such a lack of honor and integrity in my 52 years as I have these last 19 months in Illinois! :mad:

I, for one, will never vote for this person, or persons, again. It IS business as usual, just under a different name!

That said, I will fight tooth and nail against a repub coup in this state. People are starting to turn and they are seeing the light. While it may be slowly, it IS surely.

Jenn

[KharmaTrain]

19. Please Put Articles And Links

You're bringing up lots of stuff here with no proof to back it up. Let's see all these big scandals you're refering to, they're sure not making the front pages of the leading newspapers.

[scots]

21. It has been done...

It may not be on the front page of the Chicago papers, but it's all over the rest of the state. The jerk is on the front page of the Southern Illinoisan every week, for a while there daily, at that.

[KharmaTrain]

24. Still No Links...

You put a lot of stuff out here and I want to hear with others are saying...and if what you say is somewhat true (and no reason to doubt you), then we should be the first to examine these things before it's picked up and used by the GOOP.

I wouldn't call the Southern Illinoian (published in Carbondale) a real wave maker. It barely was in town when I went to SIU in the 70's. I get both Chicago papers, the Daily Herald and the DeKalb County Chronicle (my daughter is a student at NIU) and unless it's withheld from my editions, I didn't see any major Blago scandals, past or current going on...just ongoing Repugnican ones.

I live right across of SBC and am no friend of them. Yes, that Dereg bill was a travesty, but that was in the pipeline long before Blago even before he ran for Governor and his first priority was to balance a budget that was getting as bad as other states and to clean out decades of GOOP pork and perks. Again, got something else, put it out and let's discuss.

BTW...SBC got sweetheart land deals and still pay little to no state income taxes...a remnant of the Jim Thompson giveaway days to his corporate buddies (and now clients). We threw a mayor out here who OK'd the deal that gave them sweetheart tax deals for years to come. But at least it's providing a lot of jobs in the area.

I was very suspect of Blago when he ran for Congress in '95 due to his heavy connections with the Chicago machine, but I was impressed in seeing what he did in his time in the House (remember, he took over Rostenkowski's district) and the campaign he ran last year.

As someone else noted, seems you have a problem here...so who would be a better alternative?

[scots]

25. sorry

I should've been clearer: Check the other post under this thread. The one where it's suggested that I should hash this out with you. I put up 10 or so relevant links.

Yes, there's going to be tremendous trouble. Glenn Poshard was a good egg, clean, and got bipartisan support, and it's a shame he got muscled out by the Chicago machine in favor of other Dems in the primary. (Those commercials using his exuberant speechs to make him look like Hitler were *not* cool, guys.) He endorsed Vallas, so I went to support him, too. It's becoming increasingly obvious that a downstater won't get to run, Chicago just won't let that happen. They need to dig up some smart hometown fellow from central Illinois or the northwest.

As for the Southern Illinoisan, it's on Google News, same as anybody else, and is *the* paper for the 350,000 or so Illinoisans or so in that region. They may not matter to a strong Chicago candidate, but Blago's obvious contempt for "downstaters" is like *handing* those votes to any opposition.

[KharmaTrain]

28. It's OK...

I went back and hope to go through your links throughout the day.

OK...so Poshard was muscled by the Chicago machine? Not from what I saw up here.

I'll say I was neutral about Poshard...he was too a Dino for me, but I voted for him over Ryan. I never saw the "Hitler" references...again, it didn't get any play in the media I saw. I saw a lot of resentment to Poshard for his Pro-Life and Anti-Gay stands...George Ryan...a Repugican, got the endorsement of several major gay organizations. Sheesh. Made my skin crawl.

Poshard also lost a lot of women...my wife included...she voted Green rather than for Poshard...and she's still proud she says she'd do it again. I don't have the '98 election results, but I'm sure we can find them and see how poorly he did with women...and you're not going anywhere statewide without that vote.

I don't think it was the Chicago machine shutting down Poshard rather than he never made any overatures to this area. All we kept hearing here was his lack of money...you can't blame that one on Chicago...they didn't keep him off TV...your frustration should be toward the DNC.

Vallas burned a lot of bridges in recent years and that's the reason he's spinning his political wheels. For many of us, he's still a newcomer and besides his work with the Chicago Schools, he never made clear where he was on other issues. Personally, I would have liked to see Vallas run for the Senate...any reason why he took a pass?

Finally, who said a downstater is squashed in their attempts by Chicago? Doesn't seem to affect Dick Durban too much, nor Al "The Pal" Dixon or Paul Simon. For Dems to win in Illinois, we need to keep a solid block between the far South (Little Egypt), suburban St. Louis and make more inroads in suburban Chicago. Except for Champaign, the best a Democrat will do, for now, elsewhere is draw even.

Cheers

[Padraig18]

44. The 'Southern Illinoisan' is a *joke*

Until it was acquired by Lee Enterprises, the Southern Illinoisan (http://www.southernillinoisan.com) was a fairly moderate paper, editorially; since its acquisition by Lee, it has become a shrill "Democrats are evil" whore for the neocon Repukes. I'd take anything the S.I. wrote with a HUGE grain of salt. Same goes for the Champaign News-Gazette(News-Gazoo), the Bloomington Pantagraph (Pantywad), etc. .

[newyawker99]

30. Hi scots!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[ieoeja]

31. After reading all of your posts ...

... I just have to say, wow! There is one heck of a difference between everything one sees in southern Illinois and northern Illinois. I have heard of almost NOTHING that you are seeing down there. The Poshard/Hitler thing? It amazes me that was never reported on up north. If nothing else you would expect the suburban papers to have mentioned it, if not the Murdoch owned Sun-Times or the Republican-leaning Tribune. This is weird.

[ProfessorGAC]

43. I'm From Illinois, And I'd Say You Grossly Misread Things

The state is solidly Dem right now, and i think you know it. You may not like Roddy boy, but he's safe for at least the next 7 years.

I don't know where you got your "hated governor" premise. The Sun-Times had a poll right around Labor Day that had his approval rating at over 65%. Things haven't changed that much in 6 weeks.

I also disagree that he said he wouldn't raise taxes. What he said was that raising taxes AND FEES would be a last resort. He didn't say he wouldn't do it. Just that he would allow it if there was no other way.

The SBC stuff was in the works LONG before Blago got in the office. If you've been paying attention the last 5 years, there's been story after story in the Illinois press about the SBC connections to gov't. Geez, SBC had way more clout with the DuPage Repubs that ran the legislature than they do with Blago.

I think you need to more carefully review your facts.
The Professor

[bushisanidiot]

46. You Must Be Thinking Of Texas, Buddy.. We LOVE "Blago" Here In Illinois!!

The repukes left this state in debt and our good governor is fixing the mess. The repukes don't have a CLUE how to handle money!!

[greatauntoftriplets]

49. It isn't my fault either.

I wrote in Vallas last November.

[dbt]

17. Paranoia Loves Company

I'm glad to see this thread! When I learned that Ahnold had won California, my third thought was, "which state is next?"

I mean, you could put Texas and Florida being under BFEE control down to coincidence (maybe), but the Cali business suggests a pattern to me. And when you consider how badly the Enron/Bush Axis Of Weasels fucked that state over with the Power Crisis, I think it's legit to wonder if there ain't something sneaky going on!

I felt like Pennsylvania would be next--and sure enough, here's the Philadelphia mayor's office bugg(er)ed by the FBI. What the connection is, I can't see yet...

Isn't it telling how, two years ago, we'd have been called tinfoil hatters for even having this discussion. I reckon we're through the Looking Glass far enough by now so that nothing seems too far-fetched for the Regime, eh?

Your friend in the Fun House,
:freak:
dbt

(And then there's New York...)

[Fish Eye]

18. Mel "pink panties" Reynolds

is trying to take Jesse Jr's seat.....OK its just a small scandal...but it is kind of funny...

[Creideiki]

23. The only two problems I've really heard Blagojevich has

Not moving to Springfield and cutting the University budget. The first makes the majority of the state think that his heart lies in Chicago and the collar counties. The second hurts him badly in a much-needed constituency.

Overall, I'm not sure that there's much here to really cry about. The state's budget needed cutting. No matter what you do, people are going to complain over priorities. I think he should really move downstate, though. It's too easy to lose perspective that you're governing an entire state and not just the city of Chicago and its suburbs.

[KharmaTrain]

26. And those really got buried

I live in a highly Repugnican area where you say the word Clinton at your own risk. If there's a corrupt Democrat, it's gonna be the buzz out here. Remember, the GOOP is completely on the outside here and the only way they're gonna stop anything Blago wants (short of a NO from Daley) is to make lots of noise. I'm not hearing it. These goofs are too busy trying to cover WhistleAss's butt these days...many talk among themselves as to why they vote for the boy...I like when I hear that.

There's a ton of budget problems here...I helped lobby to get health assistance to the elderly restored in the trimmed down budget, but this state is like so many others where the revenues took a nose-dive during Junior's "tenure" and many in this state know this is the root cause of our financial problems.

Honestly, who cares where the Governor lives...most rarely stay in Springfield. Jim Thompson not only had his home in Chicago, but had the state build him a damn multi-million dollar monument for his offices. Plus Chicago is where the action is...just like I'm sure Pataki spends a lot of time in Manhattan.

I have a daughter in the state University system...she had her pick of lots of schools...in and out of state and I got a real good look at what the costs are. While Illinois doesn't have the system California or Wisconsin do, the price in comparison with other schools is either competitive or below the national average. Sure, it's very expensive...and sadly without loans, outside the reach of more and more people, but, again, no scandal here.

No it's not rosey here, but this is a hell of a better state to live in today than it has been in decades and hopefully gets more Democratic...or at least I'm ready to work for that.

On edit: cleaned up typos...I need :donut:

[bushisanidiot]

47. I work at a Univ. In Southern Illinois and We Got A 2% raise this year

I don't feel that we needed it considering the budget though...

[mikeysnot]

51. Really

I lived in Carbondale for 9 years, makes me upset, what department or college?

[mikeysnot]

48. Can you blame him...?

I wouldn't want to live in Springfield either.... Ummm lets see, Chicago, with a never ending supply of arts and entertainment, and the CUBS, or Springfield..... with ummm errrr.

[Trek234]

27. Wow

Last night I was with two of my friends and one of them was from Illinois. We talked about CA and at some point she was like "Why would they do that in Illinois?"

And I thought to my self "Maybe because they have a lot of electoral votes" though I didn't say that because I had no idea if it was true or not.

Just a weird coincidence.

[chiburb]

29. I think the scandal is in Chicago...

First, the back and forth betweem IM and Scot is interesting. I think I see it more IM's way, and that Scot is connecting a lot of dots that most people can't even see. May prove true eventually (I have my suspicions about Blago too), but certainly not before the 04's.

As for Chicago, the Feds have Near North Insurance under indictment. Micky Segal's company does business with EVERYONE who's anyone in Chicago, Cook Co., and even beyond. Lots of kickbacks to politicians, lots of corruption.
They also recently indicted the Duff's, a MAJOR campaign contributor to Daley, for scamming Chicago for $100,000,000 in "fake" minority setaside construction contracts. This one may actually touch Daley personally.

Other than that, I'd love to see DUer davsand's take on the Blago "debates" above. She's very in tune with Downstate too...

[davsand]

33. Blag is ok for now--and can stay that way.

He's pissed off a fair number of County Dem party chairs downstate because he hasn't rushed to fill all the state jobs with Dems--but when you have the kind of budget situation he inherited what can you do? He's got plenty of cover on that--and in fact--is stronger for NOT playing the political games. Besides, I'm not too sure the Dem party chairs really mean all that much to the electorate.

The whole gambling thing makes me laugh. He's taking hits for wanting to inrease taxes on casinos? The guys who take money out of the state? The guys who are here because they are allowed to be here? We are scrambling for cash in this state, and getting it from the casinos is not a bad way to go.

I'm not terribly worried about some articles from places like the Paris newspaper. Edgar County is actually not terrible for Dems--but the reason for that is because the population is concentrated in Paris. The turf can be worked for turnout--unlike a lot of our other downstate counties. Either way, that paper is not noted for being nice to Dems.

Any article from the Pantigrab does nothing to make the case. The Pantygrab (actually Pantagraph, but I dislike them intensely and refuse to use a correct name) is about as left leaning as Ann Coulter--and is not as good with facts as she is...

Blag has been working the Canadian drug program to reduce prescription costs for Illinois Seniors, and that has done a lot for him with the older downstate demographic. If he gets anything done with that he will be a major hero with the seniors.

It did hurt him downstate that he didn't want to move to Springfield, but Blag (and the rest of that primary ticket along with him) were suspect as being too tied to Chicago during the elections. He still managed to win in spite of that--I don't feel that will play any kind of additional role next time around.

I think the Illinois voters realized the state was in a mess when Blag took office. I think they understand that it is not gonna just turn around without closing some of the smaller state offices or cutting a few of the "nepotism jobs" that the GOP had created in the last 20 years.

Blag is fine for now. There are a few yellow flags flying, but it is nothing to push a panic button about.

I will say, I am curious why Braun is even a part of the discussion here, and why the "Nigerian Bank Scam" (proven to be baseless, I might add) even comes up. I never once blamed Chicago for that, nor did I ever feel that Chicago is full of mobsters. Either way, Blag is not Braun, and I think he's savvy enough to avoid ever making the same PR mistakes. Lord knows the guys around him are smarter than that...

On a final note, Poshard was not as strong a candidate as he's painted to be. He was anti abortion--running against a pro-choice Ryan--and he really only had strong support from part of labor. Let's be real blunt about who he ran against in that primary. It was Poshard, Burris, and Schmidt.

Burris ran NO race downstate, and Schmidt was green as a candidate at that point. I was horrified at his lack of speaking skills and his lack of ability to schmooze voters. I told one of his handlers they needed to get him to a public speaking class and she admitted he'd already taken one and needed another... Not exactly a strong ticekt for the Dems that year!

I dunno about other areas, but here in my county, the numbers dropped off a huge amount with Poshard and the other races on the top end of that ticket. The women either split the ballot or else skipped the race. (I saw a similar phenom with a State Rep race where the Dem was good on all the issues except that one.) The numbers can be quatified on the impact of pro-life stance for a Dem candidate.

Sorry, but I just don't see some of what has been said as being accurate for all of the state...

I'm sure not pushing a panic button on Blag yet, either.

Laura

[KharmaTrain]

37. Thanks Davsand...Now...

I really appreciate your take on things. I'm curious what's happening downstate as it took nearly 20 years to hook up all the Dems, finally (thanks to the Ryan vs. Ryan fiasco), got back in charge here.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have blinders on about Blago and have read of the brewing scandals (my take was more a Daley than Blago problem), but that there doesn't seem to be a real outcry in any media. Having worked in the media in this state, I know there's the go-along, get-along in Chicago and Daley has gotten so powerful that his father would be proud. I can't think of a scandal, short of a video (ala Marion Berry) of him depositing bribe checks in the bank that anything really can touch him. And, by association, he gives Blago a lot of cover up here, too.

A quick take on CMB...I think she was a candidate in search of a special interest (either black or woman's groups), Sharpton beat her to much of the mainstream black money, so she now is the woman's candidate. Hopefully her act will be over soon (it'd be an embarassment if she didn't even garner 5 or 10% in even a trunacated Illinois primary).

I'd like to get your take on the Senate race, as that's going to figure big nationally (hopefully as one pick-up of many) and some of the Congressional district/races...we get next to zero on that here. Are there any Repugnicans that are vulnerable. And Dems as well.

Thanks!!

[davsand]

53. I'm happy about that Senate race.

GOP doesn't have much in the way of candidates in that race. They have the Oberweiss dairy guy again, and they have another Ryan (!) and didn't Cox drop out of it this past week? However you slice it--the GOP is not presenting much in the way of competition for Hynes and Obama.

Hynes is an elected statewide office holder for the Dems and Obama is a strong voice with some soild support behind him. Hull may have a lot of cash, but he doesn't seem to be playing well with a lot of the Dems I've talked to. He has given a lot of money to other candidates in the past, but I don't think that will really amount to much in the way of voter support. The rest of the candidates seem to be "also rans" for voters down here.

Last word I had on the AFL-CIO endorsement is that they are going to let it come down to a floor fight for the delegates at the endorsement session in November. That labor endorsement is a big one, and the fact that it is still hanging out there is an encouraging sign for both Obama and Hynes. They both are viewed as being good labor candidates, (Obama has a lifetime COPE rating in the 90s which is super for any legislator and hynes has been cultivating Labor for a long time.)

Personally, I've been working for Obama, but I'm in a pretty progressive county. I was in another county for a Hynes event, and he had a strong turnout there---so I honestly have no clear feel for how that race will come out.

One observation I have is that Hynes is delivering up the DLC message very well, and Obama is really a lot more passionate and a lot more progressive in his talking points. For me, that Obama message is inspiring--but I also realize that I'm a lot more left than a lot of downstate Dems.

I'm going to be seeing Hynes again this Sunday, maybe he'll inspire me more this time--I dunno. Frankly, I find him to be about as excting as a plate of plain cold pasta, but that is just my opinion.

I do know that Durbin's office has been watching this race with great interest, and word I have from "super hush-hush back channels" is that there are folks there who like Obama a great deal but are staying out of it. They also have folks who like Hynes... Again, they are all staying out of it, and that is the smartest route to take at this point. Either way it plays out, I think that Durbin can and will be a big help in this race.

Mel Reynolds' decision to run just boggles my mind. He's a twice convicted person, and I'd think the Dems could find anybody but him to run and be better off--but it is Rosty's old seat--so who knows?

Locally, we have a primary for our Congressional seat, but neither candidate leaves me feeling dizzy with excitement. Johnson, our GOP Congressman is pretty firmly entrenched, and one thing he's very good at is service to the folks back home. My guess is he's got that seat for as long as he wants it given that gawd-awfully drawn district.

I've not looked at any of the Congressional races too much beyond that. Like a lot of voters, I'm only aware of my own backyard most of the time. Come November, I'll have a list of folks who are running for Illinois' seats and I'll be better able to look them over.

Sorry, I can't be of more help!

Laura

[chiburb]

45. Thx Laura, we can always count on...

You for an intelligent Downstate take!

[lovedems]

34. I live in Illinois and I can tell you that Rethuglican spin won't work

The vast majority saw Ryan to do this state what Bushco. is now doing the country. Ryan was involved in scandal, special interest and lies. What Shrub is doing comes as no surprise to us. We lived it for 4 years. The democrats that I run with all called it, we knew Bush was another Ryan. Ryan probably won't get indicted, sad, but true. That story has left the media.

Blagojevich can handle the thugs. I say bring 'em here, he will eat them for breakfast.

[cosmicdot]

36. I really hope you're right

rethuglicans have a nation-wide strategy and campaign ... Illinois in itself is only a piece of the pie ... even if minor damage can be done ... a dent ... it could be enough to have some pay-off Nov. 2004 ...

[cosmicdot]

35. if our candidates and office holders have integrity

there should be no fear

if not ... the rethuglicans are going to use the power and money at their disposal, and use all the integrity they lack to expose Democrats to make rethuglicans look like they're bringing integrity into government ... and, bring this country to its knees ...

corruption is rampant ... the system may make it inevitable ...

having to deal with the system we have 'as is' ... it might pay to strike rethuglicans first ... before they do ... having Democrats in office sitting around pretending it's just another day in the park ... politics as usual ... or trying to be all DLC-esque/DINO/Repug-lite/eyes wide shut ... makes them sitting ducks ... who is strategizing for us?



political weather conditions in California moving East

[WENSTJDON]

38. I don't know about a scandal

but with job loss because of all the Arthur Anderson stuff
from the Enron debacle, United Airlines job losses because
of 911, and now all this stuff about leasing contracts
with Boeing (our state's newest corporation HQ, I see alot
of potential for political backlash against the Democrats.
This would upset me greatly, after the Democratic Party
basically took over the whole state after election 2002.

[corarose]

39. Everyone but Gov. Ryan has gone to Prison

License for bribes scandal was hushed up in the media but if you ask anyone from Chicago they will tell you about our old Gov. Ryan.

[KharmaTrain]

50. Ryan is some sort of "cult hero"

Of course there's the death penalty thing...but didn't Ryan throw the switch a couple times?

It was heads-up journalists at Northwestern who blew the lid on innocent men on death row that prompted this thing, not some great Ryan revelation. He gets way too much credit.

The other was his trip to Cuba. While it was great to see a Repug smoking Cigars with Fidel, this was a trip on behalf of A-D-M and other large Agri-Businesses...not the people who are on the forefront of human rights; more specific very willing to hire illegals for dirt cheap, then turn around and blame Democrats for being lax on immigration.

Thanks to all for a great string.

Cheers

[FlemingsGhost]

40. *** Thank you all so much ***

You guys are great.