By Steve Rhodes
If all you want is a reliable vote, why not Roland Burris? Or, as I’ve written elsewhere, a trained seal? We could pay the seal less.
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Tony Peraica denies he was destroying a campaign sign of his opponent, but what if he was? Is that any different than pretending you don’t know that your cronies are doing it? That’s not to absolve Peraica if he’s guilty; it’s to say he isn’t any guiltier than the rest of ’em.
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My favorite part from the Sun-Times’s account:
“The chief also noted that Peraica was dressed head to toe in black for his night-time mission.”
(Peraica says he was dressed in jeans, white tennis shoes and a gray pullover. But I hope he was really in all black.)
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From: Steve Rhodes
To: Michael Madigan Mouthpiece Steve Brown
Sent: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 3:16 pm
Subject: Ryan
I’m not sure this answers the question:
“Asked if Madigan put Ryan up to running, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said, ‘We elect Democrats — it’s a real simple, straight-forward situation. It’s good to see Republicans using their time and energy on things like this.'”
You know the question. You know how it looks. You know how politics works in Chicago. The question is:
Is Patrick John Ryan a shill for Madigan? Does anyone associated with the Madigan political campaign or operation know anything about Ryan’s candidacy? Is Ryan’s purpose to help Madigan? Why in the world would a lifelong Democrat get on the ballot as a Republican in this race? Why does this always happen in Madigan’s races? Are you really peeved that the GOP makes an issue of this? Don’t you see their point? Wouldn’t you? So again: Can you attest to the fact that Madigan and his surrogates know nothing about this? And if so, is Madigan willing to state so publicly and even go so far as to offer to debate Ryan or ask him to step out of the race?
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From: Steve Brown
Subject: Re: Ryan
Date: October 1, 2010 7:57:42 PM CDT
To: Steve Rhodes
Steve
I liked my answer no involvement with Ryan but I do like the time they are wasting
Might. Explain. Why Quinn and Lexi are running ahead or even right
I think. The other questions. are best directed to ryan
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To: Steve Brown
From: Steve Rhodes
Date: 10/2/2010 9:33:58 A.M. CDT
You just answered my question: He’s a Madigan shill and Madigan knows all about it. Thanks for confirming.
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From: Steve Brown
Subject: Re: Ryan
Date: October 2, 2010 2:40:56 PM CDT
To: Steve Rhodes
Now your reading comprehension skills are shot too
That’s too bad
Steve
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“Did Michael Madigan Set Up A Fake Opponent In Patrick John Ryan?”
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“If you don’t like the way Mike Madigan runs this state, you can’t vote him out,” the Tribune editorial board writes. “He even engineered his own Republican opponent on the ballot.”
Huh. I wonder if Madigan/Brown asked for a correction – or better yet, if they’ll sue for libel.
No?
Huh.
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“House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, called it ‘unbelievable’ that Republicans are using Madigan’s long tenure as a wedge issue,” the Tribune reports.
She thought the Republicans had been bought off too.
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“Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the dire predictions that this election will result in the demise of many Democrats are off the mark,” the Tribune reports. “Brown said many races will come down to Election Day turnout, something Democrats take pride in doing well.
“I think ti’s all going to come down to who has the boots on the ground Tuesday,” he told the paper.
Has there ever been an election in the history of mankind not determined by turnout? Isn’t that what voting tabulates?
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“People Who Don’t Vote May Hold Key To Who Wins On Tuesday.”
Or vice versa.
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“The reality is, Kirk has led a life that is extremely impressive in most respects,” David Brooks writes in the New York Times. “The oddest thing about him is that he’s willing to go through this process.”
Yes, so odd someone would be willing to go through this process to become a United States Senator and, one way or another, be set for life. So odd.
“And the larger question is: In the years ahead, how many other talented people will be willing to do it, too?”
As many as can raise the money. That’s what’s so odd – that our elected offices are for sale.
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Perhaps Brooks is sympathetic to Kirk because of his own history of mangling facts.
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“With both sides looking for the slightest edge in the dead-heat races, the advertising all that money is buying is relentlessly nasty and often blurs the lines between reality and rhetoric,” the Tribune reports.
“In the Senate race, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias is portrayed as a mob banker and Republican Mark Kirk as a serial liar. In the governor’s race, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is a ‘pitiful’ failure and Republican state Sen. Bill Brady is compared to a string of crooked governors.”
I dunno, sounds pretty accurate to me.
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“A consultant to Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, Pete Giangreco, solved the mystery in a pre-debate press room this evening: It was, he confirmed, a ‘coordinated’ product of the Democratic campaign, the latest in a series of such attempts by Democrats to drain Republican votes with more than a touch of deception,” Ben Smith reports at Politico.
Yes, by all means vote Democrat. You know, with your head.
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Don’t you think it’s time that liberals and progressives abandoned their illusions about the Democratic Party?
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“After the debate, Giannoulias admitted his campaign, in coordination with the Democratic Party, funded a mailer to Downstate conservatives touting Libertarian Senate candidate Mike Labno as the ‘pro-life, pro-gun’ alternative to Kirk, who supports abortion rights like Giannoulias and who at least previously favored restrictions on handguns.
“The Democrats hoped to divert votes from Kirk to Labno. Is that deceptive?
“‘No,’ Giannoulias said.”
Huh.
President Barack Obama: “Alexi’s my friend. I know his character. You can trust him. You can count on him.”
Michelle Obama: “He will be a phenomenal U.S. senator.”
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“And here’s a turnout link you won’t hear mentioned on election night: heroin,” Jim Warren reports. “Mr. Hendon said the price had plummeted to a dollar a bag in black neighborhoods, and ‘if someone is strung out, it’s hard to convince them to vote.'”
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“His politics did not suffer from excessive idealism; they were undermined by the ‘false realism‘ of cynics who refuse to draw a meaningful line in the sand.The false realism of cynics who refuse to draw a meaningful line in the sand.”
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“Two great political reformers in this state, Gov. Patrick Quinn and Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, have endorsed Joe Berrios for Cook County assessor,” Phil Kadner writes in the SouthtownStar.
“Back in the spring, Preckwinkle said she despised political cronyism, but that was when she was running for the Democratic Party nomination.
“Now that time has passed and Preckwinkle has had an opportunity to think things over, I guess she sees the wisdom of the Berrios way.”
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“Quinn has been a leading critic of corrupt, Democratic machine politics for 30 years.
“Sure, he wants to become governor. But would he really be willing to climb into bed with Berrios, Madigan and the gang to ingratiate himself with the Democratic Party organization?”
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“Of course, the average guy, who watches the TV news, might think Berrios represents everything that is unsavory about politics in Cook County.
“Madigan, Quinn and Preckwinkle would say you are wrong. Berrios represents good government.”
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“So you can listen to Madigan, Quinn and Preckwinkle and support Berrios, or tell them all where to shove their endorsements. ”
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Comments welcome.
Posted on November 2, 2010