Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Hey all -
Recent polls show Kerry leading Bush on almost all issues, except for the War on Terror. National security is Bush's strong issue? Apparently people haven't heard about the bureaucratic catastrophe that is the Department of Homeland Security (aren't you guys a little, um, nervous living that close to the Pentagon? I'd still be jumping out of my seat every time a door slams). Or the precarious state of our armed forces - “We have stressed our reserves and National Guard to the point of it will break and some of it is breaking,” said noted Bush-hating left-wing kook Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., of the Foreign Relations and Select Intelligence Committee. It's hard to believe this is Bush's strong suit. I'd almost rather trust him on the economy.
I did say almost.
On another note, it's primary day here next Tuesday, and I still haven't quite made up my mind. Illinois has a key open Senate seat. Pete Fitzgerald was not corrupt enough to keep the support of the Illinois Republican Party and even appointed an independant federal prosecutor (no relation). This was a cardinal sin because the Illinois Republican Party one giant graft, patronage, and kickback machine. So now we have a Senate seat we might even pick up (Petey only won because he was running against Carol Mosely Braun, whom even I would have trouble voting for). The cast of characters this time include Blair Hull, a multi-mega-millionaire who first made his fortune counting cards in Vegas. I do some work for one of his ex-girlfriends. I should come clean and tell you that he has paid for a lot of the work I've done for the Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago. Nice guy in person. He used to be the frontrunner but now he's in trouble because his ex-wife slapped him with a restraining order during his second divorce. Later he bought her a cushy state job by giving the Governor about $250,000 (Illinois has no campaign finance restrictions, making bribery basically legal). Sorry to say, I don't think he can win the general election. Maria Pappas was terrible in the debates but has the kind of neighborhood accent that resonates with working-class Dems and swing voters. Also, I hear she twirls a mean baton which could come in useful for certain key political events. Barack Obama was my State Senator on the South Side and a stand-up guy. But he's closely linked with Howard Dean and as an African American representing Hyde Park and the University of Chicago's pointy-headed intellectuals, he's a cultural alien to the rank and file. And his name is, well, unfortunate in the post 9/11 world. Speaking of the old neighorhood, a Hyde Park friend of mine is now the communications director for Gery Chico and she has personally asked for our support. Chico would be the first Mexican American Senator ever, I believe. But he used to be Chicago School Board President, and the schools still suck. In the debates, he seemed to advocate moving jobs to Mexico to reduce Mexican immigration - um, wrong on both counts, Gery. I met both Obama and Chico at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser. I heard it on good authority that Obama is a "hottie." The Machine is running Dan Hynes and, well, Daley pays the bills around here. An operative actually struck up a conversation with me in the elevator today, telling me he thought Hynes "seems like a decent family-type guy, y'know?" I love this town. Hynes is State Comptroller and solid Party loyalist like his father before him. He's about 35 years old, which means we could hold this seat for a long, long time. They're corrupt, but in addition to kindly supplying me with rent money, they did give us Paul Simon (the Senator, not the singer) and Adlai Stevenson. Nancy Skinner is that rare, rare commodity - a left-wing talk radio host. Seriously, check out the web site. This is what Britney Spears will look like at 40. Joyce Washington is a health care executive who doesn't have a prayer. Anyway, I think she's from the suburbs . . .
Like everyone else, I know next to nothing about these people from the media because they are more interested in covering the frozen hellscape of New Hampshire than our own people. Because the Democrats are all city except maybe Washington you run into them, three degrees of separation or whatever. I have no idea how people in the sticks are going to decide. The Repubs are just as bizarre, because most veteran policians in Illinois are in prison or under indictment, leaving us with amateur hour. Currently the GOP race is mostly between a guy best known as the ex-husband of Boston Public and Star Trek star Jeri Ryan, and a guy who sells ice cream. You couldn't make this shit up.
I guess I'll make up my mind like everyone else, by going to the parade and judging the baton twirling.
Peace out,
Craig
Recent polls show Kerry leading Bush on almost all issues, except for the War on Terror. National security is Bush's strong issue? Apparently people haven't heard about the bureaucratic catastrophe that is the Department of Homeland Security (aren't you guys a little, um, nervous living that close to the Pentagon? I'd still be jumping out of my seat every time a door slams). Or the precarious state of our armed forces - “We have stressed our reserves and National Guard to the point of it will break and some of it is breaking,” said noted Bush-hating left-wing kook Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., of the Foreign Relations and Select Intelligence Committee. It's hard to believe this is Bush's strong suit. I'd almost rather trust him on the economy.
I did say almost.
On another note, it's primary day here next Tuesday, and I still haven't quite made up my mind. Illinois has a key open Senate seat. Pete Fitzgerald was not corrupt enough to keep the support of the Illinois Republican Party and even appointed an independant federal prosecutor (no relation). This was a cardinal sin because the Illinois Republican Party one giant graft, patronage, and kickback machine. So now we have a Senate seat we might even pick up (Petey only won because he was running against Carol Mosely Braun, whom even I would have trouble voting for). The cast of characters this time include Blair Hull, a multi-mega-millionaire who first made his fortune counting cards in Vegas. I do some work for one of his ex-girlfriends. I should come clean and tell you that he has paid for a lot of the work I've done for the Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago. Nice guy in person. He used to be the frontrunner but now he's in trouble because his ex-wife slapped him with a restraining order during his second divorce. Later he bought her a cushy state job by giving the Governor about $250,000 (Illinois has no campaign finance restrictions, making bribery basically legal). Sorry to say, I don't think he can win the general election. Maria Pappas was terrible in the debates but has the kind of neighborhood accent that resonates with working-class Dems and swing voters. Also, I hear she twirls a mean baton which could come in useful for certain key political events. Barack Obama was my State Senator on the South Side and a stand-up guy. But he's closely linked with Howard Dean and as an African American representing Hyde Park and the University of Chicago's pointy-headed intellectuals, he's a cultural alien to the rank and file. And his name is, well, unfortunate in the post 9/11 world. Speaking of the old neighorhood, a Hyde Park friend of mine is now the communications director for Gery Chico and she has personally asked for our support. Chico would be the first Mexican American Senator ever, I believe. But he used to be Chicago School Board President, and the schools still suck. In the debates, he seemed to advocate moving jobs to Mexico to reduce Mexican immigration - um, wrong on both counts, Gery. I met both Obama and Chico at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser. I heard it on good authority that Obama is a "hottie." The Machine is running Dan Hynes and, well, Daley pays the bills around here. An operative actually struck up a conversation with me in the elevator today, telling me he thought Hynes "seems like a decent family-type guy, y'know?" I love this town. Hynes is State Comptroller and solid Party loyalist like his father before him. He's about 35 years old, which means we could hold this seat for a long, long time. They're corrupt, but in addition to kindly supplying me with rent money, they did give us Paul Simon (the Senator, not the singer) and Adlai Stevenson. Nancy Skinner is that rare, rare commodity - a left-wing talk radio host. Seriously, check out the web site. This is what Britney Spears will look like at 40. Joyce Washington is a health care executive who doesn't have a prayer. Anyway, I think she's from the suburbs . . .
Like everyone else, I know next to nothing about these people from the media because they are more interested in covering the frozen hellscape of New Hampshire than our own people. Because the Democrats are all city except maybe Washington you run into them, three degrees of separation or whatever. I have no idea how people in the sticks are going to decide. The Repubs are just as bizarre, because most veteran policians in Illinois are in prison or under indictment, leaving us with amateur hour. Currently the GOP race is mostly between a guy best known as the ex-husband of Boston Public and Star Trek star Jeri Ryan, and a guy who sells ice cream. You couldn't make this shit up.
I guess I'll make up my mind like everyone else, by going to the parade and judging the baton twirling.
Peace out,
Craig
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