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GOP Convention Notebook 4

By Steve Rhodes

“‘Hope and Change’ had a powerful appeal,” Mitt Romney said in his nomination acceptance speech last night.
“But tonight I’d ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.”
That’s true. At least if Romney wins the election, we’ll feel bad about him right away.

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Posted on August 31, 2012

GOP Convention Notebook 3

By Steve Rhodes

“A gun was left unattended on Mitt Romney’s charter plane by a member of the U.S. Secret Service on Wednesday as the GOP presidential nominee flew to Indiana for a campaign rally,” the Los Angeles Times – and thus the Chicago Tribunereports.
“During a flight from Tampa to Indianapolis, the weapon was discovered in the lavatory by a CBS News reporter, who alerted agents on the flight, according to an account posted on the television network’s website.”
Here’s that unlinked report.

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Posted on August 30, 2012

GOP Convention Notebook 2

By Steve Rhodes

“The tension in the air between Dan Rutherford and Aaron Schock might be subtle this week in Tampa, but it’s present,” the Daily Herald reports.
“The two Republicans who reportedly are mulling Illinois gubernatorial bids in 2014 also have important – and strikingly different – roles in Mitt Romney’s campaign for president.”
Well, it’s not clear yet whether any role will be something to brag about or run away from, but let’s play along.
“Rutherford, the state treasurer from Chenoa, has spent months traveling around the state as Romney’s Illinois campaign chair, telling voters that with his help, the former Massachusetts governor is going to fight for ‘every inch’ of territory, winning independent and moderate votes in President Barack Obama’s backyard.
“Schock, a two-term Congressman from Peoria, is taking advantage of the national spotlight. His youth and close friendship with vice presidential pick Paul Ryan of Wisconsin have vaulted him onto a larger stage, aided further by the Romney campaign’s fall plans to utilize him on college campuses and as a surrogate in tough swing states.”
So Rutherford has exploited his role as Romney’s state chair to further his own campaign for governor, just as he’s used the Treasurer’s office as an extension of his campaign.
Meanwhile, Schock is using his role to build a larger national footprint, which could come in handy with out-of-state donors for a gubernatorial run, or more likely raise his profile in Congress and maybe even fetch a role in a Romney-Ryan administration.
Personally, I don’t think Schock is running for governor and I think Rutherford would be a disastrous nominee. So let’s call it a draw.

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Posted on August 29, 2012

GOP Convention Notebook 1

By Steve Rhodes

“As Illinois Republicans gathered yesterday to organize their convention delegation, the absence of the state GOP’s highest-ranking officeholder did not go unnoticed,” the Tribune reports.
“U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, who suffered a major stroke in January, is sitting out the Republican National Convention as he recovers.”
*
Mark Brown of the Sun-Times has a not uninsightful column today about Kirk’s “not well-known, behind-the-scenes role as an architect of a political strategy to return Republicans to power in Illinois.
“Before the stroke, Kirk had been moving forcefully to use his position as the state’s highest-ranking GOP elected official to consolidate power as unofficial leader of the state party.”
*
See also: Who Is Mark Kirk?

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Posted on August 28, 2012

The Speaker’s Son

By Steve Rhodes

“The son of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is forging a successful insurance career in the Chicago suburbs with the help of mayors who look to his powerful father to advance their political and legislative agendas,” the Tribune reports.
“Andrew Madigan, 26, joined the powerhouse Chicago firm Mesirow Financial in 2008 after interning with the company during college. Since 2010, he has worked in business development for the company’s insurance division, where he is now a vice president.
“His job: connecting with decision-makers, laying the groundwork for new business and then handing over the details to teams of Mesirow insurance brokers who seal the deals.”
Oy.

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Posted on August 23, 2012

Rahm’s Fake Jobs

By Steve Rhodes

“When Google Inc. announced Monday it would slice Motorola Mobility’s payroll by 20 percent, the cutback represented a reversal of fortune for Emanuel, who less than three weeks earlier trumpeted the smartphone-maker’s decision to move its headquarters, with its 3,000 high-paying jobs, to Chicago,” the Tribune reports.
“Motorola’s backpedaling is the most recent and dramatic example of how Emanuel’s jobs announcements – aimed at creating buzz that he’s kicking the city into high gear, pulling businesses from the suburbs and elsewhere in the country – don’t all live up to their billing.”
And how.

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Posted on August 20, 2012

The Celluloid Ghosts Of The Chicago 8 To Haunt The 2012 Democratic Convention

By The Chicago 8

The motion picture The Chicago 8, centered around famed political protestors Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, will premiere theatrically in North Carolina September 4, 2012, minutes away from the 2012 Democratic National Convention, at the EpiCentre Theater.
The movie is the true story from the notorious 1968 trial that resulted when seven leaders of a Vietnam anti-war movement, including Hoffman and Rubin, and a member of the Black Panthers, were charged with conspiracy to incite devastating riots in Chicago during the 1968 DNC.
Desperate to stop what they saw as an “immoral war,” this group was ready to take on the establishment and express their freedom of speech by all means necessary while paying a price for their actions.
“With recent demonstrations on Wall Street and in the Middle East, The Chicago 8 is timely with its message of being non-apathetic and fearless when it comes to standing up for your rights,” says director Pinchas Perry.

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Posted on August 9, 2012

Our Lieutenant Governor Picks A Funny Tune

Sheila Simon As Presented By The BGA And The Onion

“Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon welcomes The Onion to its new home in Chicago with a song about Illinois corruption at a Better Government Association Young Professionals Board fundraiser at Paris Club (July 31, 2012).”

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Posted on August 2, 2012

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